Agricycle Global

In Sub-Saharan Africa, 95 percent of food waste is due to food loss, the phenomenon occurring when a gap between producers and markets exist. Lack of access to preservation technology and markets exacerbates this challenge; Agricycle addresses both. Agricycle houses a portfolio of brands using a vertically-integrated supply chain connecting farmers to international markets. Agricycle’s three brands are Jali Fruit Co, Tropical Ignition, and What the Fruit.  

Agricycle’s passive solar dehydrators use zero-electricity powered by the heat of the sun and airflow. The easy-to-use and easy-to-clean dehydrators are accessible to rural communities, making processing technology obtainable. Agricycle works with a network of 35,000 farmers globally, and works directly with over 7,000 women-led cooperative members. As Agricycle grows, new cooperatives are added to the network and cooperatives can upcycle byproducts from dried fruit to create additional income and reduce waste.

Each year, 2.8 trillion pounds of food goes to waste. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 95 percent of food waste is due to food loss, the phenomenon occurring when a gap between producers and markets exist. Lack of access to preservation technology and markets exacerbates this challenge. Agricycle houses a portfolio of brands using a vertically-integrated supply chain from tree to shelf to empower rural smallholder farmers and connect farmers to the US market. 

In rural areas, the agriculture sector employs up to 70 percent of the population. Smallholder farmers lose up to 60 percent of their profits to middlemen. Agricycle cuts out the middleman and provides direct trade to smallholder farmers in East Africa, West Africa and the Caribbean. Women continue to be central to agriculture in these areas, and Agricycle ensures women represent at least 50 percent of each cooperative. 

Designing preservation technology appropriate to the needs and resources of smallholder farmers is imperative. Our passive solar food dehydrators use zero-electricity powered by the heat of the sun and airflow, allowing communities with limited access to electricity to dry fruits, vegetables, fish and insects.

Agricycle designs appropriate technologies to turn naturally abundant fruits into consumer packaged goods (CPG) products. By implementing a sleek, portable dehydrator within a network of smallholder farmers, food that would otherwise go to waste can be easily transformed into valuable products. Beyond drying fruit, Agricycle takes byproducts of dried fruit, such as a mango pit, and creates additional products such as fruit flour. At scale, a cooperative can dry fruit, produce flour and sell multiple products from excess fruit supply. Our three current brands are Jali Fruit Co, a fun-filled dried fruit snack; Tropicoal Ignition, sustainable charcoal made from coconut and palm kernel; and What the Fruit fruit flour, a pantry of gluten-free, nutritious fruit flours. 

Agricycle’s vertically integrated supply chain allows farmers and international markets to directly connect. Smallholder farmers lose up to 60 percent of their profits to the middlemen in supply chains. Agricycle cuts out the middleman and provides direct trade to rural smallholder farmers. Agricycle also connects consumers directly with farmers through our Find My Farm program. Highlighting where our food comes from and who it comes from brings cultures together and identifies how the food we consume is connected to a system of people.

First and foremost, Agricycle positively impacts vulnerable populations in rural areas experiencing extreme poverty. In East Africa, Agricycle works primarily with rural women farmers and youth and, in West Africa, Agricycle partners with and employs refugee populations. Local average daily wages for rural smallholder farmers is $2/day. Our model pays farmers $5/ kg of dried fruit and our dehydrators produce 3 kg per day, creating an average daily wage of $15. We pay our farmers directly once their fruit is dried, immediately transferring funds through mobile pay. Through local government and NGO partnerships, Agricycle’s global team also provides over 1,000 hours of skills’ training from good agricultural practices to financial literacy to ensure farmers with strong are well-positioned to gain economic stability beyond Agricycle.

Agricycle’s global staff is deeply connected to the regions we operate as they all have grown up, worked and played in local regions. Community Development Officers build relationships with cooperatives, and all global staff has direct access to strategic planning decisions. Agricycle’s Director of Impact works closely with all global staff and C-Suite executives to realize alignment of business and impact models. 

