Ghana’s Oyster Agribusiness secures $2 million to expand operations 

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October 28, 2024
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2 min read
Oyster
  • Oyster Agribusiness, a Ghanaian agri-tech company focused on climate-smart agriculture, has raised $2 million in funding to expand its operations. 
  • Pangea Africa Limited, a business development service provider, led the round, with support from Root Capital, RDF Ghana, and Sahel Capital's Social Enterprise Fund for Agriculture in Africa (SEFAA FUND). 
  • The funding will enable Oyster Agribusiness to expand its operations, reach more farmers, and enhance its climate-smart agricultural initiatives, further strengthening the resilience of Ghana’s agricultural sector in the face of climate challenges

Founded in 2018, Oyster Agribusiness empowers smallholder farmers by providing sustainable inputs, enhanced agronomic practices, and a reliable market for their produce. It uses tech to power its input distributions and yield, utilising seeders for planting and drones for spraying.

Over the last five years, the agritech company has reportedly paid over GH¢60 million ($3.8 million) to smallholder farmers, positively impacted the lives of 4,500 smallholder farmers, cultivated over 20,000 acres of farmland and supplied over 25,000 tons of agricultural produce to markets locally and internationally. 

Edmond Kombat, CEO of the company said, “This investment is a testament to the impact we’ve made with small­holder farmers and the tremen­dous potential we see in scaling our operations. Together, we are working toward a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient agricultural ecosystem in Ghana.”

In August 2023, the company raised $310,000 in grant and debt funding to propel its mission of sustainable agriculture, gender inclusion, and talent management. 

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The Ghanaian Agriculture market size is estimated at  $3.40 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $3.87 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 2.65% during the forecast period (2024-2029). 

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Agriculture is critical to the country's economy, and the operations of agritech companies such as Oyster help to improve the sector. 

Last year, Ishak Shaibu, vice principal of Kwadaso Agric College in the southern Ashanti region, emphasised that integrating agricultural skills with IT training could attract more young people to the sector. He observed that, while agriculture is the backbone of the country's economy, there is a declining interest among young people in pursuing farming careers.

Per Statista, in 2023, the cumulative funding of agricultural technology startups in Africa reached over $864.2 million.  

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