Indigenous firm secures seed financing to reform fresh food supply chain in Africa

An indigenous firm, Easyshop Easycook, a Nigeria-based online fresh food processor and grocer targeting working professionals and SMEs, says it has secured a multimillion naira seed financing led by EchoVC Pan-Africa Fund.
The company notes in a statement that it will put the funds towards optimising its online platform and existing farm-to-last-mile supply chain.
The company offers a convenient grocery shopping experience by providing a multi-platform technology solution to suit both customers and partners by delivering fresh food sourced from farms, non-perishables, office supplies and household items to homes, offices, schools, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, etc, all over Lagos.
Food items can be easily prepped and customised to suit customer needs – some popular options include: grating, cutting, peeling, and grinding, among others.
“Our vision is to optimise the fresh food supply chain by empowering the various participants and delivering repeatable value. Despite significant demand on the customer end, we realised that friction was causing massive amounts of waste and fraud in our food supply.
“And it is incredibly important to us that we offer a streamlined pipeline to local farming communities while providing them the opportunity to generate greater income by optimising and increasing the supply of quality food ingredients to business and retail customers,” Saudat Salami, founder/CEO, says in the statement.
Also speaking, EchoVC’s Olaide Olusoji-Oke, says: “We are incredibly excited to back Saudat and her team. We have been tracking her progress over the last few years and have been consistently impressed by her ability to build trust across the entire supply chain.
“Her understanding of the business is unrivalled (she is been doing this for over a decade) and her unique insights into behaviours in the offline market exhibited by farmers, traders and consumers are invaluable. We believe she represents the type of elite entrepreneur we love to support.”
Also, EchoVC’s Fisayo Durojaye, notes, “We are thrilled by the broad impact of Easyshop Easycook on families, businesses, farmers and food safety standards across Nigeria, and very pleased to welcome Saudat and the Easyshop Easycook team to the EchoVC portfolio.”

 
DANIEL OBI