AgVentures invests in African software champion
AgVentures, Africa’s leading, dedicated agrifood tech investor, announced an investment in Matrix Software.
Matrix Software is the leading specialist software provider to the meat industry in Southern Africa, with more than 150 clients spanning from abattoirs, meat processors, wholesalers, and retailers. Matrix currently operates in seven African countries – South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Nigeria, Seychelles – and Australia.
AgVentures, with the objective of unleashing Africa’s agrifood potential through technological innovation and entrepreneurship, partners with agrifood tech entrepreneurs and enable them to accelerate the growth and development impact of their businesses in Africa.
Matrix is a phenomenal South African entrepreneurial success story. After being founded in 2005 by Deon Snyman at the age of 21, the business has grown steadily into its market leading position by providing clients with mission critical functionalities to enable the processing of perishable food products where precise stock control, yield management, traceability, productivity tracking and costing – with minimal production downtime – is critical to business success. Not only is Matrix’s software crucial to ensuring the safety of the food on the consumer’s plate but it also enables the optimisation of the value chain so that the consumer can safely enjoy their meat at the lowest possible price.
With the African population projected to increase from 1.3 billion to 2.5 billion over the next 30 years combined with rising incomes, meat consumption in Africa is expected to increase rapidly. Matrix’s robust, cost-effective software provides the ideal solution to the challenges faced by the African meat and food value chain. Food safety and traceability is top of mind for the entire food industry and Matrix’s technology enables complete traceability of meat products from the abattoir to the retail shelf. Not only does this provide consumer with peace of mind, but it also enables accountability and efficiency within the value chain.
AgVentures’ investment ideally positions Matrix to continue its rapid growth through the introduction of new functionalities to existing clients, expanding into adjacent market verticals (such as poultry, fisheries, and dairy) and driving its ambitious African growth strategy (especially into East Africa).
Deon Snyman, Matrix’s founder and CEO is upbeat about the investment: “We are excited to partner with AgVentures given their experience in supporting and scaling agrifood technology companies. Whilst we have big plans for Matrix, we remain committed to our single-minded focus on understanding and addressing the needs of our existing and future customers.”
This sentiment is also shared by Gerhard Visagie, the CEO of AgVentures: “We are thrilled about investing in Deon and the Matrix team. Matrix provides an indispensable solution to their customers, and we are excited to expand Matrix’s offering on the continent to unleash the potential of Africa’s meat and food industry.”
For more information contact:
Jan C Greyling, Analyst
083 608 2213
jan@agventures.africa