Nigerian Startup Figorr To Salvage Perishable Goods 

About $1.5 million has been raised by Oghenetega Iortim, IoT startup, Figorr's CEO/Founder, from various investors to financially support Figorr's operations.

Iortim’s company raised the capital as a form of investment from Atlantica Ventures, Vested World, Jaza Rift and Katapult during a seed funding round, according to a statement receuved on Monday.

In the absence of discrete smart sensors, instruments, and transmitters to measure climatic parameters that affect the integrity of perishable stuff as well as on-the-spot human monitoring agents, goods worth thousands and millions of Naira will readily get damaged.

This is where Internet of Things (IoT) that leverages a consolidation of devices powered by the Internet such that climatic variables of perishable goods can be monitored and controlled realtime by anyone from any location comes in.

Thus, Figorr helps eliminate arising losses associated with the transportation and storage of temperature-sensitive and perishable goods in Africa such as vaccines, insulin and food. 

The firm does this by developing Internet of Things-powered solutions which complement existing infrastructure and assets that support the last-mile delivery of perishable goods. 

Businesses and other stakeholders in agriculture, healthcare, logistics and other sectors across Africa maximise the value of perishable and temperature-sensitive goods such as vaccines, insulin and food with the real-time data on location, humidity, temperature and other key data points provided by Figorr.

Commenting on the funding, Iortim, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Figorr, said the funding comes in handy at a period of soaring inflation and significant challenges facing the global economy.

“This funding comes at a great time for us, as it enables us to leverage the data we have gathered over the years to provide further support for our customers with managing the risks associated with perishable goods on the continent.

“At a time where the price of everything seems to be rising and the global economy is experiencing significant challenges, unnecessary wastage should not be compounding these issues.

"We are excited to onboard more customers across the continent and roll out our solutions to enable more Africans to maximise the value of their goods and maintain profitability."

Also, Aniko Szigetvari, the Founding Partner at Atlantica Ventures, which led the funding round, revealed why the venture capital invested in Iortim. 

“Tega and the Figorr team have built a powerful suite of products and services to support the cold chain industry and ensure quality of perishable goods and pharmaceutical products in Nigeria and across the continent.

"We are excited to support the growth and regional expansion of the company.”