A local South African B2C and B2B indoor farming tech startup, PixelBlue T/A Homefarm, has announced a successful Seed Raise of R1,7 million from a group of investors including start-up investment agency, CapaciTech.

Homefarm’s mission is to enable consumers, communities and businesses to grow more of their fresh food produce on-site where it is consumed. Their fully automated indoor farms and Farming-as-a-Service model means anybody, anywhere can grow their own food.

The farming systems developed by Homefarm are based on proprietary designs and technologies, and all their products are developed and manufactured in South Africa. Homefarm sees opportunities to provide their farms to customers in South Africa looking for easy and reliable indoor farming systems to supply produce all year round to their families, communities and customers.

Homefarm has higher aspirations for the international market, and notes that there are many regions globally that do not enjoy an adequate agricultural economy and remain difficult or expensive to deliver fresh produce to. These include island nations, regions with extreme climate or simply isolated, remote or rural destinations. Homefarm’s easily shippable and rapidly deployable systems are a good option for small businesses in these regions (international orders for the commercial product have already been placed).

Homefarm CEO, Michael Currin, says that Seed Raise will assist Homefarm in scaling their operations, improving their service offering and rolling out their marketing and distribution channels.

Matthew Emanuel of CapaciTech, says: “We are confident about the positive trend in the smart indoor farming tech space, and feel very positive about playing an active part in Homefarm’s journey. Michael and team have worked conscientiously to develop a portfolio of key technologies and products that will make a meaningful impact to a growing market.”

To follow their news and journey as an up and coming technology startup in South Africa, you can follow them at homefarm.news on Instagram and facebook and you can visit their website at www.myhomefarm.io

Micheal Burrion biography Urban Farming Pioneer. CEO and head of production at Homefarm)

  • Michael Currin is the founder of Homefarm, an indoor farming technology startup, based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Michael started Homefarm along with his co-founding team in 2017. The business was formed to bring small scale indoor farming to the mainstream consumer and commercial markets through the development and commercialisation of rapidly deployable, fully automated food farming systems.
  • When founding Homefarm, Michael believed there was an opportunity to offer easy to use and visually attractive indoor farming systems for home use to the consumer market. Initially addressing the needs of urban households with the Homefarm Appliance, the business has expanded its reach and product range by offering indoor farming systems to businesses and consumers both in urban and peri-urban environments. Homefarm has also expanded its geographical market outside of South Africa, and now has customers in the UK, Europe and Australia.
  • Michael discovered his passion for indoor farming while studying his Masters in Design (MA & MSc) at the Royal College of Art in London. Although having grown up with a family vegetable garden, food farming was never something he found a particular passion for until he started investigating the benefits of indoor farming, and how it could be used to give people access to food in an entirely new way.  During his masters, Michael was researching how to make cities, and moreover urban communities, more resilient in the face of climate change. Food security is a major factor when looking at the sustainability of cities and is also one of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Michael wanted somehow to empower people to grow more of their own food. He came up with the concept of a product which could become a mainstay appliance in the home, one which could autonomously grow the most nutritious crops all year round.   
  • Since launching the Homefarm Appliance in 2018 the Homefarm business has also launched their Homefarm Commercial System which caters mostly towards businesses wanting to grow their own fresh produce on site. The Homefarm Commercial System can grow up to 15kgs worth of produce per month and is supported by Homefarm’s Farming as a Service offering.
  • Michael’s passion for empowering people to be more self-sufficient and less reliant on established systems has ultimately brought him and Homefarm to where they are today. His undergraduate degree in Electro-Mechanical Engineering from the University of Cape Town along with his Masters in Product Innovation,  as well as his passion for indoor farming have all enabled him to build a multi-faceted business which is proud to design, develop and manufacture its products in South Africa. Michael feels a patriotic duty towards South Africa and wants to use his business as a vehicle for job and value creation. Homefarm is a true South African pioneer in the Indoor Farming Sector and has global ambitions, as seen by its expanding base of international customers.

Source: NEWS ALERT