Kenyan startup VunaPay is an agri-fintech company that addresses the issue of delayed payments for smallholder farmers by providing instant payout solutions.
Founded in 2023 by Gatwiri Njogu-Mokaya (CEO), Koya Matsuno (COO), and Ian Wambai (CTO), VunaPay partners with agricultural cooperatives to facilitate automated payment processing, record management, and transparent financial transactions.
It also offers cooperative management tools, including inventory tracking and real-time farmer data management, ensuring efficiency and trust in the agricultural value chain.
Matsuno said the startup had identified that smallholder farmers face significant cash flow challenges due to delayed payments from cooperatives.
“This often forces them to sell produce to middlemen at reduced prices or rely on high-interest predatory loans. VunaPay’s instant payout system addresses this gap,” he said.
“Competition includes informal middlemen and predatory lending apps, but VunaPay distinguishes itself by integrating technology with cooperatives to ensure fair and timely payments.”
VunaPay is funded by VCs such as 54 Collective and Lifetime Ventures, and has also received some grant funding from Heifer International and MIT Solve. It has onboarded 30 cooperatives in three value chains, registered over 20,000 farmers on its platform, and been selected for various accelerator programmes – Antler, MIT Solve, and Safaricom Spark.
“The company has onboarded over 20,000 farmers with 100,000 on waitlist across Kenya and is scaling rapidly. Farmers and cooperatives have shown strong interest due to the transparency and efficiency of the platform. Demand continues to grow, with thousands more expressing interest. VunaPay has also facilitated approximately KES70 million (US$550,000) in payment so far,” said Matsuno.
VunaPay so far only operates in Kenya, focusing primarily on coffee, maize, and dairy cooperatives. It plans to expand into other agricultural value chains, such as tea, and aims to increase its geographical reach within Kenya and eventually to other countries in Africa.
