Twiga Foods, the Kenyan mobile-based B2B fresh produce distribution platform, has hired Peter Njonjo away from Coca-Cola. Njonjo, who is a key shareholder in Twiga, was the President of Coca-Cola’s West and Central Africa business unit.

According to the company’s press release, Twiga sources fruits and vegetables from 17,000 farmers across 20 counties in Kenya. It delivers directly to 2,500 vendors a day in and around Nairobi.  Twiga operates like a buying group by consolidating the purchasing power of small and fragmented urban retailers.

Twiga Foods positions itself as the future of retail in Africa, with the power to transform the buying model or informal traders. Co-founder Grant Brooke had observed fresh produce vendors would have to wake up at 4am every day to go market, and then transport delicate and perishable produce back by handcart (which also precluded buying in bulk).

In July 2018, it raised $7m from the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and venture capital firm TLCom Capital Partners. In August 2017,  Twiga secured $10.3m in Series A funding.