The round includes $1.27 million in equity and $230,000 in non-dilutive capital from DEG’s DeveloPPP Ventures programme, which supports early-stage African startups with scalable climate and inclusion impact. 

The equity investment was led by Delta40 Venture Studio, with participation from DRK Foundation, Catalyst Fund, Holocene, Marula Square, 54Co, Levare Ventures, and Mercy Corps Ventures.

Founded in 2021 by Claire Van Enk, Anouk Boertien, and Zara Benosa, Farm to Feed was built to tackle one of Africa’s biggest agricultural inefficiencies, post-harvest food loss. 

Across the continent, as much as 40% of food never reaches consumers, largely due to cosmetic rejection, poor logistics, and limited market access.

Farm to Feed’s platform enables smallholder farmers to sell their entire harvest, including surplus or imperfect produce that would otherwise go to waste. The company aggregates the produce, sells it to food businesses such as restaurants and processors, and provides farmers with new income streams for crops that previously had no market.

The startup reports it has onboarded 6,500 farmers, sold over 2.1 million kilograms of produce, and helped avoid 247 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions.

Farm to Feed began during the COVID-19 lockdowns, when supply chain disruptions left Kenyan farmers unable to sell their produce. 

At the time, Van Enk organised a GoFundMe campaign to purchase unsold crops and distribute them to families in informal settlements. The experience revealed a bigger problem, a systemic lack of market access for “rescue-grade” produce that was still nutritious but visually imperfect.

“We wanted to solve this problem more sustainably and more commercially,” said Van Enk, now CEO of Farm to Feed. “If you grow your own food and one is smaller than the other, I’m quite sure you would consume both because they actually taste the same but look a bit different.”

The new funding will be used to enhance Farm to Feed’s presence across Kenya and expand into regional markets. Part of the plan involves enhancing the company’s digital systems, which already include a mobile and USSD-based platform for farmers and an enterprise management system that supports traceability and logistics.

A key growth area is the company’s semi-processed product line, including chopped, dried, and frozen ingredients, which targets urban retailers and export buyers. 

This value-add segment is central to Farm to Feed’s goal of increasing product preservation and reaching higher-margin markets.

“This funding allows us to expand our reach, connecting more farmers to a market that is increasingly demanding sustainably produced food,” said Van Enk. “As we scale, technology remains at the core of our growth, and we’re excited to enhance our systems to support expansion beyond borders.”

For investors, Farm to Feed sits at the intersection of sustainability, market access, and profitability.

“Farm to Feed maximises farmer incomes by purchasing the full harvest while ensuring that every gram of produce creates value,” said Lyndsay Holley Handler, co-founder and managing partner at Delta40 Venture Studio. “Whether through exports, B2B sales, or value addition, Farm to Feed is creating a true win-win-win for farmers, businesses, and the planet.”

Catalyst Fund, an early backer, is also doubling down. “Farm to Feed is transforming one of Africa’s biggest inefficiencies into one of its greatest opportunities,” said Maelis Carraro, the fund’s founder and managing partner. “We’ve seen Claire and her team turn a bold vision into a scalable, tech-enabled solution that directly boosts farmer incomes, cuts emissions, and strengthens food system resilience.”

Farm to Feed’s raise comes amid growing investor interest in climate-resilient agritech across Africa. Startups such as Apollo Agriculture and Twiga Foods have also attracted significant funding to digitise and optimise supply chains.

For Kenya, the deal stresses a bigger national focus on agro-industrialisation and food system transformation, where technology-driven efficiency and sustainability are becoming investment priorities.

The post Kenya’s Farm to Feed Raises $1.5 Million to Tackle Food Waste, Boost Farmer Incomes appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

The program aims to provide support and grants to startups that have a strong focus on making a positive impact.

Entrepreneurial assistance and financial investments of up to EUR100,000 (US$107,000) are available to startups in these countries. Eligible startups are those with innovative business models that demonstrate sustainable economic, ecological, or social benefits.

The program places a special emphasis on empowering women-led startups and those dedicated to promoting gender equality, aligning with BMZ’s commitment to female empowerment.

To qualify for the grant, startups must have already established a proof of concept and be prepared to scale their operations.

The application window will remain open until June 30, and interested startups can submit their applications via the provided link.

This funding opportunity has the potential to significantly contribute to the growth and advancement of selected startups in these African countries

The post develoPPP Ventures Announces $107k Funding for Impact-Driven African Startups appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

Benefits

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) provides up to 100,000 euros for suitable growth investments leveraging a matching-funds model.

Startups already active in a developing or emerging economy and whose business model contributes to sustainable local economic, ecological and social development will benefit from this grant.

The goal is to scale innovative solutions so they become accessible to more people. Therefore, it is important that the proof of concept has already been achieved and first revenues have been generated. Funding the startup phase via develoPPP Ventures is not possible.

In addition to the grant, startups will receive local technical support. Women-led startups and startups promoting gender equality can also apply.

Eligibility

Funding decisions on specific investment projects are made via regular develoPPP Ventures ideas competitions. 

Startups already registered in the target country or that plan to register there before the start of the funding are eligible to participate. 

Funding is provided exclusively for business expansion in the respective country and must be invested locally. 

A prerequisite for funding is that the startup phase has already been completed and initial revenues have been generated. In addition, your startup must:

• Be privately owned and profit-oriented
• Have a viable business and financial plan
• Be able to provide at least one annual financial statement
• Convince other financiers of its business model (matching funds)
• Not have acquired more than a maximum of €2 million in funding to date
• Have a high growth potential and reach break-even within a maximum of three years
• Available to startups in Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania 

How to apply

Participate in develoPPP Ventures to scale your innovative idea.

The post Application to Benefit from develoPPP Ventures ’ €100,000 Grant Ends Today appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.