Twiga, a Kenyan agritech startup, has raised $50 million in a Series C round to expand its operations in East Africa and neighbouring countries. Previously, the company secured $30 million in a Series B round and $10.3 million in a Series A round. Twiga has raised more than $100 million in loan and equity funding.
TLcom Capital, IFC Ventures, DOB Equity, and Goldman Sachs’ spinoff Juven were among the investors in the round, which was led by private equity firm Creadev. The fund was also supported by OP Finnfund Global and Endeavor Catalyst Fund.
Twiga, which was co-founded by Peter Njonjo and Grant Brooke, who has since stepped down, uses technology to develop supply chains in the food and retail distribution businesses.
Twiga’s B2B e-commerce platform streamlines the supply chain between fresh food producers, FMCG manufacturers, and retailers. This removes the need for many intermediaries, cutting the cost of food for consumers significantly.
Twiga originally used an app to connect vendors and outlets with farmers in order to gain access to various agricultural products. The company now connects retailers with FMCGs and manufacturers.
Twiga claims to have over 100,000 customers in Kenya and delivers more than 600 metric tons of product to 10,000+ merchants daily.
Twiga originally used an app to connect retailers and outlets with farmers in order to gain access to various agricultural products. Now, the company connects retailers with FMCGs and producers.
Twiga entered a partnership with Jumia in 2020 to deliver produce in Kenya. Jumia’s delivery fleet picks up orders from Twiga’s sorting and distribution centers before completing the last mile, contactless delivery.
Twiga’s revenue is generated from the margins on the products it buys and sells, and the company has about 1,000 employees.
By incorporating large commercial farms into the supply chain, the funds will be used to develop an alternative way of producing food. This is in an effort to increase the availability of food.
Twiga also intends to use some of the funds to launch low-cost manufactured food and non-food products under its own brand before the end of the year.
