The Swiss-Ghanaian startup has closed a series B round of $15 million to finance its growth. This comes on the back of the startup’s recent inauguration of the largest cocoa fruit factory in Africa. The equity financing enables Koa to scale its operations, develop new cocoa fruit products, and grow its marketing and distribution activities.
The global assets manager Mirova’s Land Degradation Neutrality Fund led the round with a US$ 9 million investment. New investors participating in the round include Regenerative Growth Fund 1, a new fund managed by the venture capital team at Zebra Impact and the Swiss bank Mirabaud. Other new investors and Koa’s existing shareholders, including Haltra, which led Koa’s Series A equity round in 2021, also participated in the round.
Founded in 2017 by Benjamin Kuschnik and Anian Schreiber, Koa is the first company in West Africa to have unlocked a new value chain around the discarded cocoa pulp. Working closely with cocoa smallholders, Koa reduces on-farm food waste around the cocoa fruit and increases cocoa farmers’ income while at the same time bringing unique new ingredients to the gastronomy and food and beverage industry for applications ranging from chocolate, confectionery, ice cream to drinks in Ghana and abroad.
With the company’s new factory, Koa aims to increase its production output tenfold while cooperating with an additional 10,000 cocoa farmers. New business expansions allow the company to extend the cocoa fruit upcycling and intensify regenerative agriculture practices – a necessity in light of deteriorating soil fertility and the high carbon footprint associated with traditional cocoa farming in West Africa. By making regenerative agriculture a cornerstone of Koa’s strategic expansion, the startup aims to improve the resilience of cocoa farms while reducing the carbon footprint of cocoa.
Commenting on the transaction, Fabien Nizard, the company’s Head of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations, mentioned, “We are proud to have closed our Series B round in this challenging market environment for startup funding while at the same time having found once more like-minded investors that are fully aligned with our mission and ambition to expand and create more impact around the cocoa fruit.”
