InfraCo Africa backs 'cooling-as-a-service' venture
InfraCo Africa, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), has announced the signing of an agreement with Enterprise Project Ventures, committing €5 million to InspiraFarms Cooling.
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InfraCo Africa, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), has announced the signing of an agreement with Enterprise Project Ventures, committing €5 million to scale the company’s InspiraFarms Cooling offering across Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Ghana. The investment will enable InspiraFarms Cooling to pilot its ‘cooling-as-a-service’ model and will generate the data necessary to unlock future investment.
InfraCo Africa’s new head of business development, Omar Jabri said, “We are pleased to be making our first investment into ‘first-mile’ cold storage. Access to InspiraFarms Cooling’s energy-efficient packhouses will enable farmers to access vital pre-cooling and cold storage close to where their produce is grown.”
InspiraFarms Cooling has built its reputation in the market on direct sales and traditional financing agreements. Having recognised the challenges faced by smaller agribusinesses and crop aggregators in meeting the high up-front costs of cold storage ownership, InspiraFarms Cooling is piloting a new operating asset model. The new temperature-controlled packhouses will be owned by InspiraFarms Cooling with clients paying for ‘cooling-as-a-service’. Fees will be based on tonnes of throughput required, a model that is commonly used near ports, but is currently lacking on or close to farms.
InspiraFarms Cooling CEO Julian Mitchell said, “I am so pleased to welcome InfraCo Africa’s investment into InspiraFarms Cooling, as there is a complete alignment of mission. This investment symbolises more than financial support; it is a testament to our shared vision towards developing inclusive climate-smart infrastructure that helps with adaptation, minimising food loss, in an energy-efficient way. The investment and collaboration with InfraCo Africa will help build a financing product to bridge this gap, by making the investment in cold chain more affordable to improve access for agribusinesses across Africa. With InfraCo Africa’s backing, I am confident in our ability to install more cooling solutions, a critical part of the journey of Africa transitioning from being a net food importer.”
InfraCo Africa’s investment will finance a minimum of five InspiraFarms cooling facilities operating using the ‘cooling-as-a-service’ model.
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