Koa secures financing as it looks at up-scaling

December 7, 2023

Swiss-Ghanian start-up Koa reported successfully raising US$15 million in equity in a Series B sound to finance its growth. The closing comes a few months after the inauguration of its new cocoa fruit facility in Ghana and allows the company to finance its ongoing scale-up while expanding the cocoa fruit upcyling.

Among new investors in the business is the Regenerative Growth Fund and the Swiss bank Mirabaud, which looks to invest in nature-tech solutions to tackle today’s challenges around nature loss and climate change. The round is completed by contributions from other new investors and the support of Koa’s existing shareholders, including Haltra.

“We are proud to have closed our Series B round in this challenging market environment for start-up 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,” said Fabien Nizard, Head of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations at Koa Switzerland.

First founded in 2017, the start-up is addressing issues in the cocoa industry through upcycling the cocoa fruit, which historically has been discarded, creating a new value chain around the cocoa pulp.

Working closely with cocoa smallholders in Ghana, Koa reduces on-farm food waste and generates additional farmer income while bringing unique ingredients to the food and beverage industry.

“We are happy to support Koa’s development, in line with the LDN Fund’s ambition, to support the development of a sustainable and fair economy in emerging countries where investment needs are huge and the economic potential attractive. Koa definitely contributes to transforming the cocoa value chain to reduce food waste and provide local producers with additional income,” commented Gautier Queru, Managing Director of Natural Capital at Mirova.

The conclusion of the funding comes at a critical time for Koa as it recently inaugurated its new factory in Akim Achiase in the Eastern Region of Ghana. With the new facility, Koa is set to increase its production output tenfold while cooperating with a further 10,000 cocoa farmers.

New business expansions enable the company to extend the cocoa fruit upcycling and intensify regenerative agriculture practices to combat deteriorating soil fertility and the high carbon footprint associated with traditional cocoa farming in West Africa. By making regenerative agriculture a cornerstore of its expansion, it aims to improve the resilience of cocoa farms while reducing the carbon footprint of cocoa production.

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