Grace Ashiru
InspiraFarms Cooling,a leading provider of cooling solutions based in Kenya, has recently secured a substantial $1.09 million (€1 million) investment. This funding will be instrumental in supporting the company’s off-grid energy cold storage projects across Africa. Notable investors in this round include the Foundation for Clean Energy and Energy Inclusion for Africa (CEI Africa), KawiSafi, and Factor<e>.
This latest investment follows closely on the heels of a $5.4 million (€5 million) funding secured from InfraCo Africa in 2023, aimed at piloting its innovative ‘Cooling-as-a-Service’ model and expanding its solutions in Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Ghana. Additionally, the company successfully concluded its series B round in 2020.
InspiraFarms Cooling, established in 2012, is committed to tackling food waste and empowering rural communities by offering agribusinesses pre-cooling and cold chain technology services. This helps to reduce costs and extend the shelf life of food products.
In Africa, only about 5% of fresh produce goes through the cold chain, resulting in a significant 30-50% loss. To address this issue, InspiraFarms provides temperature-controlled warehouses, packhouses, slaughterhouses, cold rooms, precoolers, freezers, and long-term potato storage solutions.
The company serves a wide range of clients, including food distributors, exporters, agribusinesses, and third-party logistics, with hundreds of its units operating in fifteen countries.
Julian Mitchell, the CEO of InspiraFarms, has emphasized the company’s ongoing commitment to designing, developing, installing, servicing, and financing energy-efficient cooling solutions.
CEI Africa’s investment in InspiraFarms Cooling signifies its first under the Foundation’s Crowdfunding window. Additionally, InfraCo Africa’s investment in the company in 2023 represents its initial foray into ‘first-mile’ cold storage, as stated by Omar Jabri, InfraCo Africa’s Head of Business Development.
In November 2023, InspiraFarms announced its negotiations to acquire Celtics Cooling’s African business, aiming to capture a significant share of the African market. The plan is to integrate the Celtic businesses into its existing infrastructure in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Kenya.
The company asserts that its products are compatible with renewable energy sources and some can operate entirely off the grid. Furthermore, the technology behind these products allows for up to 25% energy savings.
