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The co-founder of Netflix, Wilmot Reed Hastings, alongside former chief executive of Alphabet, Eric Schmidt, through his foundation, took part in a funding round for an African solar irrigation startup in Kenya.
The startup said the two billionaires are among investors who have invested US$27 million in Nairobi-based SunCulture alongside others such as InfraCo Africa and Acumen Fund.
According to a report by Bloomberg on Wednesday, the company supplies small solar-powered water pumps, the cost of which is subsidised by the sale of carbon credits, to small-scale farmers, allowing them to replace diesel-powered pumps in some cases and boost yields in fields that weren’t previously irrigated.
SunCulture operates in Kenya, Uganda and Ivory Coast and has distribution agreements in Ethiopia, Zambia and Togo.
“SunCulture helps farmers grow more food, which is exactly the kind of business that prospers,” Hastings was quoted as saying, according to the irrigation company.
The startup estimates that, of the 700 million Africans living on small-holder farms, only 4% have access to irrigation, meaning that they have significantly lower yields and are vulnerable to dry weather.