Overabundant produce plague rural farmers around the world. Lack of preservation technology combined with lack of market exacerbates food loss. Existing models focus on one aspect, which can lead to an incomplete solution. Agricycle addresses both key causes of food loss by implementing appropriate-designed preservation technology and creating market linkage between rural farmers and global markets. Further, Agricycle’s solution is scalable in multiple factors: people, place and product. The model is replicable, allowing for growth of network and regional presence. The model is also designed to eradicate waste, using the entire fruit through upcycling byproducts into additional products.

Agricycle is not the first organization to address empowerment, food loss or preservation technology. Agricycle disrupts alternative solutions because of its two-pronged approach to food loss, vertically integrated supply network, and market-based solution. 

Middlemen plague smallholder opportunity for fair wages; Agricycle cuts out the middleman and pays cooperative members directly for their dried fruit products at $5/ kg. Because Agricycle utilizes food loss, our products add value to naturally abundant fruit and value chains. 

Existing approaches focus on one side, claiming the introduction of preservation technologies will yield a market. Agricycle Global not only guarantees a market, it also guarantees immediate pay directly to farmers upon pick up. Further, the technology is easy-to-use and easy-to-clean, ensuring products meet international food safety standards. Passive solar dehydrators are purchased by farmers facilitated through microfinancing partners, village savings and loans associations and/or strategic partnerships. Thanks to Agricycle’s pay structure, dehydrators are paid off within one season, building asset-based wealth. 

One competitor, Mavuno Harvest, sells dried fruit from smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Agricycle’s advantage is threefold: our products are traceable from tree to shelf, our farmers and impact are central to our brand and our dehydrators function at a farmer-level rather than large manufacturing. Another competitor, KinoSol, designs and manufactures dehydrators with limited training, high cost to production ratio, and they do not connect farmers to international markets. Agricycle’s model includes training, lower costs, higher production capacity and market access.

Agricycle Global transforms waste into opportunity by designing simple technology that requires zero electricity to empower vulnerable populations and create market-based solutions. Founded by engineering students, Agricycle immediately recognized preservation technology designed with the end user in mind was imperative. Our passive solar dehydrators require zero electricity: using heat from the sun and airflow as a natural convection allows fruit to dry naturally. Agricycle’s passive solar dehydrators are designed for rural, vulnerable populations. Its sleek, portable design is easy to use and easy to clean, making it food safe as well as viable for users without requiring large land use. The dehydrators produce three kilograms per day and Agricycle buys at $5/ kg. To date, Agricycle has directly paid cooperatives nearly $75,000. 

By utilizing our dehydrators, rural smallholder and women farmers are able to maximize production by selling fresh fruit locally and selling dried fruit to Agricycle to sell in US markets. We buy dried fruit directly from our cooperatives, eliminating prolonged waiting periods and paying up to seven times the local average daily wage. Our appropriately designed technology allows rural farmers around the world to access international markets.

In the beginning, Agricycle’s passive solar dehydrators were made with local materials and by local communities. Agricycle utilized a train-the-trainer method and local cooperatives then built their own passive solar dehydrators. We found challenges in that model: the dehydrators were difficult to clean and operate. Food safety is imperative to our business model, and we knew a new design was needed. In 2020, we began manufacturing passive solar dehydrators in Wisconsin and selling to local cooperatives. This new design is portable, sleek and food-safe. The cabinets can be cleaned daily and are designed to prevent bugs and other material from entering. Before distributing to cooperatives, Agricycle’s Food Safety Manager led all Community Development Officers (CDOs) in testing to ensure capacity and functionality. Partners and cooperative leaders receive a comprehensive report on capacity and food safety of dehydrators before dispersion. CDOs train all cooperatives on proper drying techniques to ensure high quality products. 

Purchasing dehydrators also allows cooperative members to gain assets and build credit. We are working with local financial institutions and NGOs to ensure access to small loans and funding options. Patrick Nderitu, Director of East Africa, shares more about dehydrators here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpXoLUHq_Kg.

