The Nairobi-based venture studio ideates and builds startups tackling sticky challenges in Africa’s food and agriculture chain. It launched in 2021 during a frothy moment for venture capital; African agrifood startups nevertheless struggled to raise very early capital to get their businesses off the ground.
Pyramidia has since launched five businesses, seeded them with between $150,000 and $250,000. Its portfolio includes Womega, a fish supplier; precision crop spraying and drone company Acre Insights; and silk producer Savannah Seritech.
The venture builder clinched $1.8 million in investment capital from the Dutch Good Growth Fund and a group of angel investors, as well as $200,000 from DGGF in technical assistance.
The investment capital includes a $1.3 million convertible note from DGGF that was approved in March. DGGF is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and managed by Triple Jump. It invests in funds and other vehicles supporting small businesses in emerging markets.
Capital efficiency
Irrigation services provider Stable Foods, one of Pyramidia’s earliest ventures, has gone on to secure investments from Invest International, Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund and Mercy Corps Ventures in 2022. Spirulina producer Nasaru Naturals secured funding from the DOEN Foundation.
The venture studio aims to eventually spin out the companies it incubates.
Being laser-focused on agriculture and food means that Pyramidia can efficiently use its resources and “provides a more capital-efficient way to build innovative and scalable business models,” Pyramidia’s Ruth Bertens told ImpactAlpha. “We extended in-house funding longer than initially planned before taking ventures to market” to give them more runway in a difficult fundraising environment.
That approach ultimately helped strengthen their resilience and readiness for external investment, she said. “Investors value our model as a way to generate a high-quality pipeline for later-stage capital.”
