How Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu Discovered The Idea For ColdHub And Turned It Into A Multiple International Award Winning Brand
Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu started ColdHub to solve the problem of food spoilage through providing Cooling as a Service (CaaS)
ColdHubs is a Nigerian company that operates solar-powered cold rooms, providing a pay-as-you-store service for fresh produce to smallholder farmers and market merchants.
Nnaemeka's business idea came from a discovery that Nigeria is ranked 100 out of 113 countries on the Global Food Security Index and over 88 million people in the country face food insecurity and 12% are undernourished, not because of lack of food, but due to excess of waste.
It was found that an alarming 40% of the food Nigeria produces every year is lost before it reaches consumers. That’s equal to 31% of total land use, according to the World Bank, and accounts for 5% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
ColdHub created its proprietary solar-powered walk-in cold rooms to help provide lasting solution to the problem.
The company started in Owerri, Imo State, with a single ColdHub that offers storage for fresh fruits, vegetables, and other agricultural perishables.
Farmers transfer their perishable foods into reusable crates, which fit neatly onto the shelves, in order to prepare them for storage
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ColdHub has also developed freezing technology for fishing communities and currently operates in more than 22 states across Nigeria, providing smallholder farmers, retailers, wholesalers, etc access to its cold rooms that help in reducing waste and increasing food quality and boosting farmers’ profits.
Its 10-foot-square solar powered cold storage keep produce fresh for up to 21 days and prevents over 1 million kilograms of CO2 entering the atmosphere each year, while powering the units 24/7
The execution has been so successful that it enabled ColdHub win many awards.
It was announced as the joint winner of the $1.5 million AYuTe Africa Challenge, for promising young innovators who are using technology to reimagine food production on the continent.
It also won the Cooling as a Service prize of Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy (BASE), based in Switzerland, etc.
The company makes money by offering CaaS using a pay-as-you-store subscription model.
Storing a crate of produce in the ColdHub costs around 25 cents (₦200) per day, and has helped farmers and retailers reduce waste, increase product quality and double their monthly earnings.
ColdHubs has benefited from various grants to execute its expansion plans, including funds from USAID, Swiss RE Foundation and the Government of Japan.
The company has equally raised undisclosed amounts from 3 funding rounds and is partnering with the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) to expand into Sierra Leone and Benin
Other countries on the firm's expansion list include Mali, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia and Cameroon.
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