As Africa continues to face critical challenges in food security, environmental sustainability, and rural livelihoods, young agripreneurs are stepping up with innovative solutions that address these issues head-on. The GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition showcases the most promising and impactful agribusinesses across the continent, and this year’s #Top12 Finalists from Eastern Africa exemplify the power of innovation, technology, and community-driven approaches.
In this article, we introduce two inspiring finalists from the region: ChipChip from Ethiopia and Rethread Africa from Kenya. While ChipChip is revolutionizing the food supply chain with a group buying model that benefits both farmers and urban consumers, Rethread Africa is turning agricultural waste into sustainable bioplastics that could reshape industries. Both startups are not only transforming their sectors but also making a lasting impact on the environment, local economies, and the communities they serve.
ChipChip: Transforming Food Supply Chains for a Better Tomorrow
The ChipChip App
In the heart of Ethiopia, where agricultural potential meets logistical challenges, ChipChip is pioneering an agri-commerce platform that’s set to redefine the food supply chain. The vision for ChipChip goes beyond business; it’s a blueprint for social impact, sustainability, and economic growth in urban communities.
Bruk Getahun, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of ChipChip, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management and Technology. With expertise in strategic marketing, SEO, sales funnels, eCommerce, and marketing analytics, Bruk plays a vital role in shaping ChipChip’s brand presence and growth. As a digital marketing strategist, he specializes in crafting and executing strategies that enhance brand development and drive user engagement, making him instrumental in ChipChip’s mission to provide affordable, quality food to urban families while empowering farmers.
The Business
ChipChip is an innovative digital platform built around a unique “group buying” model that taps into Ethiopia’s traditional community buying practices, such as Kirch’a. This platform aggregates consumer demand, enabling urban families to access wholesale prices at least 20% lower than typical market rates. The model also benefits small-scale farmers, who can sell more through bulk orders and receive fair prices for their produce.
Wholesale purchasing reduces costs for all
By connecting farmers directly with consumers, ChipChip bridges the gap in the food supply chain, making fresh and affordable produce accessible to urban households while offering farmers consistent and lucrative sales opportunities.
ChipChip’s “group buying” concept is the driving force behind its success. Families, friends, neighbors, or coworkers can form groups and place collective orders through the platform, allowing them to access discounts usually reserved for wholesale buyers. This digitized community purchasing model leverages Ethiopia’s cultural tradition of communal buying, making it both familiar and effective in the local context.
What truly sets ChipChip apart is its trio of integrated apps that streamline the logistics process from start to finish. The Vendor App allows farmers to list their products and set prices, the User App enables consumers to browse available goods and place orders, and the Driver App optimizes delivery routes for swift and cost-effective distribution. The entire process is designed to be seamless, often delivering fresh produce within 24 hours, with free shipping available for group orders.
This technological backbone not only reduces operational costs but also enhances user engagement through viral, peer-to-peer promotions as customers invite others to join their group purchases.
Their Impact
From small-scale farmers straight to your fridge is one of ChipChip’s goals
ChipChip’s impact goes beyond efficiency and affordability, it’s about creating a more sustainable and equitable food system in Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, 30-40% of agricultural produce is lost due to inefficiencies in the supply chain. ChipChip’s direct farm-to-consumer model reduces these losses by ensuring timely sales and streamlined logistics. By minimizing waste, ChipChip contributes to a more sustainable agricultural system and ensures that more food is consumed rather than discarded.
Small-scale farmers are often at the mercy of middlemen and fluctuating market prices. ChipChip gives farmers direct access to consumers and stable demand through bulk orders, which boosts their negotiation power and income. This increased financial security allows farmers to reinvest in their operations, leading to better productivity and improved livelihoods.
A Vision for Africa’s Future
For low- and middle-income urban households, food expenses can consume nearly half of their income. By offering high-quality produce at prices 20% lower than market rates, ChipChip makes nutritious food more accessible, enhancing food security and nutritional outcomes for thousands of families.
ChipChip is committed to inclusivity, to have 60% of its workforce composed of young people and over 50% women. By focusing on gender equity and youth empowerment, the platform fosters economic opportunities and strengthens social equity within the communities it serves.
ChipChip’s success in Ethiopia holds valuable lessons for other African countries facing similar supply chain challenges. The platform addresses fundamental issues in food access, farmer empowerment, and sustainability by combining technology with community-driven solutions. As ChipChip continues to grow, its model could inspire agripreneurs across the continent to adopt innovative approaches to food distribution that prioritize social impact and environmental sustainability.
Rethread Africa: Pioneering Sustainable Bioplastics from Agricultural Waste
In the scenic landscapes of rural Kenya, Charles Oyamo and his team at Rethread Africa are driving a revolution that is as environmentally sustainable as it is socially impactful. By turning agricultural waste into biodegradable bioplastics, Rethread Africa is providing smallholder farmers with additional income streams while contributing to the fight against climate change.
Charles Oyamo is passionate about smallholder farmers, rural communities, and sustainable biomaterials. With a background in Development Communication from the University of Nairobi and a deep commitment to sustainable development, Charles leads Rethread Africa’s mission to transform agricultural waste into biodegradable, soil-enriching fabric. Growing up in Naivasha and Migori County, Charles witnessed the climate crisis’s impact on smallholder agriculture, inspiring a drive to find solutions that empower communities. At Rethread Africa, Charles focuses on creating sustainable fashion alternatives while generating new income opportunities for smallholder farmers. His role involves building key partnerships that bridge the gap between communities and the fashion industry, driving a vision of a thriving, regenerative, and inclusive ecosystem. His work exemplifies a commitment to reimagining fashion, championing sustainability, and creating a future where fashion is both beautiful and regenerative.
