Zambian agritech, Good Nature Agro (GNA), has raised a US$ 2.1 million Series A round from Goodwell Investments and existing seed investors Global Partnerships and FINCA Ventures. GNA co-founder and CEO, Carl Jensen, explained that funds will propel the startup further towards its main goal of serving small-scale farmers by upscaling their current business model. “We believe that every farm – regardless of size – deserves a partner who sees enough value in their capacity and their dreams to engage with them as individuals and families. Our focus on personalised advice and service delivery to farmers even as we scale is the key to our social impact and our momentum. Sunday, Kellan, and I are incredibly proud of what the GNA team has accomplished since 2014, but the best is yet to come. With this investment, we are entering a new phase of rapid growth driven by global value chains and superior service to our suppliers and customers.” The funds will be channelled towards accelerating GNA's focus on building up essential value-add processing infrastructure in both central and eastern Zambia. Additionally, Adobe will use the funds to grow its full-farm extension services for smallholders, connect participating farmers to large-scale agribusinesses and food processors and to progress its seed breeding program. Investment Associate of FINCA Ventures, Melissa Tickle, explains that the agritech startup is providing an innovative service that is directly benefiting the local community. “Good Nature Agro is creating a new model for seeds sales in the African market by cultivating new product demand and disrupting the predominant system of agricultural activities, which are modelled on the maize value chain. Further, the GNA team has proven they can triple farmer incomes in 24-months, bringing their growers into the middle class and helping them to achieve their financial goals through providing predictable and well-documented cash flows.” GNA is a a legume seed company that works to empower small-scale farmers in Zambia. Being a social enterprise, its main focus is to empower small-scale farmers by providing a platform through which they are able to sell their fresh produce, and subsequently earn more. Using its innovative sales and production model titled, Source, Good Nature Agro aims to support 15 000 small-scale farmers with its service, customised input packages, financial planning, guaranteed offtake contracts, and more.
