Smart Greenhouses, fitted with FarmShield IoT sensors, optimize irrigation, increase yields and reduce input costs, building farmers’ resilience to climate change.
Team Leader
Taita Ngetich
Synnefa builds IoT-enabled smart solar dryers that reduce post-harvest losses and increase farmer incomes.
Solution Pitch
The Problem
Synnefa targets the problem of low-productivity and climate vulnerability affecting smallholder farmers in Africa, impacting food security. Using Smart Greenhouses with IoT, AI, and ML, Synnefa enhances food production, resilience, and income, addressing a global issue that affects a significant portion of the population in developing countries.
The Solution
"FarmShield Smart Greenhouses" is an innovative technology that combines IoT sensors, AI, and ML to optimize irrigation, increase yields by 30%, and reduce input costs by 40% for smallholder farmers in developing countries. Equipped with solar-powered FarmShield IoT sensors, the smart greenhouse extends the growing season and automates irrigation, saving over 50% water use. The sensors collect data on farm conditions, translating it into actionable recommendations via FarmCloud, Synnefa’s cloud-based platform. Farmers receive real-time information, training on climate-smart practices, and comprehensive farm management tools, including connections with skilled agronomists. By leveraging technologies like IoT, AI, and ML, Smart Greenhouses enable farmers to make informed decisions, adapt to climate change, and make complex farming feel simple.
Stats
18,655 people have purchased Synnefa’s products and services.
Market Opportunity
Synnefa targets smallholder farming and B2B precision farming segments in Africa, targeting 250 million smallholders and agenterprises. Customizable smart greenhouses cater to smallholders with less than 2 ha, while optimizing production for export-oriented agenterprises. The total market size is $36.9 billion, with a Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM) of $1.7 billion.
Organization Highlights
Collaboration with donor organizations such as USAID and USADF, who fund pilot projects and provide risk-free capital for tracking and measuring impact.
Partnerships with lending institutions enable Synnefa to utilize data to credit score farmers, unlocking lending opportunities and facilitating the purchase of smart greenhouses in installments.
Synnefa works with research organizations to enrich its data collection and analysis framework, generating more accurate insights for its farmers. These partnerships collectively contribute to its mission of optimizing irrigation, increasing yields, and building resilience to climate change for smallholder farmers and agenterprises.
Partnership Goals
Synnefa seeks:
Strategic support in designing and implementing a robust distribution network for its FarmShield devices through retailers and agro dealers. This includes assistance in identifying potential partners, negotiating agreements, developing marketing strategies, and establishing a supply chain that ensures timely and efficient delivery within the next 6-12 months.
Expertise in finalizing the investment agreements, due diligence, and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements for closing of a $750,000 seed round. Assistance in navigating negotiations, structuring the deal, and ensuring alignment with the long-term strategic goals is crucial as Synnefa aims to finalize the round within the next 3-4 months
What is the name of your organization?
Synnefa
What is the name of your solution?
Synnefa
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
Synnefa builds IoT-enabled smart solar dryers that reduce post-harvest losses and increase farmer incomes.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Nairobi
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
Kenya
What type of organization is your solution team?
For-Profit
Film your elevator pitch.
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What specific problem are you solving?
Synnefa targets the problem of post-harvest losses and climate vulnerability affecting smallholder farmers in Africa, where 30–40% of harvests are lost after collection due to inadequate drying infrastructure and unpredictable weather — directly undermining food security and farmer incomes across the continent.
What is your solution?
Synnefa's smart solar dryers combine IoT sensors, AI-driven monitoring, and solar energy to reduce post-harvest losses by 25–45% for smallholder farmers across Africa. Powered by FarmShield™ IoT sensors, the dryers monitor temperature, humidity, and drying conditions in real time, alerting farmers and optimizing drying cycles. Deployed on a rent-to-own model, the dryers are accessible without upfront capital, with FarmCloud providing market linkage so farmers can sell dried produce at better prices. At Gititu Coffee Cooperative, drying time dropped from 10–14 days to 5–7 days. We now serve 6,000+ farmers across Kenya through B2B partnerships with enterprises and farmer cooperatives, with deployments validated by grant partnerships with Carbon Trust, Energy Savings Trust and Solidaridad.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Synnefa's smart solar dryers serve smallholder farmers in Africa — particularly coffee, maize, and vegetable growers — who lose 30–40% of their harvest post-collection due to inadequate drying infrastructure and climate-driven weather unpredictability. These farmers operate plots under 2 acres, rely on family labor, and have no access to formal drying facilities or capital to acquire them.
Our solution impacts their lives in three ways: it reduces post-harvest losses by 25–45%, keeping more harvest in the market; the rent-to-own model removes the capital barrier, with farmers paying from dryer-generated income; and FarmCloud connects farmers to buyers, enabling premium pricing for quality-graded dried produce instead of distressed wet-crop sales.
The result is income stability and climate resilience. At Gititu Coffee Cooperative, drying cycles dropped from 10–14 days to 5–7 days, directly improving farmer payouts.
Organization Type: For-profit, including B-Corp or similar models
Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya
Stage: Pilot
Working In: Kenya, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania
