Twiga Foods raises Ksh.3.1 billion with boost from Goldman Sachs

Twiga Foods, a Kenyan food distribution start-up, has raised $30 million (Ksh 3.1 billion) in debt and equity through a fundraising led by Goldman Sachs.

According to Reuters, Twiga is among a host of African start-ups that use information technology in a highly fragmented and informal retail market.

The company uses an online platform to link food producers with retailers.

Twiga uses its fleet of vehicles to deliver fruits and vegetables to retailers within 18 hours of receiving an order on the platform.

Farmers are paid within 48 hours using mobile platforms such as M-Pesa.

The Ksh. 3.1 trillion was reportedly partly raised from existing investors such as the International Finance Corporation, Tl-com Capital and Creadev.

The company said on Monday that the funds will be used in upgrading the technology behind the Twiga platform and to establish a new distribution center.

“This allows us to get the company to the next level of growth, we are aggregating the demand of those informal retailers, allowing the farming ecosystem to start having an addressable market,” co-founder and CEO Peter Njonjo said.

The new distribution center is expected to have cold rooms, conveyors and other sorting infrastructure.

The company plans to expand into other Kenyan towns by the middle of next year before moving into other African cities.