By Gerelyn Terzo, Global AgInvesting Media
Consumer brand PepsiCo is the latest corporate giant to make a splash in the ag industry. Through its Kgodiso Development Fund, the PepsiCo Foundation has backed an online marketplace by Khula to support smart farming for South Africa’s growers. The funds, which come alongside a loan from Absa Group, are meant to help farmers sell products while sourcing logistics, technical expertise and financing through an online platform, according to a report in Bloomberg. In addition to PepsiCo, Khula welcomed back is existing backer lineup from previous funding rounds to its Series A program, including the company’s co-founders and South African specialty-chemicals company AECI.
Khula’s Trader App, as it’s known, gives farmers access to thousands of products along with smart input advice, instant quotes and speedy delivery, per Khula. It already boasts 20,000 users, including commercial farmers, and according to CEO Karidas Tshintsholo cited by Bloomberg the company plans to raise $10.7 million in funding by year-end 2025. Khula is well on its way thanks to a capital injection in a round spearheaded by E Squared Investments. According to Tshintsholo, PepsiCo is the “biggest buyer” on the trading platform, which allows pre-approved farmers to sell to grocery stores and other buyers.
Tshintsholo told Bloomberg about Khula’s expansion plans, saying, “As part of the series A funding, we will scale the South African operations and look to set up pilots in East Africa, and potentially Latin America.” The company’s valuation has grown by 10 times since 2023 when it raised a seed round.
Nearly two-thirds of Africa’s booming population works in the ag industry. While Africa comprises much of the Earth’s uncultivated arable land, the continent still relies on imports to feed much of its growing population, per the African Development Bank. This is where investors come in, bringing the capital and knowledge necessary to fill the void left by a lack of ag industry infrastructure.
Khula is doing its part by lining up buyers who are willing to purchase produce from smallholder farmers over the next few seasons through off-take agreements. The company also harnesses AI technology in its software models to help farmers with issues like spotting crop diseases.
Tshintsholo explained the game-changing technology, saying, “A farmer can also 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.”
Founded by PepsiCo, the Kgodiso Development Fund invests across the ag industry value chain through partnerships like the one with local lender Absa Group in sustainable grain production across South Africa’s food system.
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