ColdHubs Ltd.

In Nigeria, farmers and food supply chain actors are affected by post-harvest losses. This spoilage is caused by high ambient temperature and humidity, which accelerates the natural decay of agricultural produce.

The lack of suitable, well-designed on-farm and off-farm storage facilities, together with unreliable electricity supply restrains small scale farmers and other food supply chain actors from extending the shelf life of crops. Nigerian smallholder farmers and food supply chain actors produce 23 million metric tons of fresh fruits and vegetables worth US$ 4 Billion per year, of which an average of 45% of vegetables and 35% of fruits are lost after harvest. While terrible on its own, rotting food also produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.

ColdHubs Ltd. has developed solar powered refrigeration units that provide affordable cold storage rooms to farmers. Its product is a solar powered walk-in cold room installed outdoors in marketplaces and farm clusters, to store and preserve fruits, vegetables and other perishable foods and extend their shelf life from 2 days to 21 days.