A large number of companies have come together to invest in a Nigerian digital agri-tech platform
Farmcrowdy has received a $1 million seed investments from various companies to help expand their agri-tech platform and local farmers in Nigeria.
According to a press release by the company, the investment will further strengthen Farmcrowdy to continue its agricultural sector disruption and build a community model for the empowerment of local farmers as well as boosting food production and security in Nigeria.
The fund is also expected to increase the number of partnerships between the firm, local farmers and other key stakeholders in the agricultural sectors.
Mr Onyeka Akumah, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Farmcrowdy, hinted that the fund will help the startup to increase its portfolio of investment as new project would be launched and more farmers enrolled into the program.
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"It will allow us to build on our earlier traction as we continue to introduce Nigerians to this exciting new category of partnering with farmers for impact and return," Akumah said.
"We are happy to amplify our work with the farmers across new states in Nigeria while empowering local farmers by hiring more agriculture technology experts to impart knowledge to ensure best practice in farming methods."
Farmcrowdy is Nigeria’s first digital agriculture platform that allows Nigerians and other investors to invest or sponsor an agriculture projects or venture. At present, Farmcrowdy has about 1,000 unique farm sponsors from Nigerians in Nigeria, the US, and UK.
One of the key investors, Cox Enterprises, in the round of seed fund raising stated that they are impressed with the level of work and projects the Farmcrowdy has executed despite limited resources.
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Mr Duncan O’Brien - Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Investments at Cox Enterprises said: "From the moment we encountered Farmcrowdy, we were very impressed with the work that the startup is doing to empower Nigeria’s farmers. As our planet faces drastic population growth and manages scarce resources, investing in sustainable agriculture is a venture that will reap long-term benefits for us all."
The company has aggregated a combined 4,000 acres of farmland across 8 states in Nigeria and worked with more than 2,000 small-scale farmers since inception.