The Business
Rethread Africa’s Lab
Rethread Africa focuses on converting agricultural byproducts from smallholder farmers—particularly sugarcane bagasse, into sustainable bioplastics. These bioplastics, known as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), are produced using a Bacillus species in a fermentation process. The end result is a versatile, eco-friendly material that offers a viable alternative to synthetic plastics like polyester. What makes PHA truly remarkable is its biodegradability and recyclability—it can be recycled up to six times, and if discarded, it naturally decomposes, unlike conventional plastics that persist in landfills for centuries.
Rethread Africa’s innovation doesn’t stop at producing bioplastics. The company blends PHA with natural fibers like cotton to create textiles that are not only durable but also water-resistant and breathable. These fabrics are perfect for activewear and outdoor apparel, providing comfort, elasticity, and strength without compromising on environmental sustainability. For instance, imagine a running jacket that repels rain while remaining breathable, or swimsuits that resist chlorine while maintaining their shape—these are the kinds of products that Rethread Africa’s technology makes possible.
The Rethread Africa Fabric
The innovation at Rethread Africa lies in its ability to transform agricultural waste into high-value, eco-friendly materials. By converting sugarcane bagasse, a common byproduct of Kenya’s sugar industry, into PHA, Rethread Africa is creating a circular economy that benefits both farmers and the environment.
The process begins with collecting agricultural waste from smallholder farmers, who would otherwise discard it as unusable residue. Through fermentation, this waste is transformed into biodegradable PHA, which can then be used in textiles and other industries as a sustainable alternative to synthetic materials. What’s more, the blending of PHA with natural fibers enhances the tensile strength of the fabric by up to 20%, making it not only eco-friendly but also highly durable.
Rethread Africa’s closed-loop system also extends to recycling. By leveraging cutting-edge recycling techniques, they recover over 97% of polyester fibers from post-consumer waste, significantly reducing energy use and curbing the need for virgin PET production. Additionally, they convert cotton waste into a cellulosic superabsorbent polymer (C-SAP) that can absorb 30 times its weight in water, improving soil moisture retention and boosting cotton yields by up to 15% in water-scarce regions.
Their Impact
Charles and the material
Rethread Africa’s work is as much about social impact as it is about environmental sustainability. By purchasing agricultural waste from smallholder farmers, Rethread Africa provides these farmers with an additional income stream without requiring any extra labour. This not only enhances farmers’ livelihoods but also contributes to climate resilience by reducing waste and promoting sustainable agricultural practices.
In Africa, smallholder farmers make up 60% of the rural poor and are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Rethread Africa’s model turns what was once considered waste into a valuable resource. By paying farmers for their agricultural byproducts, the company creates a new revenue stream that doesn’t require additional effort from the farmers, making it a win-win for both parties. Rethread Africa has already run successful pilots in Olare, Homa Bay County, in Western Kenya, demonstrating the viability of this approach.
Development in the laboratory
The environmental benefits of Rethread Africa’s innovation are significant. By transforming agricultural waste into bioplastics and sustainable textiles, the company reduces the amount of waste that would otherwise contribute to environmental degradation. The biodegradability of PHA means that these materials don’t persist in landfills or oceans, offering a sustainable end-of-life solution. Additionally, by using agricultural byproducts like sugarcane bagasse, Rethread Africa reduces the demand for virgin raw materials, thereby conserving natural resources.
Rethread Africa’s commitment to social equity extends beyond its environmental mission. The company reinvests a significant portion of its profits back into the communities where it operates, with more than 51% of profits allocated to local development initiatives. This includes creating and sustaining jobs in these communities and ensuring that farmers receive fair compensation for their contributions. By focusing on inclusive growth, Rethread Africa is helping to build resilient communities that can thrive even in the face of climate change.
For Charles Oyamo and his team, the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition provides a platform to showcase their innovation and expand their impact. With their technology, they are not only addressing some of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time but also creating economic opportunities for those who need them most. Rethread Africa is poised to scale its operations and bring its sustainable solutions to a broader market. The company’s commitment to social impact, environmental stewardship, and community development makes it a shining example of what the future of agripreneurship can achieve in Africa and beyond.
Conclusion
The stories of ChipChip and Rethread Africa illustrate the power of innovation in tackling some of Eastern Africa’s most pressing challenges. By reimagining how communities access food and redefining waste as a resource, these two GoGettaz finalists are driving impactful solutions that uplift local economies, empower smallholder farmers, and protect the environment.
ChipChip’s innovative group buying model not only makes quality food more affordable for urban families but also strengthens the livelihoods of farmers by creating direct, efficient links between producers and consumers. Meanwhile, Rethread Africa’s transformation of agricultural waste into sustainable bioplastics exemplifies the circular economy in action, offering eco-friendly alternatives while enhancing the resilience of rural communities.
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GoGettaz Co-Founders:
Yara International: https://www.yara.com/
Econet: https://www.econetafrica.com/
GoGettaz Partners:
Africa Food Systems Forum: https://agrf.org/
Alliance for a Green Revolution Africa: https://agra.org/
Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions: http://www.sacau.org/
SNV Netherlands Development Organisation https://www.snv.org/
U.S. Agency for International Development: https://www.usaid.gov/
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