University of Rwanda
giih@ur.ac.rw Kigali, Rwanda
Agriculture & cold chain

Cold Chain Penetration

Cold Chain Penetration — solar-powered portable cooler for open-market horticulture sellers. $5/week lease. Cuts 30% spoilage. GIIH Cohort 3.

Cold Chain Penetration provides an off-grid, solar-powered portable cooler for horticulture sellers — extending shelf life of fruits and vegetables at open markets where refrigeration is unavailable. Partnering with the Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold Chain. A GIIH Cohort 3 venture.

  • Cohort: GIIH Cohort 3
  • Status: Prototype stage · 3 inaugural customers
  • Product: Solar-powered portable cooler box for produce
  • Pricing: $5/week leasing · $150 prototype cost
  • Sector: Agriculture & cold chain
Cold Chain Penetration pitch deck title
Cold Chain Penetration — solar cold chain for horticulture sellers. GIIH Cohort 3 pitch.

The problem

  • 30% of horticulture products — fruits and vegetables — spoil before reaching their potential shelf life
  • Lack of refrigeration at point of sale and storage
  • Open market conditions expose produce to heat without cooling infrastructure
Post-harvest spoilage and lack of refrigeration at open markets

Status quo

Without cold chain access, sellers face price reduction as produce deteriorates — forcing them to sell at a loss or discard unsold stock.

Price reduction and high cost of spoilage

The solution

An off-grid, solar-powered, portable and environmentally friendly cooler box that extends shelf life for horticulture products at the point of sale.

  • Off-grid — no mains electricity required
  • Solar powered — portable solar kit (Solar Life battery + panel)
  • Environmental friendly — aligned with SDG sustainability goals
  • Cooler box — keeps fruits and vegetables fresh longer
Solar-powered portable cooler solution for horticulture

Product

  • Faster cooling with low power consumption
  • Sustainability — solar-powered cold storage unit for fruits and vegetables
  • Easy to maintain portable design
  • Profit — sellers retain more value from their produce
Portable cooler product features and benefits

Market

  • 70% of target opportunity linked to Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold Chain
  • Horticulture product sellers — fruits and vegetables at open markets and retail stands
Market of horticulture sellers and cold chain opportunity

Business model

  • Leasing model: $5/week per unit
  • Prototype cost: $150
  • Inaugural customers: 3 (generating $15/week)
  • Break-even: 15 customers
Leasing business model and revenue from first three customers

Uniqueness

  • KIVU Cold Group — end-to-end cold chain from farm to retail sellers
  • Retail farmers stand — cooling solution designed for open-market vendor points
Farm-to-retail cold chain uniqueness via KIVU Cold Group

Funding needs

Seeking 1,000,000 RWF to:

  • Refine the prototype into an MVP
  • Conduct thorough market validation
  • Complete within 5 months
Funding ask of 1 million RWF for MVP and market validation

Team

  • Raymond — Cofounder
  • Pascal — Cofounder
  • Thomas — Mechanical engineer
  • Sandra — Finance
  • Divine — Public relations
Cold Chain Penetration team