Khula, a South African agritech startup, has raised $1.3 million in a seed round to expand operations throughout the country.
AECI, one of Africa’s largest agrochemical companies, and E Squared Investments led the round.
Karidas Tshintsholo, Matthew Piper, and Jackson Dyora founded Khula in 2016, and during the pilot program, the startup had over 3,000 farmers.
Khula intends to use its platform to connect farmers with suppliers, as well as to enable farmers to sell their products in larger quantities. Its marketplace platform connects investors with farmers, and their latest product, which connects local farmers to local and international suppliers and service providers.
Khalua CEO Karidas Tshintsholo stated that AECI is exactly the type of investor that the company was seeking at this early stage. “We didn’t want an investor at the table who was only interested in how we performed in a specific quarter; instead, we wanted a long-term partner who would execute with us.” Our long-term success was dependent on our partner’s excellent industry reputation and extensive distribution network. Our partner’s long-term success was dependent on our business model. And AECI fits the bill perfectly for us in that regard.”
According to Quintin Cross, Managing Director of AECI Plant Health, the company’s investment in Khula is part of the company’s strategy to reposition itself in the agricultural technology space.
Khula has signed up more than 3,000 farmers, as well as more than 100 suppliers, to its platform. This year, the company was accepted into the Google for Startups Accelerator Class 6, which will take place in the fall.
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