Agricycle’s mission is to empower vulnerable populations through designing appropriate technology, eliminating natural food waste and creating market-based solutions. Early in its growth, Agricycle hired a Director of Impact to work closely with regional and global leadership to ensure business and impact models aligned. This role is multifaceted, but first implemented social, economic and environmental impact metrics to track as well as results-based models for each region to align with Agricycle’s overall mission. 

Key facets of Agricycle are designing appropriate design technology because technology must be accessible both functionally and financially for rural communities; eliminating waste to add value to existing value chains; and creating market-based solutions to link rural communities to global markets. Agricycle designs and sells passive solar dehydrators to communities, facilitated by financial institutions and NGO partners. For product brands that require milling and/or charring kilns, Agricycle partners with local micro mill manufacturers as well as utilizes local materials to build appropriate technology. Providing options for obtainable, user-friendly technology is central to building assets to transform waste into opportunity. Agricycle tracks how quickly technology is paid back to loans or VSLAs, and CDOs work closely with cooperatives to facilitate financial success in gaining access to technology. Eliminating waste, and loss, is central to Agricycle’s business and impact models because it yields the most benefit. By focusing on food otherwise wasted, farmers gain additional income. To date, Agricycle has diverted 27,385 kg of food loss and 16,000 kg of food waste has been upcycled into additional products. Creating market-based solutions is central to Agricycle’s theory of change because addressing only one side of a problem produces shortfalls. Connecting vulnerable populations living in extreme poverty to global markets boosts incomes and creates ripple effects in livelihoods. Average daily wages in communities we serve are $2/day. Agricycle pays $5/kg and dehydrators produce 3kg/day, providing farmers with up to seven times average daily wage. Agricycle built its team with business and impact models aligning, and global staff works closely to ensure its theory of change is fulfilled.

Agricycle works with a network of 35,000 smallholder farmers around the world. In East Africa, women-led cooperatives have been formed to dry fruit and upcycle byproducts to reduce waste. In West Africa, rural cooperatives formed by youth and refugee populations transform coconut and palm kernel shell waste into sustainable bio-charcoal. Agricycle global staff in East Africa works directly with 7,000 cooperative members; global staff in West Africa has begun mobilizing a network of 1,000 cooperative members. East Africa has more than doubled its direct network of cooperative members in 2020, and West Africa started mobilizing cooperatives in February 2020. By the end of 2020, Agricycle Global will have nearly 10,000 cooperative members. 

Together with Regional Directors, the Director of Impact oversees a results-based model to measure social, economic and environmental impact as well as business growth. Agricycle’s business and impact model align, and the model allows leadership to see progress overtime. By 2025, Agricycle will expand its West Africa operations by 5,000 additional cooperative members and its East Africa operations by 15,000 cooperative members. Agricycle will be selling in at least three additional markets with two additional brands.

In 2020, Agricycle Global began manufacturing and selling passive solar dehydrators. Agricycle’s goal is to sell 500 dehydrators in 2020 and 2,000 in 2021. Central to accomplishing this goal is ensuring the smallholder farmers and women are well-equipped to benefit from this asset. Before selling, Agricycle’s Food Safety Manager tested the dehydrators to ensure premium quality products extend to all Agricycle products. Dehydrators have a capacity of drying 3 kg of dried fruit per day (utilizing ~30 kg fresh fruit), and Agricycle buys dried fruit at $5/kg, meaning farmers can make up to $15/day using these passive solar dehydrators. 

Jali Fruit Co launched in February and has found strong traction with over $100,000 in sales. Tropicoal Ignition’s coconut and palm kernel shell charcoal is in its product development phase, and will launch its kickstarter in August. In five years, all of Agricycle’s current products will be generating revenue and at least two additional products will be launched. Ultimately, Agricycle cooperatives will be able to produce and sell multiple products to eliminate food waste and gain diversified income. 

