Tech in Africa
The African continent has seen a rise in food-tech startups, particularly after the onset of Covid-19, as businesses scout for more innovative operational models that deliver convenience, quality, affordability, while maintaining an edge over the conventional competition. The foodtech sector has seen startups like Egypt’s Mumm and Senegal’s Mburu among others, attract record investments. Kenya’s Kune, a new player in the block, is looking to solve the inadequacy of quality yet affordable meals during lunchtimes.
Kune, a ready-to-eat food delivery startup has raised US$1 million in pre-Seed funding led by Launch Africa alongside Century Oak Capital GmbH, Consonance, and the Pariti platform. Founded in 2020 by Robin Reecht, the Nairobi-based foodtech went through a piloting phase in early 2021 and is expected to roll out its first fresh ready-to-eat meals services in August. As an on-demand delivery service, it has the capacity to produce 5,000 servings to the city’s middle-income workers.
In a statement shared during the press release, Robin Reecht (CEO) detailed how they had gone through three months of restructuring, identifying land for the factory, and hiring the right team prior to fundraising. Investor confidence was high afterward, as they raised a record $1M in just two months.
Robin also revealed that Kune’s entire operation is done in-house. This includes the entire supply chain system from cooking, packaging, a delivery team of drivers, and motorbikes. Upon launch, the company looks to build a fleet of 100 electric motorcycles by 2022 – to be driven by female drivers. The same applies to its operational adoption of smart tech, which is key in reducing costs and increasing the quality of products and services.
Baljinder Sharma, Director at Launch Africa expressed excitement leading the first round of funding for the Kenyan startup. She pointed out how Kune Africa’s “Leveraging the cloud kitchen model” and “owning the entire supply chain” as essential for its future growth and scaling.
