Zebra CropBank, a Nigerian agritech startup has secured a substantial undisclosed amount in funding , to expand its operations.
ZebraCropBank is a Nigerian-based agritech, whose mission is to provide small-scale farmers across Africa with relevant post-harvest options and scale.
The Catalyst Fund, led the round.
The global accelerator is a group of investors devoted to small businesses, sustainable farming and underserved rural communities.
What ZebraCropBank does
The agritech startup is developing a technology-enabled produce banking and distribution platform
The platform allows farmers to convert their crops into tradable assets by instantly trading their crops for cash or as collateral for loans.
The startup also focuses on post- harvest challenges including poor storage systems and market accessibility.
To resolve the storage space problem, the startup is building micro-warehouses close to farming settlements.
It then rents the warehouses out to part-time farmers at reasonable rates.
is Zebra CropBank’s proposed model for implementing this storage solution
Zebra CropBank intends to spend the raised fund on expanding its operations by building integrated trading platforms and solar-powered micro-warehouses.
With this model ,farmers can store their produce transparently and safely while facilitating transactions.
The Investors
Catalyst Fund, explaining why they invested in Zebra CropBank, said the startup’s technology is cutting-edge yet easy-to-access..
They believe that the startup is offering a rounded and long-term solutions to African agriculture’s three problems;
- insufficient storage
- pricing transparency, and
- poor credit facilities.
The investors noted that Smallholder farmers provide up to 80% of Africa’s food supply. Yet they struggle to fully capitalize on their yields and labor.
Farmers lose over 120 kg of food per capita to lack of storage and transparent market linkages annually.
The accelerator pointed out that only a few agritech companies address post-harvest waste as most companies focus on production efficiency.
“This puts Zebra CropBank on mostly unfamiliar ground” and “tests the startup’s ability to navigate new territory.” the investor said.
Impressed by what the startup has done already, Catalyst Fund claimed that Zebra CropBank’s micro-warehouses had already increased farmers’ earnings by up to 90%.
About ZebraCropBank
Buffy Okeke-Ojiudu (CEO) founded Zebra CropBank in 2010.
Located in Enugu, Zebra CropBank has 1,400 registered farmers on its platform and has 5 operational micro-warehouses.
The startup received the Global Startup Innovation Award at the UN World Food Forum in November 2023.
