The digital solution was set up to facilitate the supply of goods to retailers.

Freshbag, a Cameroonian startup, has developed an agritech solution that serves as a bridge between producers or agricultural cooperatives and small retailers. The startup, founded by Brice Ludovic Bindzi Mvogo, received an undisclosed amount of funding in 2020 from GreenTec Capital, an investment fund launched in Germany in 2015 by Cameroonian-born Frenchman Eric Yong to support startups and SMEs. 

Bindzi Mvogo expressed his gratitude for GreenTec Capital’s support, stating, “Thanks to Greentec, we now have a real opportunity to move into growth mode, scale our operations, and ultimately create a greater impact for the millions of street vendors across Africa. A dream now closer to becoming a reality.”

The solution does not require a mobile application. Interested parties can directly register on the startup’s web platform as sellers to join Freshbag’s network of distributors, or as producers to supply fresh produce. Following registration, the startup conducts site visits for the usual checks and to sign a partnership agreement with the user.

In September 2020, Bindzi Mvogo acknowledged the daily challenges faced by the startup stating, “The main risks are linked to the people we serve. Informal street vendors - because they live in constant uncertainty - are often unreliable and reluctant to commit to formal contracts. Our loyalty and reward programs are gradually helping to solve this problem, but we still have a long way to go to change attitudes and behavior.”

Freshbag currently boasts around 1,600 producers and 700 sellers but it plans to expand beyond Cameroon to other countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Adoni Conrad Quenum