[Kenya] Safaricom invests in argi-tech startup iProcure

Safaricom’s Spark Venture Fund has announced that it will once again be investing in iProcure, a supply chain platform in Kenya. iProcure offers farmers discounts of between 10 and 20 percent every time they purchase farming products.

The online supply chain platform links farmers and farmer cooperatives to manufacturers of agricultural inputs.

According to Safaricom, the Spark Venture Fund was started with an aim of supporting emerging startups that use technology to transform lives.

iProcure is expected to become instrumental in harnessing the power of technology to improve agri-business processes in Kenya through the help of Spark Fund investees. The company currently covers several counties, mainly in Central and Rift Valley, and has plans to scale to Western and Eastern Kenya in 2017. The startup seeks to increase agricultural output in Kenya.

“To access iProcure, farmers should dial *283# and then select which input they would like to purchase. The farmer then receives a voucher which allows them to claim the inputs from an iProcure farm depot or collection point,” said Chief Executive Officer, Bob Collymore.

The Sh.100 million Safaricom Spark Venture Fund seeks to make late-seed to early-growth stage investments in startups that use mobile technology as an enabler.

Nicole Galletta, Chief Operations Officer, iProcure, said “At iProcure, we are all about optimising rural supply chains. We build both the supply chain technology in addition to ‘on-the-ground’ infrastructure to ensure small holder farming communities get the inputs they require on terms that are convenient and affordable. We share an underlying belief, with Safaricom, that small holder farmers are essential to our nation’s food security, and look forward to playing our part in improving the welfare of farmers across Kenya.”

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