- Nile has secured $11.3 million in funding, with $5.1 million raised in a recent round led by Naspers Foundry.
- Founded in 2020, Nile operates a B2B digital marketplace connecting farmers directly with commercial buyers across Southern Africa, including South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Namibia.
- Since its inception, Nile has facilitated the trade of approximately 30 million kilograms of fruits and vegetables, streamlining the supply chain and reducing food waste.
- The platform offers features such as live pricing, quality verification, secure payments, and a predictive pricing algorithm to address volatility in the fresh produce market.
Cape Town-based agri-tech firm Nile has raised $11.3 million in a Series A funding round to further its mission of helping farmers across Africa trade and transact more efficiently through digital platforms.
Founded in 2020, Nile provides an online marketplace that connects farmers directly with buyers, streamlining the agricultural supply chain and removing costly intermediaries.
The platform enables farmers to list fresh produce, negotiate deals, manage logistics, and receive payments all through one centralised system.
The funding round was led by venture capital firm Norrsken22, with participation from existing investors such as the LocalGlobe, Base Capital, and new backers including Platform Investment Partners and Raba Partnership.
The investment will be used to enhance the platform’s capabilities, scale operations across southern and eastern Africa, and further develop its logistics and payment infrastructure.
Nile co-founder and CEO Pankaj Patel said the company was created to give farmers more control over their produce sales, ensuring fairer pricing and timely payments. “Agriculture is the backbone of Africa’s economy, but millions of farmers still lack access to efficient markets. Nile was built to close that gap,” he explained.
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Since its launch, Nile has facilitated the trade of over 30 million kilograms of produce and expanded its network to include thousands of farmers and buyers across the region.
The platform handles everything from price discovery to delivery scheduling, offering a digital alternative to traditional open-air markets.
As Nile grows, it aims to support more smallholder farmers, improve food supply consistency, and reduce post-harvest losses, a major issue in African agriculture.
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The startup’s expansion comes at a time when the continent is increasingly turning to technology to solve systemic challenges in food security and agricultural development