When you think of agriculture, what comes to mind? A field of wheat or corn? Cows lining up to be milked? Production is one of the most visible aspects of the wider agricultural supply chain. But other, less obvious links are just as important; modern agriculture brings together a wide range of expertise, such as soil and water management, farmer training, warehousing, farmer/buyer platforms, processing, and cold chain logistics to maximise production and provide quality produce to businesses and consumers as efficiently as possible.
The broader supply chain is the focus of Goodwell’s new Growth Capital Fund (GCF), particularly the companies and entrepreneurs powering Africa’s green transformation. The GCF is the latest demonstration of our investment policy, which has always emphasised green transformation through funding for sustainable developments. In the agricultural sector we explicitly aim to reduce food waste and post-harvest losses, increase volumes and quality of production, improve farmer livelihoods, and ensure affordable food is accessible to local communities.
Agriculture as a vehicle for green transformation
Agriculture remains the main driver of the economy in many African countries, employing over half the continent and accounting for almost a quarter of national GDPs. The sector faces increasing pressure from climate change and biodiversity loss, twinned with burgeoning demand due to population growth. Africa’s agricultural system needs to evolve rapidly, inclusively, and sustainably to meet these needs. We can’t simply “produce more”; we need to get smarter about where, how, and what we produce, while reducing waste and better using our limited resources.
This is where survival meets opportunity: with the right support, Africa could feed the world and develop sustainably, inclusively, and justly. By investing in companies strengthening the overall food system, enhancing climate resilience, and reducing vulnerabilities and greenhouse gas emissions, Goodwell aims to play an active role in greening Africa’s growth. We want to expand our impact by going to the markets most vulnerable to climate change and supporting locally led solutions.
Promising innovations enabling a green transformation in Africa
Africa’s green transformation is already underway, and much of it is being led by local entrepreneurs with a deep understanding of the specific agricultural value chains in which they are working. Here are some examples of the innovations showing the most potential for enabling more sustainable agriculture across the continent:
Renewable energy and circular systems
The renewable energy revolution is at the core of all green transformation: it is clean, affordable, and infinite. Circular systems go hand-in-hand with renewable energies – a closed-loop of production, consumption, and reuse makes the most of our planet’s finite sources while saving money and eliminating waste. Making these concepts a daily reality is simply a matter of the right support.
We already see exciting examples within Goodwell’s portfolio. In Nigeria, Tomato Jos is recycling 99% of the water used in their tomato paste production process, and their tomato waste is repurposed into animal feed and fertiliser. The company is currently planning to couple this circular system with a 1.3 MW solar installation. Hinckley E-Waste Recycling repurposes lithium batteries from discarded solar kits into affordable, renewable energy systems which can power reliable refrigeration for small-scale traders. This circular solution enables Nigerian distributorFanMilk to reduce food waste and energy costs while avoiding GHG emissions. In Kenya, Origen Fresh is turning avocado waste from oil processing into fuel briquettes, and Organic Fields is turning waste from local markets into organic fertilisers.
AI, drones, and precision farming
At Goodwell, when we talk about AI, we don’t mean generative water-wasting stealing from creatives; we mean impactful, innovative TOOLS – uses for AI that make a positive difference for humans and the planet, democratising knowledge and processes in situationally appropriate ways. We’re increasingly interested in how it supports precision farming, for example: AI can aid farmers in optimising their use of inputs (like seeds, water, and fertiliser) and enhancing their productivity by analysing information on weather, soil health, moisture levels, and so on. It can also help predict market behavior, including demand and pricing, reducing food waste through improved buyer/sell alignment.
