South African crowd-farming startup Livestock Wealth has raised ZAR10 million (US$550,000) in funding as it plans pan-African expansion.
Formed in 2015, Livestock Wealth helps clients invest in tangible, growing agricultural assets such as cattle-breeding, free-range oxen, organic garden tunnels and macadamia trees via its platform.
Through connecting its network of small-scale partner farmers to online investors, the business model allows farmers who cannot afford to scale their business to access capital, while offering the investor an opportunity to invest in these assets, which are not influenced by financial market trends.
The ZAR10 million (US$550,000) from the Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC), through the Khulisani Ventures investment vehicle, will be used to help the startup expand into international markets.
“Farming is one of the oldest pillars of generational wealth. We understand this at Livestock Wealth and created a platform to make investment in farming accessible to anyone, anywhere. MIC’s investment in our company will allow us to scale our technology offering and prepare for growth beyond South Africa,” said CEO Ntuthuko Shezi.
