iProcure, a Kenya-based agri-tech firm founded by Stefano Carcoforo, has raised $10.2 million in debt and equity from investors in its recently completed Series-B funding round, as it seeks to expand its input supply network across East Africa.
Carcoforo, a Nairobi-based entrepreneur, co-founded iProcure in 2013 with Nicole Galletta, Patrick Wanjohi, and Bernard Maingi as an agri-tech company with the mission of lowering farmers’ production costs through the data-driven optimization of farm input distribution channels.
Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P), a family of investment funds founded in 2002 and managed by Jean-Michel Severino since 2011, led the $10.2-million injection, which included $1.2 million in debt. The capital injection increased the firm’s total funding to more than $17.2 million.
Other institutional investors that participated in the Series-B funding round, in addition to I&P, include Ceniarth, British International Investment, and Novastar Ventures, a venture catalyst firm that assists the next generation of exceptional entrepreneurs in emerging markets.
The $10.2-million investment will support the agri-tech firm’s expansion into Uganda and Tanzania, as well as the launch of a credit offering for agro-retailers to purchase supplies, according to iProcure and I&P executives.
Carcoforo, co-founder and former CEO of iProcure, explained that the company is now expanding its presence in Kenya and Uganda, as well as entering Tanzania. He also stated that a portion of the funding will be used to introduce higher-quality, lower-cost products sourced from global players.
“We have established a pan-African distribution infrastructure and are using these funds to expand our operations in our two markets and enter Tanzania,” Carcoforo said. “We’re also going to devote some resources to introducing higher-quality, lower-cost products sourced from international players.”
Since Carcoforo co-founded iProcure nearly nine years ago, the company has connected 5,000 agro-dealers to various manufacturers.
In the coming year, the company hopes to double the number of farmers in its network to 2 million by adding more partners and retailers across the three markets and expanding its distribution hubs to 20 to improve last-mile delivery.