Drone Link, a Malawi-based participant in our partnership with IYBA WE4A, provides precision drone services to commercial farmers, cooperatives and agribusinesses, combining aerial crop and soil mapping, pest and disease detection, regenerative agriculture advice, and digital analytics through a proprietary web platform. CropSense is a Nigerian AI company optimising yields by providing data on pests, crop health, soil conditions and more. Rada 360 is a Tanzanian tech firm supporting farmers with climate adaptation in the form of hyper-local weather information, including early warnings for major events like drought or floods. Another smart example of AI use is Aerobotics, a South African agritech company using AI to analyse drone and smartphone imagery for fruit farmers to manage orchards, monitor crop health, forecast yields, and predict pricing.
Mobile marketplaces and traceability
Another innovation making a real impact on day-to-day sustainability is mobile marketplaces. These digital platforms allow farmers to conduct business anytime, anywhere, encouraging direct connection to buyers. This allows supply to more accurately match demand, reducing overproduction and/or food waste, and giving farmers more agency over their livelihoods. It also increases traceability and streamlines supply chains.
Some of our own portfolio companies are pioneering new these digital marketplace innovations. East Africa Foods connects farmers directly to market, cutting out middlemen and providing cold-chain logistics and warehouses. This reduces food waste and increases farmers’ incomes. Complete Farmer’s platform connects farmers directly to international markets, while their app and agent network supports education and productivity behind the scenes. Beyond our portfolio, in Kenya, iCow uses low-cost SMS tech to push relevant info to livestock farmers, connecting them to regional marketplaces and experts. And Agtrail, powered by Agrolinking, provides digital traceability to ensure standards and compliance, ease import/export processes, and support faster (organic) certifications.
Embedded finance
In our discussions with African entrepreneurs, one of the most frequently mentioned innovations has been embedded finance. Extremely impactful for those who are locked out of traditional means of accessing capital, the integration of services like payments, lending, and insurance at various points in the supply chain is a game changer for the green transformation. It can play a vital enabling role by giving farmers and other stakeholders the financial ability to access and employ sustainable improvements. Embedded finance is another area where AI is showing increasing value by providing alternative, faster ways to assess creditworthiness.
uMunthu portfolio company Good Nature Agro has embraced embedded financing to better support their network of smallholder farmers. While providing farmers with inputs on credit, they are helping farmers to build credit records to assist their eventual transition to traditional banking. Apollo Agriculture (based in Kenya) uses an embedded finance system to provide farmers with quick access to credit for quality inputs, backed by insurance to protect their investments. In Ghana, our portfolio company Complete Farmer is embracing this innovation too, offering a digital wallet that lets farmers save, make payments, and access credit. They also work with financial institutions to enable farmers to purchase inputs on credit. Farmerline uses alternative credit assessment system and flexible repayments to ensure farmers get the financing and quality inputs they need for success
From innovation to implementation
All these examples show that it’s high time to elevate green solutions and enable their deployment across the planet. At Goodwell, our role is to help nudge these ideas towards wider adoption, starting in our focus regions in Africa. Some are already proven and profitable in the agricultural sector, but only in specific markets or crops. There is an obvious need to expand and replicate these innovations, sharing learnings and building smallholder capacity as we go.
Any such efforts need to ensure systemic, interconnected, enabling actions towards a more sustainable future. The time for isolated improvement is long gone; the green transformation is all about the full value chain. Goodwell tries to model this through our locally led approach, taking care to implement development in a context-appropriate ways, while opening dialogues with multiple stakeholders throughout the entire agricultural value chain, considering everyone’s needs and possible benefits.
This is a space that impact investors are perfectly placed to move within; for better or worse, the green transformation hinges on access to adequate funding. Early and mid-stage African are critical contributors to green transformation, yet often face systemic barriers to financing that stand in the way of their growth. Recognising the diverse needs of these entrepreneurs, Goodwell’s GCF will deploy a range of non-dilutive financial instruments such as convertible loans, revenue-based financing, redeemable preference shares, loans with equity kickers, and subordinated loans. Every day, entrepreneurs have ideas that could change their community, their country, their continent. They need appropriate backing to make the green transformation a reality, and we owe it to our future to support them.
