FarmWorks, a Kenyan agritech startup, has announced securing $4.1 million in a pre-Series A funding round to enhance its data analytics capabilities and utilize AI for improving production, as well as making informed decisions on planting and lending.
The funding round was led by Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund, with participation from Livelihood Impact Fund, Vested World, various family offices, and angel investors.
Founded in 2020 by Yi Li (CEO) and Peter Muthee, FarmWorks aims to provide farmers with access to essential farm inputs and markets for their produce. The startup not only offers pest control services and farm inputs but also acts as a buyer for the farmers’ produce, facilitating local and international sales. Additionally, FarmWorks provides lending support in the form of farming tools.
Currently, the company’s out-grower program has engaged over 2,000 smallholder farmers. Through this program, FarmWorks has established a robust supply chain network that ensures the timely delivery of high-quality produce, with a monthly sales volume of 400 tonnes.
The company has ambitious plans to expand its network of contract farmers to other regions within Kenya, in addition to the two counties in the country’s central region where it is already operational. Presently, FarmWorks has 16 collection centers in these regions.
In the past, FarmWorks was involved in crop production on its own farms, which now serve as training centers for farmers. Moreover, the startup actively educates farmers about good agricultural practices, drawing insights from trial farms.
