Cold aggregation at farm level
SokoFresh is an award winning social enterprise that is eliminating post-harvest loss by providing first-mile cold storage and market linkage as-a-service.
Issue
Approximately 40% of fruits and vegetables, valued at 140 million USD, are lost every year in Kenya due to the significant volume and often informal nature of the trade processes involved in transporting produce from farms to cities.
This situation leads to longer distribution times, increased handling, and frequently inadequate storage, all of which contribute to a higher likelihood of food loss and waste during this stage of the value chain. As a result, final consumers face higher prices, while smallholder farmers find themselves trapped in a never-ending cycle of poverty.
It is worth noting that despite smallholder farmers producing more than 80% of the food, their earnings amount to only 1.4 USD per person per day.
Solution
SokoFresh addresses post-harvest losses in horticulture value chains by providing access to optimal cooling technologies and market access. Their unique business model offers first-mile, solar-powered, mobile cold storage and processing specifically for smallholder farmers.
They offer cold storage as a service, connecting farmers to the market and processing produce that is not suitable for export or retail. SokoFresh earns revenue through renting out storage space to farmers and off-takers, with a rental fee of USD 0.02/kg.
They also provide off-grid cold storage units to clients with their own smallholder farmer out-grower scheme. SokoFresh facilitates market linkage, ensuring direct access to better buyers, large retailers, and exporters. They guarantee markets for all produce stored in their cold storage units and deduct service fees only from sold produce.
2025 ambition
A scaling company with 190 cold storages throughout Kenya, operated by farmer agents as franchisee. 60% food loss reduction at farmgate + 30% income increase for farmer.
Partners
