ColdHubs Wins FCMB Agritech EPIC Pitch 2020

ColdHubs has emerged the winner of the FCMB Agritech EPIC Pitch 2020.

ColdHubs is a Nigerian startup aimed at helping farmers extend the shelf life of their produce by providing “plug-and-play” cold rooms. The cold rooms are 100% solar-powered and can be used by small-time farmers, retailers and wholesalers to preserve their perishable foods. Their innovation promises to extend the shelf life of the perishable goods to as long as 21 days.

Now in its 3rd year, the Agritech EPIC Pitch, which is organized by Passion Incubator and FCMB, is designed to help accelerate the growth of Agritech Startups in Nigeria, and eventually in Africa.

The project focuses on investing in startups that improve the agricultural value chain within the sub-Saharan region in the area of Agricultural Finance; Agricultural Marketing; Processing; Storage and Supply Chain.

With more than 2000 applicants from 16 different countries, ColdHubs Limited which uses 100% solar-powered walk-in cold room to increase the shelf lives of fresh fruits and vegetables from two to more than twenty days, won the grand prize of N1,000,000 and as well as access to workspace and networks for innovation and collaboration through Hub One.

FCMB’s Agric Desk selected 40 startups for the next stage, and then 10 — ColdHubs, Pricepally, Beat Drone, Solaristique Nigeria, Ecotutu, eVet Africa, Farmz2U, Tradebuza, AgroHive and Farmspeak Technology — for the semifinals.

For two days, the semi-finalists pitched (5 on each day) to a different set of judges for a chance to make it to the final. The judges eventually selected six startups, instead of five, for the final. In no particular order, they are Beat Drone, ColdHubs, Farmz2U, Tradebuza, AgroHive and Farmspeak Technology.

Reacting to the win, ColdHubs Limited released a statement saying, “We are happy to announce that we emerged winners of the FCMB Agritech EPIC Pitch 2020. We want to sincerely thank Passion Incubator and FCMB for setting this up and we look forward to a great partnership through this platform”

Meanwhile, AgroHive was named runner-up of the FCMB Agritech EPIC Pitch 2020 and gets N500,000.

The agritech startup focused on helping farmers connect with skilled agricultural staff. It’s positioned as Africa’s first HR startup; and already helps over 1000 agribusinesses find the talent they need to meet their objectives.