Two former chief executive officers of two of the world's largest companies have invested a combined Ksh3.5 billion in SunCulture, a start-up headquartered in Kenya.
Reports indicate that Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt joined other investors in a funding round for the company which specialises in helping farmers across Africa.
Hastings noted that he was drawn to invest by SunCulture's mission of helping farmers grow more food.
“SunCulture helps farmers grow more food, which is exactly the kind of business that prospers," he stated.
The company, which specialises in solar irrigation, provides small-scale farmers with solar-powered water pumps at a subsidised price.
The pumps are known for using minimal power going as low as just 310 watts and the price is subsidised with carbon credits.
The funds are expected to help the company install 274,000 systems in Kenya alone after raising Ksh8.5 billion in the series B funding.
Other companies that invested in SunCulture include InfraCo Africa Limited and Acumen Fund Inc.
According to reports, the new irrigation systems are more reliable in supplying small-scale farms with water compared to reliance on rain or diesel and petrol pumps whose input is on the higher side.
So far, the company has sold 47,000 units to farmers. The pumps can be mounted on small buildings or shacks.
SunCulture seeks to boost food production across Africa where it estimates that only 4 per cent of the 700 million small-scale farmers have access to irrigation.
This is dangerous considering that the continent, especially the Eastern Africa region including Kenya, has suffered from dry conditions as a result of climate change.
In 2022, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia suffered the worst drought in four decades which left over 40 million people suffering from acute hunger.
The two former chief executives have a combined net worth of Ksh3.6 trillion (USD27.4 billion).
Schmidt joined Google in 2001 and served as its CEO from that time to 2011 when he transitioned to executive chairman and technical advisor.
Hastings, on the other hand, founded Netflix in 1997 and served as its CEO between 1998 and 2020. He later worked as a co-CEO between 2020 and 2023 and moved to the executive chairman position.
