Where Are They Now?
AgriCool is a digital crowdfunding platform that enables individuals to empower smallholder farmers who are deprived of access to finance by conventional banks by investing in their agribusinesses. They infuse more financial inclusiveness by linking smallholder farmers with market access opportunities.
AgriCool graduated from our Season 5 Incubation Program in 2020 so we took the opportunity to catch up with Zamokuhle about his milestones since completing the Program, and his recent first prize win in the SAB Social Innovation Awards where he took home R1.3mil in support from the Foundation. The SAB Foundation focuses on providing funding for enterprises, in order to contribute to the economic and social empowerment of historically disadvantaged persons. This is done primarily by supporting entrepreneurship development and social innovation with a priority focus on providing opportunities within the small, medium, and micro-sized enterprises for women and youth, people in rural areas, as well as persons with disabilities.
Zamokuhle Thwala, the founder of AgriCool.
Winning the SAB Social Innovation Awards will have a huge impact on the founder and the growth of his business. This win means a lot to the AgriCool community. It will enable us to invest in logistics, developing technology to reach and empower more smallholder farmers and street vendors. Most importantly, grow our team and create more employment opportunities within the community.
WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING WITH AGRICOOL SINCE YOU COMPLETED THE INCUBATION PROGRAM?
The FSAT Labs incubation program has helped us acquire a lot of entrepreneurial skills that contributed immensely to our recent achievements.
COVID-19 is something no one saw coming and no one could have possibly planned for. The pandemic came with its fair share of challenges for the entire Agriculture sector, especially with the intense lockdown regulations. In order for AgriCool to survive, the team had to go back to the drawing table to readjust their strategy to ensure they would survive. Through their strong will, determination, and skills they have learned along the way AgriCool partnered with key strategic partners in the agricultural sector, such as Boxer Superstores, Save Hyper, Farm Fresh, and Spar in Pietermaritzburg.
AgriCool has been accepted to join prestigious incubation programs with Akro Accelerator and AlphaCode. In February, AgriCool also won the first prize in the SAB Social Innovation Awards
HOW HAS BEING PART OF AN INCUBATION PROGRAM EARLIER ON, HELPED YOU TO MAKE THE PROGRESS TOWARDS THIS RECOGNITION TODAY?
FSAT Labs was the first Incubation Program AgriCool had ever been a part of. At that point in time, we had very little knowledge of entrepreneurship and building a tech start-up.
The FSAT Labs team and its partners taught us the nitty-gritty of building a successful start-up. The program gave us the opportunity to pitch at the AfricArena Conference, the African biggest tech ecosystem accelerator in 2019.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU HAVE FOR STARTUPS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN INCUBATION AT FSAT LABS?
Firstly, congratulations to all the current startups for making it this far and for being part of the FSAT Labs Incubation Program. What you have is a lifetime opportunity. You have access to a great network with invaluable experience. My advice the fellow entrepreneurs would be, to make use of the opportunity as much as they can.
WHAT IS NEXT FOR AGRICOOL?
More impact!
AgriCool will be scaling to eThekwini and increasing our market share in the local market. We are calling on government organizations, retail, and food manufacturing companies to partner with us in changing the landscape of agriculture by making it cool and fashionable.
MORE FROM AGRICOOL
Connect with AgriCool on their website or follow their story on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
ARE YOU AN INVESTOR?
If you are an investor and would like exclusive information on progress made by any of our startups in our incubation program and part of our network, be sure to join our investor network.