FarmWorks raised $4.1M and turned its farms into training centres to scale out-growers

Kenyan agtech supplying farm inputs, pest control, equipment on loan and training, and buying farmers' produce for export or local sale

Reaching many more farmers through contract out-growers, vertically integrated from inputs to market, beats farming at scale itself

$4.1M pre-Series A, bringing total equity raised to $5.6M

CEO Yi Li, formerly a management consultant for McKinsey in Kenya, co-founded FarmWorks in 2020 with Peter Muthee, who has nearly three decades in agriculture. Li argues farmers' main problem in Kenya is low yield from poor farming practices and soil degradation.

FarmWorks first grew crops on its own farms. Li said running a big farm carries a lot of operating expense and that the same effort could cover many more farmers, so this year it made a strategic decision to scale its out-grower scheme, which was picking up faster, and use its farms as training centres. The scheme brings together more than 2,000 smallholders in two central counties, with 16 collection centres.

Operating large farms carries heavy operational expenditure

The same effort can cover many more farmers through out-growers

Low yields from poor farming practices and soil degradation are the main farmer problem, per Li

Higher-value crops with arranged markets raise farmers' incomes

FarmWorks gave up farming at scale itself to cover more farmers, trading asset-heavy production for a supply network.

As of 2023-07-26 FarmWorks had 2,000+ out-growers, 16 collection centres, about 400 tons of produce sold monthly and $5.6M total equity raised. Figures are company-reported.