SokoFresh, a Kenyan agritech firm focused on cutting post-harvest losses, has secured KSh 65 million ($500,000) in concessional debt financing as development institutions increasingly turn to blended finance to support fragile agricultural markets.
- •The company provides solar-powered cold storage and aggregation services for smallholder farmers, and will receive the four-year local currency loan from the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) under a broader food systems investment vehicle backed by Bayer Foundation.
- •SokoFresh will expand storage network across Kenya’s horticultural and staple crop value chains, with projections of reaching roughly 5,000 smallholder farmers annually.
- •The company positions its model around reducing spoilage in transit and extending market access for perishable produce, a persistent constraint in East Africa’s fragmented agricultural supply chains.
“Strengthening food systems and reducing post-harvest losses is critical to improving outcomes for smallholder farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa. This catalytic financing enables us to deliver inclusive market access and financial solutions that ensure smallholder farmers have access to reliable markets, prompt payments, and fair pricing,” said Denis Karema, CEO of SokoFresh.
Post-harvest losses in sub-Saharan Africa are structurally high due to limited cold-chain infrastructure, weak aggregation systems, and price volatility. According to the World Resources Institute (WRI), Kenya loses up to 40% of its harvests due to poor transit, poisoning during storage. The most affected crops are maize, potatoes, and tropical fruits such as mangoes, avocados, and bananas.
The UNCDF investment also reflects a broader shift in development finance toward catalytic lending rather than grant-based support. The structure uses concessional terms designed to absorb early-stage risk in markets where commercial lenders have been reluctant to extend credit at scale.
SokoFresh’s financing also ties repayment conditions to operational milestones including expanded farmer reach and efficiency targets in cold storage utilization. Such performance-linked structures are increasingly used in blended finance deals to align capital costs with impact delivery, though they also introduce execution risk for recipients operating in thin-margin agricultural environments.
The deal comes amid tightening global aid flows, pushing development agencies to experiment with instruments that can attract private capital into sectors traditionally dependent on donor funding.
