ai/”>Believe, a Kenya-based climate tech startup closing the environmental data gap in Africa, has raised $4 million in seed funding in a round led by Salesforce Ventures and Female Founders Fund. Climate tech VC Satgana also participated along with other investors including Pale Blue Dot and Superorganism, who had previously backed the startup in its $2 million pre-seed round earlier this year.
Amini primarily extracts data from satellites and integrates it with other data sets, including sensors, research and ground truthing to, for example, provide information on biodiversity, soil or crop health, or to track progress and (regenerative) agricultural practices such as the use of water or fertilizers. . The startup says its platform enables the creation of real-time monitoring tools and machine learning models to support insights into various actions, including flood detection.
Kate Kallotfounder and CEO of Amini, says the data aggregation platform leverages artificial intelligence and space technologies to make environmental data about Africa easily accessible, to facilitate decision-making and transparency in supply chains.
“What we are building will make brands more responsible and do the right thing for people, the environment and the planet. “It will also help them measure progress against what they say they are doing or will do, but also in a way that shows the world that they are truly sustainable brands… and they can prove it because they have the data to do it,” Kallot said. TechnologyCrunch.
Its initial clients include companies in the agricultural and insurance sectors, including Aon. Amini also has its eyes on food and beverage companies and consumer packaged goods producers that “aim to sustainably transform their supply chains,” while doubling down on enabling multinationals to transform their chain. of supply in regenerative. This is due to new regulations in “the United States and Europe that force corporations to disclose climate risks in their supply chains.”
Kallot says the fact that Amini is at the forefront of improving transparency, data access and greater economic inclusion for farmers is a “unique opportunity to initiate positive feedback loops that will transform global food systems.” .
“We want to empower our people. We want to help all these farming populations take our people from surviving to thriving. Our thesis is that you can only do that if you have access to the data, because if you have access to the data, there is transparency and if you have transparency, then you have trust. And when you have confidence, people invest more,” said Kallot, who previously held technology positions at several companies, including Nvidia and Intel.
“It’s exactly why we’re doing this. We are trying to empower people and change the narrative when it comes to Africa. But also recalibrate the value chain a little bit, because if you look at the cocoa value chain, for example, the people who make the most money will probably be the ones who sell the finished product. The people who earn the least money are the ones who produce the goods. How can that chain be rebalanced and innovated and bring value into the hands of farmers and people on the continent? Kallot said.
Amini, which can provide up to 20 years of historical data, has unlimited use cases and Kallot is interested in turning it into a platform that can be used to build other solutions for the continent.
“Amini’s great aspiration is to be a pure platform game. We are not going to solve the problems of the entire continent and that is why we are focusing on making sure we have good environmental data for Africa. And then give thousands of developers and people tools to help them create even more innovative solutions for their communities,” he said.
Commenting on the deal, Claudine Emeott, Vice President of Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund, which has invested in a handful of companies in Africa including Flutterwave, Andela and Angaza, said: “We are delighted to support Amini, a pioneering company at the forefront of Innovation in artificial intelligence and Climate technology. Amini.ai‘s cutting-edge technology is poised to redefine industries and drive transformative change. With a visionary team and a commitment to push the boundaries of climate ai, we are confident it is prepared for exceptional growth.”
