Kenyan startup Keep IT Cool, known for its innovative and sustainable refrigeration solutions that are transforming food preservation, has secured funding from global impact investor Acumen to support its pan-African expansion plans. Founded by Francis Nderitu and Abigail Gachigi in 2021, Keep IT Cool connects supply and demand in the fish and chicken value chains through a range of cooling solutions and a B2B app that links them directly with customers.
The app, named “Markiti,” enables a network of shops, outlets, and restaurants to order fish and chicken directly from the source, allowing farmers and fisherfolk to gauge demand in real time. A winner of the 2024 Earthshot Prize, Keep IT Cool operates in Kenya and Tanzania and is now poised for further growth following the funding from Acumen.
“Our collaboration with Acumen centers on our mutual commitment to uplifting underserved African communities,” said Nderitu, Keep IT Cool’s co-founder and managing director. “We strive to empower these communities by boosting their productivity, improving market access, and minimizing waste, ultimately helping to increase their incomes.”
Keep IT Cool has increased the incomes of 3,600 fisherfolk by more than 15 percent and has virtually eliminated post-harvest loss within its network. The startup has built a network that includes 40 supermarkets and over 2,000 small businesses.
Having already expanded to Tanzania, Keep IT Cool is now constructing a solar-powered cold chain facility that will increase its current capacity by a factor of seven. This new facility will enable the startup to expand into fruits and vegetables and effectively serve over 100,000 fisherfolk and farmers. The funding from Acumen will help realize its ambitions of scaling across Africa.
This investment is part of Acumen’s Forcibly Displaced People (FDP) Lens Investing program in East Africa, which aims to increase access to capital and technical assistance for small and medium-sized enterprises operating in displacement-affected communities. The program supports forcibly displaced people and their hosts in building sustainable livelihoods and is backed by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and the IKEA Foundation.
Chris Maranga, who leads Acumen’s work in East Africa commented;
In East Africa, post-harvest losses due to lack of adequate cold storage present a critical barrier to food security and economic growth. Keep IT Cool’s solar-powered cold storage technology not only addresses this issue but does so sustainably, empowering fisherfolk and smallholder poultry farmers in some of Kenya’s most marginalized communities. This alignment with our goal to build long-term resilience in local markets made this an easy choice for us.
