Wefarm, the digital network for global small-scale agriculture, has raised $13 million in a Series A financing round led by Silicon Valley venture capital firm True Ventures.

This financing will help the startup further scale its network of 1.9 million farmers, and its newly created Marketplace, to connect farmers in Africa to the information, products and services they need to be more successful.

Investing alongside True Ventures were AgFunder and June Fund, among others. The company also received significant follow-on investment from LocalGlobe, ADV and Norrsken Foundation.

Founded in 2015, Wefarm is attempting to create a global eco-system for small-scale agriculture. The Marketplace allows farmers to access quality products and services, such as seeds, fertilisers and other non-agricultural items from trusted retailers. All products, services and retailers on the platform have been recommended by users and can even be purchased through SMS for those without internet access.

The funding announcement coincides with another notable growth milestone of reaching $1 million in total sales from the Wefarm Marketplace in the eight months since launch.

Chief executive and founder Kenny Ewan commented: “It’s about harnessing AI to champion human intelligence – our network of trust empowers farmers to find solutions to problems by knowledge sharing.

“In tandem, the marketplace will give them access to first-rate products that help to deliver better produce,” he added.

Jon Callaghan, co-founder of True Ventures, concluded: “The company is not only impact-driven, but the impressive growth of the Wefarm Marketplace demonstrates exciting commercial opportunities that will connect those farmers to more of what they need to the benefit of all, across the food supply chain.”

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