Tanzanian cashew processor raises $1.3m funding
YYTZ, a Tanzanian cashew processor that works with smallholder farmers and women’s groups to build an inclusive value chain, recently announced that it closed its extended series seed funding totaling $1.3 million. CRI Foundation, Global Partnerships/Eleos Social Venture Fund, Segal Family Foundation and existing investors HRSV and FINCA Ventures participated in the round. In addition to the convertible notes raised in 2020 and 2021, YYTZ also raised a working capital facility from the Rabobank Foundation.
This capital accelerates YYTZ’s investment into packaging and storage infrastructure in Zanzibar, as well as the development of more product SKUs and onboarding of new regional and international customers.
YYTZ was founded in 2016 by Fahad Awadh and his father after they saw a large opportunity to increase the local processing capacity for cashews (90% of which had historically been exported from Tanzania raw in the shell at low prices) to ensure that more value reaches the farming communities where cashews are grown.
“Our vision is to process cashews in Tanzania through an inclusive value chain that allows greater value to reach farmers and their communities,” said Fahad, founder and chief cashew officer of YYTZ. “We are focused on developing value-added cashew products and exporting ready-to-eat cashews to regional, European and North American markets. With the disruption of traditional supply chains and rising shipping costs, it is now the best time for Africa to process its own cashews; shortening lead times while reducing the shipping cost and carbon footprint and creating more value at origin.”
In 2021, YYTZ sourced from over 1,037 farmers, providing smallholder farmers with consistent market access and higher prices (2x that of other aggregators). After procurement, it brings the cashews to Zanzibar to process them into a variety of retail-ready products, including roasted cashews and cashew butter, for the East African as well as international market under YYTZ’s consumer brand, More Than Cashews. More Than Cashews is now the fastest growing cashew brand in East Africa, being sold across 90 different outlets in Kenya, including Naivas and Chandarana, in addition to 70 in Tanzania and Zanzibar. The product is also available through Amazon in the UK and through a new partnership with Rutasoka to serve the Nordic market.
More than Cashews has also secured a listing with Whole Foods in Canada, where its products will be available later this year.
YYTZ is focused on innovation with cashew by-products and has started working with CashewMeetly in Sweden to produce a plant-based meat using the cashew apple, helping to provide additional income for farmers. YYTZ is introducing mechanisation at the community level through its community processing model that will help to increase value addition and access to markets for thousands of smallholder cashew farmers. YYTZ is also the first company to implement a blockchain traceability system for its cashews, each retail pack of its More than Cashews brand includes a QR code that can be scanned to see which farmer grew the cashews found in that pack.
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