Kenyan startup Keep IT Cool, which has developed an innovative approach to sustainable refrigeration solutions that is revolutionising food preservation, has secured funding from global impact investor Acumen to boost its pan-African ambitions.
Founded by Francis Nderitu and Abigail Gachigi in 2021, Keep IT Cool links supply and demand in the fish and chicken value chains, enabled by a range of cooling solutions and a B2B app that connects them directly with customers.
Its app “Markiti” allows a network of shops, outlets, and restaurants to order fish and chicken straight from the source so that farmers and fisherfolk can gauge demand in real time. A winner of the 2024 Earthshot Prize, Keep IT Cool is active in Kenya and Tanzania, but is now set for further expansion after securing funding from global impact investor Adumen.
“Our collaboration with Acumen centres on our mutual commitment to uplifting underserved African communities,” said Nderitu, Keep IT Cool’s co-founder and managing director. “We strive to empower these communities by boosting their productivity, improving market access, and minimising waste, ultimately helping to increase their incomes.”
Keep IT Cool has increased the incomes of 3,600 fisherfolk by more than 15 per cent and has virtually eliminated post-harvest loss within its network. It has built a network that comprises 40 supermarkets and more than 2,000 small businesses.
Having already expanded to Tanzania, the startup is building a solar-powered cold chain facility that will increase its current capacity by a factor of seven, allowing it to expand into fruits and vegetables and effectively serve over 100,000 fisherfolk and farmers. The Acumen funding will boost its ambitions of scaling across Africa.
This is one of Acumen’s investments under its Forcibly Displaced People (FDP) Lens Investing programme in East Africa, which aims to increase access to capital and technical assistance for small and medium sized enterprises operating in displacement affected communities that enable forcibly displaced people and their hosts to build sustainable livelihoods. It is supported by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the IKEA Foundation.
“In East Africa, post-harvest losses due to lack of adequate cold storage present a critical barrier to food security and economic growth,” said Chris Maranga, who leads Acumen’s work in East Africa. “Keep IT Cool’s solar-powered cold storage technology not only addresses this issue but does so sustainably, empowering fisherfolks and smallholder poultry farmers in some of Kenya’s most marginalized communities. This alignment with our goal to build long-term resilience in local markets made this an easy choice for us.”
