Vendease, a digital platform launched in 2020, aims to revolutionize food businesses across Africa by streamlining their operations, accessing financial services, and improving supply chain management. According to Tunde Kara, the co-founder and CEO, leveraging digital technologies such as remote sensing, real-time data exchange, and digital marketplaces, Vendease aims to address the specific challenges faced by the Nigerian and West African food industry.
The African food system currently faces a major obstacle in maximizing its potential due to inefficient food supply chains. Many food factories are operating below 50% of their capacity due to a scarcity of quality raw materials and capital for procurement. Kara emphasizes the need for efficient commodity flow in food processing factories. Vendease is actively contributing to the food supply in Nigeria and West Africa by providing resources to food processors and partnering with over 20 food processors including rice mills, oil mills, and animal feed mills. In the first half of 2023 alone, Vendease has supplied more than 20,000MT of paddy rice and approximately 10,000MT of maize and soybeans.
There is a direct impact on consumers as well, as low food supply and high production costs lead to a significant burden on their budgets. In Nigeria and West Africa, consumers spend up to 60% of their income on food, in stark contrast to the 10% spent by their counterparts in Europe and the US. Vendease is combatting these issues by automating supplies to hotels and restaurants. This automation significantly reduces procurement costs and has the potential to further drive down food prices.
Food security, water scarcity, and crop resilience are additional challenges faced in the region. Post-harvest losses, low agricultural productivity, poor infrastructure, and limited access to financial resources hinder food security. Digitization plays a vital role in overcoming these challenges by improving market access and reducing post-harvest losses. Digital platforms and marketplaces allow farmers to directly connect with buyers, eliminating the need for intermediaries, while enabling better storage and transportation systems to minimize losses and ensure more food reaches consumers.
Although digitalization alone cannot resolve water scarcity, it can contribute to addressing the challenge by facilitating the sharing of best water management practices among farmers. Similarly, for crop resilience, digitization provides farmers access to climate-smart agriculture techniques, weather forecasts, and pest and disease alerts. Armed with this information, farmers can make informed decisions regarding crop selection, planting and harvesting timings, and pest management to enhance crop resilience.
Vendease has already secured impressive funding of over $33 million. The company’s priorities lie in investing in talent, developing innovative products for the restaurant industry, and expanding its operations in the cities it serves. Additionally, Vendease’s inclusion as one of the seven African companies on the World Economic Forum’s list of 100 ‘technology pioneers’ in 2023 will enhance the African food-tech space as a whole.
Ultimately, Vendease’s recognition by the WEF serves as a catalyst for growth, collaboration, and innovation within the African food-tech sector. It raises the profile of the sector, attracts investment, fosters partnerships, and contributes to addressing food security, sustainable agriculture, and related challenges across the continent. As a pioneering food-tech company, Vendease is committed to reducing food waste, promoting product innovation, and driving positive change in the African food industry.
