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Digital Africa, a subsidiary of French development finance institution Proparco, has made its first investment in Ethiopia, backing AgTech company ChipChip.
Founded in 2023, ChipChip connects Ethiopian farms with buyers through a platform that uses data and artificial intelligence to make distribution more efficient. The company aims to help farmers earn more while households pay less for food.
“The investment allows us to strengthen our platform, deepen our data layer and expand our network of farmers and B2B buyers,” said Bruk Getahun, co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer, ChipChip.
ChipChip runs a social buying app for fresh farm produce. A user creates a group for a product and invites friends, family or other users by sharing the product link.
Users can also join groups that already exist. Once the group reaches the required number of members, the order goes through at a discounted price, and the produce is delivered to the buyer’s door.
The produce comes from local farmers and suppliers. People can also register as group leaders, who collect group orders and earn rewards. The app is available on iOS and Android. Digital Africa said the investment follows a gap it sees between farm and household.
“Between farm and household, too much value is lost and food costs more than it should. We believe the team has the skills and ground knowledge to make this model work at scale,” said Sokhna Mbaye, Investment Associate, Digital Africa.
ChipChip will use the funding to strengthen its platform, build up its data layer and grow its network of farmers and business buyers.
Digital Africa, a subsidiary of Proparco (AFD Group), was born out of French President Emmanuel Macron’s desire to rethink the relationship between Africa and its international partners.
It was formed to push the co-development approach, and in 2024, it pivoted to fully reposition itself as a dedicated pre-Seed and Seed investment fund.
In May, Digital Africa launched the DA Seed Fund (DASF), a pan-African closed-end vehicle targeting between €30 million and €50 million to back tech-enabled African startups caught between pre-seed capital and institutional rounds.