Agricycle works with a network of over 35,000 farmers in East Africa, West Africa and Caribbean. Next year, Agricylce expects to add an additional 15,000 farmers as further production and mobilization of supply systems occurs in Liberia, Haiti and Jamaica. In 5 years, the network will expand to more countries around the world. Agricycle is excited to continue employing local communities and expanding presence globally.

Barriers to Agricycle goals center on political/societal stability, environmental realities and access to resources. Through it all, the Agricycle team exemplifies adaptability: like true social entrepreneurs, the team is OK with shifting when necessary. 

COVID-19 was unexpected, yet the food system and supply network prevailed. Political and societal stability are challenges that Agricycle addresses through its vast supply network, and is a clear example of business and impact models complementing each other. Climate reality is a growing concern for food systems, and smallholder farmers are not exempt. In Kenya, for example, the later rainy season usually occurs from October through early December. However, in late 2019 and early 2020, flooding was a challenge until the end of January. Further, ancestral trees are experiencing more pests and early rotting due to invasive species. Rural farmers require expensive organic fertilizers and harm-free traps to protect trees, which can be cost-prohibitive.At the farmer and cooperative level, accessing financial institutions and non-predatory loans can be a barrier. To alleviate this, Agricycle engages with financial institutions, local village and savings associations (VSLAs) and NGOs to facilitate distribution.

In the US, retail and distribution is a current barrier. Agricycle has primarily sold through e-commerce, successfully securing over $100,000 in online sales in 2020. Finding retail partners and distributors is a barrier, though, and has been exacerbated by COVID-19. The sales and marketing team continues to push e-commerce and, in June 2020, is doing Director Store Delivery (DSD) to encourage retail sales.

Many of Agricycle’s barriers are mitigated through the expansive supply network. Agricycle faces political, societal and environmental instability by tapping into networks of farmers across countries. To address climate reality and different seasons, Agricycle’s cooperatives complement each other. Agricycle’s regional teams adjust to local contexts and inform strategy. When barriers arise, Agricycle’s global staff reduces risks thanks to their vast local experience. Mohammed, Director of West Africa, was faced with exporting challenges in Liberia earlier in 2020. His network of Mandela Washington Fellow Alumni allowed him to leverage relationships in order to understand needs and provide necessary documentation.

At the farmer and cooperative level, accessing financial institutions and non-predatory loans can be a barrier. To alleviate this, Agricycle engages with financial institutions partners such as SMEP microfinancing and leverages its business history with cooperatives to gain lower interest rates. Additionally, seeking partners with local village and savings associations (VSLAs) and NGOs is imperative to distributing dehydrators to the entire supply network. 

In the US, retail and distribution is a current barrier. Agricycle has primarily sold through e-commerce, successfully securing over $100,000 in online sales in 2020. Finding retail partners and distributors is a barrier, though, and has been exacerbated by COVID-19 as retailers are hesitant to sign deals with new vendors. The sales and marketing team continues to push e-commerce and, in June 2020, is doing Director Store Delivery (DSD) to encourage retail sales. 

The entire global team embodies an “I’m ready, choose me” attitude when faced with challenges.

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Global leadership is important to Agricycle; US-based staff as well as the Director of East Africa, Director of West Africa, and Director of Food Safety are shareholders. Regional leadership informs key decisions and strategy for the entire team. In East Africa, the team consists of 12 full time employees, including Community Development Officers, a Financial Manager, Operations Manager and Country Directors. An additional three part-time staff support CDOs. In West Africa, three full time employees and two part time employees are building the cooperative network in Liberia. The US team consists of seven full time employees.

Agricycle intentionally built its team to empower a diverse set of experiences and expertise that collectively creates a robust, passionate team uniquely positioned to transform waste into opportunity.

Josh, Agricycle’s founder and CEO, started this company as an engineering student determined to tackle the world’s largest challenges with innovative, simple technology. Business development lead and engineer, Claire is also a co-founder of Agricycle. She brings innovative solutions to our engineering designs and product development. 

After our COO worked on sustainable agriculture as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana, Jacob worked with health food markets to set up 13 supply chains in West Africa. At Agricycle, Jacob has transferred his skills to build our vertically-integrated supply network. 

