This investment will also fuel the company’s expansion into new markets.

The funding round was led by Equator VC, a venture capital firm specializing in early-stage climate tech investments in Africa. Existing investors, including Tiverton Agriculture Impact Fund, Dragonfly Enviro Capital, Perivoli Innovations, and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) managed by Virescent Ventures, also participated.

“This funding allows us to democratize access to our technology and empower a wider audience to make data-driven decisions for soil health and climate action,” said Professor Jacquie McGlade, CEO of Downforce Technologies.

Downforce Technologies offers a suite of affordable remote sensing software solutions that enable farmers to rapidly assess soil health.

Additionally, the company provides tools for managing carbon credit projects, tracking agricultural emissions data, and implementing soil health improvement initiatives.

This investment aims to address a significant challenge in African agriculture – the difficulty and expense of accurately measuring soil fertility.

Despite vast tracts of arable land, Africa’s agricultural productivity lags behind other regions.

Downforce Technologies joins a growing number of climate tech startups, like AgroCares, SoilSense, Regen Technologies, and EcoPeanut, working to deliver solutions for sustainable agriculture in Africa.

“We are excited to support Downforce Technologies’ groundbreaking software platform,” said Nijhad Jamal, Managing Partner at Equator VC.

“This investment has the potential to unlock significant investment in soil organic carbon, particularly in Africa, which is critical for food security, climate change mitigation, and building resilience.”