Ghana - Startup under 3 years old

Describe your project or startup in a few words

A mobile post harvest management service provider for small holder horticultural farmers in rural farming communities utilizing a solar powered mobile unit that offers cold storage, processing and market linkage services.

01.01 Describe your startup in more detail

FreshLine PHS is offers post harvest solutions to small holder horticultural farmers in rural farming communities. FreshLine operates the FL-Dambe, a solar powered mobile factory retrofitted into a expandable shipping container. The facility comes with a Pack house, Cold room, and processing (drying) room. Fresh Horticultural produce requires post harvest service within the first mile or hour of harvest. To achieve this, the mobile facility is deployed to the farming community, freshly harvested produce are delivered to the facility, the produce is sanitized, sorted and graded. The premium produce are sent into cold rooms, to extend the shelf life of produce, the soft, ugly and cracked produce are processed (dried) into vegetable powder and fruit chips. We then link these farmers to buyers of fresh produce and onward processors who buy the processed foods.

01.02 What is the main problem you are trying to solve?

Small holder horticultural farmers suffer excessive levels of post harvest losses, this is amplified by lack of immediate access to proper post harvest services. This unavailability forces farmers to employ crude means to transport their produce to market. the crude means and packaging materials coupled with the delicate nature of the produce results in most of the produce deforming even before getting to the market. in the market, due to the influx of similar produce in the market, they either have to sell their produce at give away prices or risk dumping it at the end of the day since the produce has a very short shelf life. To beat competition in the market, the farmers selectively harvest only premium produce and leave soft, ugly and deformed produce, which could have fetched them money, on the farm to rot

01.03 Tell us the major benefits and/or advantages of using the product/service that your startup provides (at least 3).

FreshLine PHS 's activities is modeled to reduce farm level post harvest losses of fresh horticultural produce to less than 10% annually. By Providing cold storage and processing services we extend the shelf life of produce ensuring an increase in food availability. Our activities also increases the income levels of farmers as they are able to sell almost all of their harvest in either fresh or processed form.

01.04 Please describe who exactly your startup’s product/service is aimed at serving. Who are the targeted beneficiaries?

FreshLine PHS's FL-Dambe is targeting to provide services that benefits primarily small holder horticultural farmers. Among other beneficiaries are traders, aggregator, fresh produce exporters and even onward processors who need pre-processed (dried) food produce

01.05 When was your company established?

2022-04-13

01.06 Are you already selling your product/service?

Yes

01.07 How many other owners are there within your startup?

1

01.08 Among the other owners, how many are female?

1

01.09 Please describe the profile of the other owners within your startup (skills, experience, etc.)

Abigail Boadu is an accomplished General Manager with a strong background in entrepreneurship and management. Armed with a degree in Entrepreneurship and Management, Abigail has garnered five years of valuable experience in top and mid-level management roles. Her expertise lies in developing and implementing strategic plans, optimizing operational processes, and fostering team collaboration. As a visionary leader, Abigail is passionate about driving organizational growth and innovation. With her proven track record of leadership and a deep understanding of business operations, she is committed to steering FreshLine Post Harvest Solutions towards continued success and impact in the agricultural sector.

01.10 If you have a website, a social media page (Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin…), or app, please provide the link(s) here:

Facebook: www. facebook.com/freshlineph/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/freshlinephs/ https://x.com/freshlinephs

01.11 Which industry best describes your project?

c) Industry (equipment, commercial, logistical and professional services, transport)

02.01.01 My startup contributes to the No poverty goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.01.02 No poverty - Justification for my startup

The reduction of post harvest losses level among small holder farmers ensures that they have maximum financial returns for their produce, increased financial returns directly reduces poverty levels among the populace.

02.02.01 My startup contributes to the Zero hunger goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.02.02 Zero hunger - Justification for my startup

Processing of fresh produce to extend the shelf life directly increases available food for consumption, reducing treat of food onsecurity.

