YoLa Fresh founders on how a more efficient food system can reduce emissions and water consumption in Africa.

[Disclosure: AgFunderNews’ parent company is AgFunder.] 

In Africa, attention towards climate tech has been growing, with climate-related companies in the year to date raising 40% of all funding in the upstream supply chain. Although data for 2024 are not final yet, that would mark a 19% improvement over 2023, when climate tech accounted for only 21% of funding in the continent, as shown by the data in AgFunder’s published Africa AgriFoodTech Investment Report 2024.

Moroccan startup Yola Fresh is one climate tech company that raised funding in 2024, with a $7 million seed round on May 30 2024, led by Al Mada Ventures, with participation from Algebra Ventures, E3 Capital, Janngo Capital, and Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO. The funding came after the company had already secured $2 million in March of the previous year with another seed-stage deal.

In an interview with AgFunder News, co-founders and co-CEOs Larbi Alaoui Belghiti and Youssef Mamou explain: “YoLa Fresh is addressing key challenges like food waste, inefficiencies in fresh produce distribution, and limited market access for smallholder farmers. Our technology-driven logistics platform enables farmers to deliver produce faster, reduce waste, and improve their livelihoods.”

YoLa Fresh was founded in 2023 in Casablanca, Morocco, with a  mission to streamline the fresh produce supply chain in Africa by leveraging technology and data to disrupt traditional distribution models. According to Belghiti and Mamou: “The business was inspired by the need to create a more efficient and sustainable food system, one where smallholder farmers play a central role in reducing carbon emissions and water usage while accessing better markets.” 

YoLa Fresh operates inside the upstream supply chain and belongs to the AgFunder agrifoodtech category Ag Marketplaces & Fintech, which in 2024 so far,* has taken a 41% share of funding in Africa across all categories, securing the top spot with $65 million across 17 deals. Farm Robotics, Mechanization & Other Farm Equipment has taken a 17.5% share with $28 million, thanks to two large deals, while Farm Management Software, Sensing and IoT gathered $1.5 million (1%) across 2 deals.

In the chart below, AgFunder Categories in the African upstream supply chain:

Asked about how they would describe the African agrifoodtech ecosystem today and how it has changed in recent years with regards to the opportunities available, the YoLa Fresh team commented: “While in 2022 investor interest surged, 2023 has brought funding slowdowns due to macroeconomic conditions. However, there remains significant backing for innovations that not only tackle food security but also focus on reducing food waste, improving water use efficiency, and lowering carbon emissions.”

YoLa Fresh is one of many African startups developing new solutions to support smallholder farmers while mitigating climate impact. In 2024, the climate-tech sector in Africa has already secured 40% of upstream funding; startups have raised $45 million across 13 deals compared to $67 million raised by non-climate deals. That was a clear improvement over the previous year. Climate-tech-related startups secured 21% of upstream funding in 2023, with $31 million of capital raised across 27 deals, versus $114 million raised across 31 deals by non-climate-tech-related companies.

Asked how they are planning to contribute to addressing climate-tech challenges in Africa, YoLa Fresh co-founders answered: “Over the next five years, YoLa Fresh will scale across African markets, expanding our network of smallholder farmers and helping them increase their incomes through fair market access. Our focus on reducing food waste, cutting down water use, and minimizing carbon emissions will be key in building a more sustainable supply chain. We aim to become a leader in fresh produce distribution across North Africa, driving both farmer prosperity and environmental sustainability.”

In 2024* so far, Morocco attracted only two deals, although quite sizable and jointly worth $13 million; with 8.3% of the $157 million invested in the continent in the year, the country reached 4th place in terms of total funding, after Kenya, Egypt and Nigeria.

In the decade from 2014 to 2023 Morocco attracted $28 million, or 1.24% of all agrifoodtech investment in the continent during the period, with 31 deals that placed it in eigth position. The category that dominated the decade in the country was In-store Retail & Restaurant Tech, with 18 out of 31 deals (58%) and $18.5 out of $28 million (66%). To the category belongs the other deal of 2024, Inyad, a startup developing a mobile app to help small and medium-sized businesses run and grow their operations. The company, founded in 2018,  raised $6 million in June 2024 with a series A round backed among others by Partech Ventures.

*Cut-off date for the AFN Africa Agrifoodtech Investment Report report data was August 16, 2024 

To read the full interview and to getter a better perspective on Africa’s evolving agrifoodtech ecosystem, download our Africa Agrifoodtech Investment Report 2024.

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