With over 20 years of social enterprise experience in Kenya, Patrick leads the team in East Africa as Director. Mohammed, Director of West Africa, joined Agricycle after spending a summer in Wisconsin with entrepreneurs from around the world. Mohammed’s extensive knowledge and relationships in Liberia have established our network in West Africa. Our local teams have the flexibility to adapt to local context and needs of their communities, which is central to a strong global team.

Our impact and marketing team consist of four leaders with a combined 30 years experience in metrics, branding and digital sales. Their insights ensure farmers and consumers are connected through authentic storytelling. Combined, we are well-positioned to create market linkage through a vertically-integrated supply system and connect people from around the world.

Collaboration and partnerships drive Agricycle. Since its inception, partnerships with local governments, NGOs, community leaders and cooperatives are central to our success. In East Africa, the three largest partnerships are with SMEP Microfinance, FAO  and CABE. 

SMEP supports financing women to purchase and build dehydrators. Owning an income-generating asset creates long-term economic stability, and SMEP is working closely with farmers in East Africa to provide this opportunity with low interest rates. FAO Kenya is beginning a pilot program in Western Kenya to mobilize youth in cooperatives and dry fruit for the Jali Fruit Co brand. Finally, CABE provides research and community mobilization in Western Kenya and is connecting farmers with Agricycle to expand our network of farmers. Agricycle Global continues to build strategic partnerships to strengthen its supply network and long-term sustainability. 

Once farmers and cooperatives work with Agricycle, partnerships with local governments and NGOs conduct over 1,000 hours of training in good agricultural practices, food safety training and financial literacy. Working collaboratively with multilateral stakeholders yields greater impact for farmers. 

In 2020, Agricycle Global joined the network of Thought for Food as a Boost team. Here, TFF supports building connections to additional markets and providing opportunities to strengthen storytelling capacity.

Agricycle’s business model centers around two streams: creating market linkage through transforming waste into opportunity and manufacturing dehydrators in Wisconsin. Our products are fully traceable from tree to shelf, providing a full experience for consumers and connecting cultures. 

Transforming waste into opportunity drives our brands and products. Working directly with farmers and cooperatives, our vertically-integrated supply system cuts out any middlemen and creates immediate impact for communities. For Jali Fruit Co, cooperatives source fruit that would be wasted and use our passive solar dehydrators to create dried fruit products that we buy directly. The average daily wage for local farmers is $2/day. Agricycle buys dried fruit for $5/kg. Our dehydrators produce 3kg daily, providing farmers with up to $15/day during the drying season. As Agricycle grows, byproducts not able to be dried will then be upcycled, giving cooperatives additional income and eliminating more waste. To date, Agricycle has directly paid nearly $75,000 to cooperative members. Jali Fruit Co and Tropicoal Ignition are sold in the US through retail and e-commerce, and What the Fruit is focusing on business-to-business sales and, eventually, a white label contract. 

In 2020, Agricycle has begun manufacturing our passive solar dehydrators in Wisconsin. Sleeker and safer in design, these dehydrators are easy-to-use, easy-to-clean and easy-to-store. Partnering with local microfinancing company, SMEP, farmers are able to purchase dehydrators and repay loans within 60 days, establishing strong credit and building assets.

Agricycle is actively seeking strategic partners and networks to tap into. MIT Solve has come up several times as a key partnership to boost innovative ventures to next phases of growth, and Agricycle is excited to join the coalition of change makers. Beyond opportunities for funding or funding connections, Agricycle is eager to gain access to the vast network of social entrepreneurs around the globe taking multifaceted initiatives to move communities forward. As a Solver, Agricycle is determined to take full advantage of MIT Solve resources and mentorship. Growth mindset is woven into each team members’ world view, and Agricycle envisions MIT Solve opportunities as a way to grow and learn from others.

