Michelmores has advised AHL Venture Partners and DOB Equity on their equity investment in Kenyan company, Crop Nutrition Laboratory Services Limited (“Cropnuts”).
Cropnuts is a leading independent accredited agricultural laboratory and agronomy services company in East Africa. The company provides centralised laboratory testing (soil, water, plant and food safety), mobile soil testing platforms and agricultural advisory and feasibility services, to large, medium and smallholder farmers, as well as governments and agribusiness investors.
In Kenya, most smallholder farmers lack access to inputs and knowledge, as well as access to finance for buying inputs. By providing more accessible testing and advisory services, Cropnuts is poised to increase the productivity of SME and smallholder farmers, in line with their “grow more with less” value proposition.
The Michelmores team was led by Partner Joe Whitfield, supported by James Whistler and Harry Trick.
Rosanne Whalley, Partner at AHL Venture Partners, said:
“We’re delighted to have made this investment in Cropnuts. Being a home grown company with a 20-year track record in the market, we believe in their deep local and technical knowledge they have built up over the years. We see their diagnostic and advisory services, deployed through smart technology, as catalytic in improving food security and incomes for millions of smallholder farmers, as well as improving food safety standards.
We are grateful to the Michelmores team for all their support in getting this deal over the line.”
Brigit van Dijk – van de Reijt, CEO of DOB Equity, commented:
“DOB is keen to contribute to improved global food security by supporting innovative leaders in the agriculture sector. Cropnuts fits perfectly within our agriculture portfolio and is a game changer that may transform the sector by supporting farmers to boost yields and improve livelihoods. We’re glad to have worked with the Michelmores team on this deal.”
Joe Whitfield of Michelmores commented:
“Our Impact Investment team were delighted to work with AHL Venture Partners and DOB Equity on this exciting investment. It will enable Cropnuts to fund its laboratory expansion plans and agronomy technology platform, with an aspiration of reaching over 500,000 farmers by 2023, and thereby increasing crop yields and food security across Africa.”