02.03.01 My startup contributes to the Good health and well-being goal

4

02.03.02 Good health and well-being - Justification for my startup

02.04.01 My startup contributes to the Quality education goal

2

02.04.02 Quality education - Justification for my startup

02.05.01 My startup contributes to the Gender equality goal

4

02.05.02 Gender equality - Justification for my startup

02.06.01 My startup contributes to the Clean water and sanitation goal

4

02.06.02 Clean water and sanitation - Justification for my startup

02.07.01 My startup contributes to the Affordable and clean energy goal

4

02.07.02 Affordable and clean energy - Justification for my startup

02.08.01 My startup contributes to the Decent work and economic growth

7 - Strongly Agree

02.08.02 Decent work and economic growth - Justification for my startup

our activities promotes decent decent work and economic growth by creating and sustaining direct and indirect employment to individuals. The availability of an off taker directly incentivizes farmer to expand cultivation levels, this calls for increased labor input and also brings more people into the agriculture space.

02.09.01 My startup contributes to the Industry innovation and infrastructure

4

02.09.02 Industry innovation and infrastructure - Justification for my startup

02.10.01 My startup contributes to the Reduced inequalities goal

4

02.10.02 Reduced inequalities - Justification for my startup

02.11.01 My startup contributes to the Sustainable cities and communities goal

4

02.11.02 Sustainable cities and communities - Justification for my startup

02.12.01 My startup contributes to the Responsible consumption and production goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.12.02 Responsible consumption and production - Justification for my startup

our activities ensures that all produce are made use of to their maximum potential instead of being wasted. this can clearly be explained in the context where farmers have to cultivate very large tracts of lands to be able to get more harvest and sales taking into consideration the losses of most of these produce.

02.13.01 My startup contributes to the Climate action goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.13.02 Climate action - Justification for my startup

Prevention of fresh produce from wasting on farms and market places directly combats the release of methane gas into the atmosphere.

02.14.01 My startup contributes to the Life below water goal

2

02.14.02 Life below water - Justification for my startup

02.15.01 My startup contributes to the Life on land goal

4

02.15.02 Life on land - Justification for my startup

02.16.01 My startup contributes to the Peace Justice and Strong Institutions goal

2

02.16.02 Peace Justice and Strong Institutions- Justification for my startup

02.17.01 My startup contributes to the Partnerships for the goal

2

02.17.02 Partnerships for the goal - Justification for my startup

06.01 There are a large number of customers who already use a product/service very similar to the product/service we envision creating.

4

06.02 The product/service represents an entirely new type of product/service.

7 - Strongly Agree

06.03 The product/service could be described as a new technology.

4

06.04 The product/service is an improvement on an existing product or service.

7 - Strongly Agree

06.05 The product/service could be described as an extension of a range of products or services.

7 - Strongly Agree

06.06 The product/service responds to a demand or need that has not been satisfied by other products/services.

7 - Strongly Agree

06.07 The product/service is a new version of an old product/service.

7 - Strongly Agree

06.08 Justification for my startup

The FL-Dambe Model is an improvement in the industry standard of providing post harvest services. Initially all cold storage services are located far from farms but the FL-Dambe is deployed to the farm gate, Moreover the inclusion of both cold storage and processing indicated an extension of service.

06.09 Competitive Analysis

Farmercy Technology, AkoFresh, AgroCold Ghana. We stand out from these with our mobility and Comprehensive service. All these providers only provide cold storage services and are located far from majority of the farmers which makes it difficult to access. our model rather brings these services closer to them and also provides a processing unit to pre-process these produce, all in the view to extend shelf life of the produce.

11.05 Are you initiating actions within your community to promote the role of female entrepreneurs?

i have been engaging with Senior High School students through the Ghana Grows program to spark the Entrepreneural spirit of high school students especially girls in taking up entrepreneurs' opportunities that abound in the agricultural space.