A barrier spoken of previously centers on product retail sales and distribution in the wake of COVID-19. Online sales have prevailed, yet retail entry is a barrier. Agricycle not only seeks connections into US retailer spaces, but also is exploring entering European and East African markets and is in need of expertise in those fields. 

Together with regional directors and current board of directors, Agricycle Global has created a strategic plan and necessary documents for the Board of Directors, global Board of Advisors and local/ regional Board of Advisors. While key roles have been identified, filling those roles would be greatly bolstered by connections with industry experts. Similarly, a role for the local Board of Advisors focuses on business law within regions; Agricycle seeks legal and regulatory expertise. Finally, Agricycle’s Director of Impact would benefit from an industry expert in Metrics & Evaluation at both the global and regional levels.

Strategic partnerships are a focus of Agricycle Global in pursuit of financial stability and sustainability for local communities. Solve Members and previous winners of MIT Solve program(s) can be strong connections to current barriers through partnerships. The Future is Offline, led by Jeremy Lachal, has potential to support refugees in Liberia to gain additional training and education with limited resources. Further, Safi Sarvi by Takachar can immediately address environmental and agricultural concerns farmers face currently with fertilizer to support GAPs while simultaneously decreasing rot rates due to invasive pests. 

Beyond the MIT Solve network, Agricycle seeks partnerships with large NGOs such as USAID and UN programs such as the World Food Programme. Connections to these entities would be immensely beneficial to Agricycle. Any partner introductions are crucial and greatly appreciated. Finally, Agricycle views feedback as a gift, and seeks formal or informal mentors in providing feedback to business model, impact model, pitch proposals, etc.

In Liberia, Agricycle primarily works with refugee populations and youth. Local leadership in Liberia is currently building a network of cooperative members, comprised of refugees and youth, to transform coconut and palm kernel shells into sustainable charcoal briquettes. Agricycle pays cooperatives directly, and ensures technical training to all participants. The Andan Prize for Innovation in Refugee Inclusion will allow Agricycle West Africa to expand its network of refugees and provide direct market linkage to international markets.

Poverty has a gender face. The World Bank 2018 report indicates women experience the harshest edges of poverty. The report further specifies the worst forms of poverty are experienced by young and middle-aged women. Extreme poverty is much more prevalent amongst young women with marital dissolutions. 

Poverty makes these categories of young women vulnerable to other forms of abuse. The women lack access to opportunities that would break them away from their poverty cycles. World Bank reports that single, divorced or widowed young women face higher prevalence of physical violence than other women, and they are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. Girls coming from these households have higher chances of not enrolling into formal education systems.

Participation in economic activities is gender and geographically distributed. Women from Arid and Semi Arid areas are likely to have very limited involvement in labor markets as compared to those from other regions. Even when women are in economic labor they are likely to earn less than men.

These factors showcase a need to enhance women’s income within the agricultural sector. Agricycle East Africa addresses this through value addition and market linkage. Agricycle East Africa forms women-led cooperatives and provides leadership opportunities for women to act as liaisons between communities and Agricycle Global. Agricycle buys products directly from cooperatives at a rate seven times the average daily wage, and women have shared it has led to more food security, education fees for both children and themselves, and stronger access to healthcare treatment.

Agricycle is focused on environmental, social and economic challenges that face the world's most vulnerable populations. One global challenge that global environmental leaders have deemed the most relevant challenge for reversing climate reality is Food Loss, the phenomenon occurring when a gap between producers and markets exist. In Sub-Saharan Africa, up to 95 percent of food waste is due to food loss. Agricycle addresses this challenge through creating market-based solutions and designing appropriate technology. 

Existing approaches focus on one side, claiming the introduction of preservation technologies will yield a market. Agricycle Global not only guarantees a market, it also guarantees immediate pay directly to farmers upon pick up. Further, the technology is easy-to-use and easy-to-clean, ensuring products meet international food safety standards. Passive solar dehydrators are purchased by farmers facilitated through microfinancing partners, village savings and loans associations and/or strategic partnerships. Thanks to Agricycle’s pay structure, dehydrators are paid off within one season, building asset-based wealth.