FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nairobi, Kenya – November 17, 2025 – Synnefa, a leading agritech company building climate-smart solutions for African farmers, is proud to announce that it has secured grant funding and technical assistance from Powering Renewable Energy Opportunities (PREO) and P4G – Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030. Building on a successful pilot funded by the Efficiency for Access Fund to develop its IoT-enabled Smart Solar Dryers, this follow-on support will accelerate its rollout across East Africa, reducing post-harvest losses and boosting incomes for smallholder farmers, cooperatives, and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Post-harvest losses are a major barrier to agricultural productivity in Africa, with farmers losing 30-50% of their produce due to inadequate drying and storage. Following a successful pilot supported by the Efficiency for Access Fund, Synnefa’s Smart Solar Dryers, powered by renewable energy and equipped with IoT sensors, enable efficient drying of crops like coffee, fruits, vegetables, grains, and spices in just 2-3 days—compared to weeks with traditional methods. This results in higher-quality produce that meets export standards, up to 45% reduced losses, and improved livelihoods.

With PREO’s grant (part of €4.26 million awarded to 22 enterprises in July 2025) and P4G’s ~US$300,000 partnership with Solidaridad, Synnefa will initially scale to over 15,000 farmers in Kenya and beyond. This unlocks new markets, builds climate resilience, and supports youth-led enterprises in value chains like mango, peanut, and coffee.

Synnefa’s innovative Rent-to-Own (RTO) model eliminates upfront costs for farmer groups and SMEs. Cooperatives and businesses lease dryers with flexible terms, gaining ownership over time, while a complementary Dry-as-a-Service option targets youth entrepreneurs.

This delivers three key benefits:

By integrating technology, finance, and market linkages, Synnefa empowers farmers to transition from subsistence to commercial agriculture amid climate volatility.

PREO, co-funded by the UK Government via the Transforming Energy Access platform, delivered by the Carbon Trust and Energy 4 Impact, supports enterprises in harnessing renewable energy for productive uses like agriculture. In its latest round, it backed innovative solutions in food systems, water, e-mobility, and digital innovation with grants and tailored business support.

P4G, hosted by the World Resources Institute and funded by Denmark, the Netherlands, and the Republic of Korea, accelerates climate partnerships in food, water, and energy. It provides grants, technical assistance, and investor matchmaking to scale solutions like Synnefa’s.

This combined support equips Synnefa with catalytic funding, expertise, and global networks to expand across Africa.

Taita Ngetich, Founder & CEO of Synnefa, said: “This backing from PREO and P4G, following our successful pilot with Efficiency for Access, validates our vision for a food-secure Africa where farmers grow more and retain more of their harvest. Our Smart Solar Dryers are solving for post-harvest losses while creating rural job opportunities and with rent-to-own financing, we’re making them scalable and impactful for thousands of smallholders.”

PREO Programme Director from Energy 4 Impact, Mathieu Dalle: “Smart solar technologies are enabling more precise, efficient, and data-driven processing, which helps smallholders save time, reduce losses, and access new markets. With its Smart Solar Dryer, Synnefa Green aims to demonstrate this potential and help tackle the drying challenge faced by farmers across Africa.”

“P4G is proud to support Synnefa as one of our newest partnerships driving green growth in Kenya,” said Robyn McGuckin, Executive Director of P4G. “Synnefa’s integrated and technology-first approach to efficient drying will make smallholder farmers more resilient to climate shocks and capture more of their produce for sale. By raising awareness and advocating for supportive regulations for smart drying technology, this partnership is paving the way for a more sustainable, climate-smart future for Kenya’s agriculture sector.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

About Synnefa

Synnefa builds and finances climate-smart farming solutions for smallholder farmers and agribusinesses in Africa. Its suite includes Smart Solar Dryers, Smart Greenhouses, FarmShield IoT sensors, and FarmCloud software—helping over 27,000 farmers reduce risks, boost productivity, and access premium markets. Synnefa’s vision: a food-secure Africa through technology and innovation.

About the Carbon Trust

The Carbon Trust is a global climate organisation driven by the mission to accelerate the move to a decarbonised future. We have been climate pioneers for over 20 years, partnering with businesses, governments, and financial institutions to drive positive climate action. From strategic planning and target setting to activation and communication - we turn ambition into impact. To date, our 400 experts have helped set 200+ science-based targets and guided 3,000+ organisations and cities across five continents on their route to Net Zero.

For more information visit https://www.carbontrust.com/

For further information please contact:

The Carbon Trust press office on +44 (0)20 7170 7050 or [email protected].

Powering Renewable Energy Opportunities

PREO promotes the productive use of renewable energy (PURE) in sub-Saharan Africa and the Pacific Island Countries to stimulate local economic development and support global progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG7, SDG8 & SDG13). By bolstering investment and engagement in the PURE sector, PREO strives to realise the potential of PURE as a key driver in a just and inclusive global clean energy transition. The PREO programme supports collaborative partnerships that are designed to meet the specific needs of local communities. For more information, please visit: Home - PREO Powering Renewable Energy Opportunities

IKEA Foundation

The IKEA Foundation is a strategic philanthropy that focuses its grant making efforts on tackling the two biggest threats to children’s futures: poverty and climate change. It currently grants more than €200 million per year to help improve family incomes and quality of life while protecting the planet from climate change. Since 2009, the IKEA Foundation has granted more than €1.5 billion to create a better future for children and their families. In 2021 the Board of the IKEA Foundation decided to make an additional €1 billion available over the next five years to accelerate the reduction of Greenhouse Gas emissions. Learn more at: www.ikeafoundation.org

Transforming Energy Access

Transforming Energy Access (TEA) is the flagship FCDO research and innovation programme supporting early-stage testing and scale-up of innovative technologies and business models that accelerate access to affordable, clean energy for poor households, enterprises, and social institutions in developing countries across sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Indo-Pacific. This includes support to innovations across the three Ayrton Fund themes of clean supply, super-efficient demand, and smart delivery, as well as integration of solutions across all three. In late 2021, a £126m scale-up of the platform was announced at COP26, further advancing TEA into a major delivery platform for the Ayrton Fund focused on delivering innovations enabling a Just Transition for the 733 million people who still lack access to electricity, the 2.4 billion people who cook using fuels detrimental to their health and the environment.

Energy 4 Impact – Mercy Corps

Energy 4 Impact is Mercy Corps’ energy innovation platform, dedicated to improving access to clean energy and promoting climate-resilient development. Their work accelerates progress towards a more sustainable and equitable future for all.

About P4G

P4G helps early-stage climate startups in emerging markets and developing economies become investment ready. We provide startups with grants and technical assistance, and partner them with national level public-private platforms to help navigate the marketplace. Through this approach, P4G strengthens market systems for climate entrepreneurs and accelerates just and resilient country economic transitions. Hosted by World Resources Institute and funded by Denmark, the Netherlands and the Republic of Korea, P4G accelerates food, water and energy partnerships in Colombia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, South Africa and Vietnam. To learn more, visit www.p4gpartnerships.org

Media Contact:

Synnefa

Taita Ngetich

Founder and CEO

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +254 732 613 501 or +254 20 389 2455