Releaf, a fast rising agritech, transforming food processing in Africa, has raised $3.3 million in a pre-series funding which it intends to use to launch two new technologies, Kraken II and SITE, with the end of goal of ensuring that every African does not go to bed hungry, anymore.
It stated that the funding round was led by Samurai Incubate Africa, with participation from Consonance Investment Managers and others.
In a statement, the Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder of Releaf, Uzoma Ayogu, said, “SITE and Kraken II are the next steps in our plan to fundamentally transform the efficiency of agricultural supply chains in Africa and we are excited to have partnered with an exceptional cohort of investors and collaborators to roll out these technologies.
“To make food supply chains profitable, we must maximise extraction yields with leading processing technology and minimise logistics costs by bringing processing capacity closer to farmers. Before Releaf, stakeholders had to choose between one and the other — large factories had great technology but were far away, leaving most farmers with rudimentary technology to process their crops. We are now able to maximise both.”
According to the firm, since it launched in 2021, it has used its supply chain technology to process more than 10 million kilograms of palm nuts and grown its monthly revenue seven times year-on-year.
It added that it has also secured more than $100m in supply contracts.
The Managing Partner at Samurai Incubate Africa, Rena Yoneyama, added, “Releaf’s success with its pilot Kraken validates its thesis, and we are excited to continue supporting their ambitious vision to create efficient supply chains within Africa’s agricultural market.
“They have added key members to their management team and continue to impress us with their rapid commercial growth and technological development. We look forward to more of the same success as the team rolls out Kraken II and SITE.”
