The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development invests in smart storage solutions in Kenya
On 25 May 2021, the Investment Committee for the Origination Facility of the Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD) approved a project proposal for the origination of a business investment plan for SokoFresh, an innovative smart storage solutions business.
With this approval, SNV has the intention to sign a EUR 236,000 grant funding agreement with SokoFresh Ltd Kenya together with an SNV technical assistance package for the development of a business investment proposition related to their innovative solar powered smart storage solutions business.
50% of all horticulture produce in Kenya fails to make it to market as a result of an informal and unreliable supply chain. Farmers frequently lose quality produce due to their inability to store it for longer than a day. As a result, farmers earn less, logistics costs are high and vast quantities of food are wasted.
SokoFresh offers farm level solar powered cold-storage as a service and a digital market linkage platform to seamlessly integrate small and medium scale farmers into professional value chains. With its mobile cold storage solution and pay as you store business model, it gives farmers, traders and exporters a risk-free opportunity to safeguard the quality of their produce and increase their bottom line.
The DFCD grant funding is needed to de-risk and further consolidate the innovative concept of mobile, on-farm cold storage units with scaling potential for the economically sound and climate-resilient cold-chain solution that is forecast to increase incomes by 18% for 8,500 smallholder farmers by year 3 and 44,000 by year 10.
Reduction of post-harvest food losses combined with the use of clean, renewable energy and high-tech systems also contributes towards the attainment of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as, SDG1 (No Poverty), SDG2 (Zero Hunger), SDG7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG13 (Climate Action).
About the DFCD
The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD) enables private sector investment in projects aimed at climate adaptation and mitigation in developing countries. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made available € 160 million to increase the resilience of communities and ecosystems most vulnerable to climate change. The DFCD is managed by a pioneering consortium of Climate Fund Managers (CFM), Worldwide Fund for Nature Netherlands (WWF-NL) and SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, led by the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank, FMO.
About SokoFresh
SokoFresh is a start-up conceptualized by social venture building studio Enviu. SokoFresh integrates cold storage, market linkage and value-add processing activities into smallholder farmer value chains through an “as-a-service proposition”. Enviu has 14 years of experience with launching over 20 social ventures for the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) and smallholder farmers in developing countries.
SokoFresh Agri Innovations Ltd is a 100% owned subsidiary of Enviu Venture Lab BV which in turn is wholly owned by Enviu Holding BV whose main objective is to invest in other businesses and provide management services where required.
To read the full disclosure document, please click here.