Vitara

Project overview

Vitara is an innovative SME which operates as an agtech-enabled offtaker in the shea industry. Vitara uses its software technology to create transparency and traceability in the shea value chain while increasing the income of women shea producers in West Africa through financing, market access and agroforestry.

Funding objective

The project perfectly alignes with Ghana country window priorities: Vitara is headquartered in the Upper West region where its founding team originates from.

Gender impact: 94% of farmers working with Vitara are women who benefits from training and access to market. Vitara field agents train and reinforce capacities of farmers

Environmental/Climate resilience: Vitara works with communities leading them to set up and manage protected parklands (shea trees grow mainly in the wild). 607 ha of land protected so far (~27,000 trees). The company works with communities to raise and plant early maturing shea seedlings that take  ~5 years to mature (instead of 30 years)

Scalability: Operations designed for West African scalability. Vitara is planning to expand in Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Mali and Ivory Coast to reach additional shea producers.

Investment rationale

With an important portfolio of clients active in the production of shea butter, stearin and olein (most of shea is used in the production of cocoa butter equivalents), the project will allow Sommalife to grow its model of providing traceable and sustainable shea nuts to these manufacturers while digitizing agricultural value chains and connecting smallholders to markets.

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