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Small African farmers are facing a multitude of problems that affect the progress of agricultural production on the continent. But software-for-agriculture startup Khula has an innovative solution that’s helping this niche industry thrive again. TechCrunch reports that the South African-based company just announced the raise of a $1.3 million seed round to help further scale its farming software and expand nationwide. The round, which closed last year, was led by AECI — one of Africa’s biggest agrochemical companies — and included participation from South African impact investor E Squared Investments. With financial-backing from its lead investor, Khula now has access to AECI’s wide distribution network which is poised to help the platform scale its inputs app. AECI’s support will go a long way as a long-term partner that’s genuinely interested in the execution of the platform’s services. “Khula has very attractive fundamentals, a sizable addressable market, app development...
Founders Factory Africa, an investment firm based in Johannesburg, South Africa, has announced a new partnership. According to TechCrunch, the investment firm is teaming up with the Small Foundation to invest in 18 agritech startups. Small Foundation, which is based in Dublin, Ireland, is a not-for-profit organization that focuses on the rural and agriculture sector in sub-Saharan Africa. The partnership involves the Small Foundation making a donation to the Founders Factory Africa, though how much money has actually changed hands is undisclosed, as of this writing. “The partnership stands to make a significant impact across the continent by supporting agritech startups who can innovate and improve the delivery of a range of services to smallholder farmers and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the agricultural sector,” the investment firm said in a statement provided to TechCrunch. Founders Factory Africa is the investment arm of the Founders Factory organization that has...
Microsoft has had its eyes on Africa for quite some time now. The company launched its first offices in the continent more than 30 years ago, and now it is introducing two development centers in Kenya and Nigeria. Microsoft’s $100 million Africa Development Centres (ADC) will be housed in Nairobi, Kenya and Lagos, Nigeria. The centers will focus on engineering local and global impact solutions through AI, machine learning, and mixed reality innovation. The ADC comes a year after Microsoft opened data centers in South Africa, promoting business innovation in the cloud. Executive sponsor of the ADC and executive vice president at Microsoft, Phil Spencer, said that the center will be unlike any of Microsoft’s existing investments in Africa. “It will help us better listen to our customers, develop locally and scale for global impact,” Spencer said in a statement. “Beyond that, it’s an opportunity to engage further with partners, academia, governments and developers – driving impact in...