Local AgriTech startupKhula has secured R126 million in funding during a Series A round featuring its existing investors including Absa Bank, AECI, E Squared and PepsiCo’s Kgodiso Fund.
The funding round also saw capital contributions from Khula’s founders, Karidas Tshintsholo and Matthew Piper. Additionally, E Squared Investments led the charge as the first institutional funder of the startup.
“The Series A is an exciting milestone for us. Having started a few years ago just loading spinach in the back of a VW Polo, it is the culmination of the dedication and incredible work that the Khula team delivers on a daily basis,” says CEO and Co-Founder Karidas Tshintsholo.
Khula operates in the Agricultural tech (AgriTech) sector.AgriTech refers to the application of technology to produce more with less, make farming processes more efficient and integrate technologies that automate things such as field monitoring and supply chain.
The Khula platform is a mobile marketplace for farmers. It enables its users to sell their products as well as source logistics, technical expertise and financing/funding. Currently, the Khula app has 20 000 users.
The company says it is targeting R200 million in funding by mid-year and founder Tshintsholo says currently Khula has secured buyers willing to spend approximately R1 billion to purchase produce from emerging farmers inoff-take agreements.
Furthermore, the company has integrated artificial intelligence (AI) into its software models. The AI is integrated to help food growers identify diseases amongst other functionalities. Khula is also experimenting with ways to provide funding to farmers through platforms.
“The AI also enables a farmer to do things like take a picture of a rotten tomato and the app will provide details on what’s wrong with it through the models that we have trained,” concluded Tshintsholo.
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