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.”
“We are delighted to partner with ISA to support the development of solar energy in Africa,” said Alain Ebobissé, CEO of Africa50. “This partnership will help to accelerate the deployment of solar energy in Africa and improve the lives of millions of Africans,” he added.
Sahel Capital, through its Social Enterprise Fund for Agriculture in Africa (SEFAA), has provided a $500,000 working capital loan to Agriarche, a company focused on improving market access for smallholder farmers in Nigeria.
Visa has announced the 19 African startups selected to participate in the third cohort of its Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator program.
Founded in 2020, Chari has developed an advanced e-commerce platform that aims to bridge the gap between traditional brick-and-mortar stores and online shopping experiences.
© 2021 Empower Africa. All rights reserved.