In the landscape of South African venture capital and impact investing, the focus is shifting from high-end fintech to the literal “ground floor.”
E Squared Investments, a South African impact fund, has announced its backing of a new agritech pilot in Diepsloot, Johannesburg. The initiative, dubbed the Green Acres Hydro-Coop, aims to test whether modular, high-tech farming units can transform unemployed youth into self-sustaining micro-entrepreneurs.
While South Africa faces a dual crisis — youth unemployment hovering near 45% and deepening food insecurity — this pilot suggests the solution may lie in “agripreneurship”: a hybrid of precision farming and a micro-franchise business model.
The Tech: Poultry Meets Hydroponics
At the heart of the pilot is the Hydro-Coop, a smart farming system developed by South African agritech firm UrbanFarm Africa. These units are designed for the constraints of “township” or rural environments where land is scarce and infrastructure is unreliable.
The Hydro-Coop is a solar-powered, closed-loop system that combines:
- Poultry Production: Raising chickens for meat or eggs.
- Hydroponic Cultivation: Growing vegetables in nutrient-rich water rather than soil.
The units are compact and movable, making them ideal for urban densification. Crucially, they use significantly less water than conventional farming — an essential feature for a water-stressed region. By integrating the two systems, the waste from one process can often serve as a resource for the other, creating a circular micro-economy on a single plot of land.
The Business Case: From Trainee to Owner
The project, implemented by non-profit Afrika Tikkun, has moved 20 participants (19 women and one man with a disability) through an intensive development phase. Unlike traditional “learnerships” that often end in a certificate and no job, this 12-month program is structured around ownership.
Participants are currently running their own revenue-generating micro-enterprises. To ensure these businesses don’t fail at the “last mile,” the program has secured retail partnerships with Garden Fresh at Nine Yards, a new green commercial hub in Johannesburg, and other local outlets.
This provides a guaranteed “off-take” agreement, allowing the young farmers to gain experience in sales, customer service, and supply chain management without the immediate risk of market exclusion.
The Investor’s Perspective
For E Squared Investments, the pilot represents more than just a CSR initiative. It is an experiment in scalable social entrepreneurship.
“What stands out in this model is its focus on enabling young people to participate meaningfully in the economy through ownership and the ability to generate income over time,” says Zakiya Khan, Head of Investments for Social Entrepreneurship at E Squared.
The fund is looking for “practical and enduring” solutions. In a market where traditional agriculture requires massive capital expenditure and vast tracts of land, the Hydro-Coop offers a lower barrier to entry. If the Diepsloot cohort hits its production and revenue targets, the model could be replicated across South Africa’s peri-urban centers.
Why Women?
The decision to select an almost entirely female cohort was intentional. According to Afrika Tikkun Group CEO Marc Lubner, women in South Africa face disproportionately higher unemployment rates and significantly lower access to startup capital.
By centering the pilot on women, the project aims to address the systemic “gender gap” in South African entrepreneurship. “Agriculture can be a powerful engine for jobs… by giving young people access to infrastructure and market opportunities, we are helping them build long-term income,” Lubner explains.
The Path to 2027
The pilot is currently in its live-operation phase, having launched its business units earlier this week. The long-term track record of the technology provider, UrbanFarm Africa — which claims to have implemented 271 projects and helped generate R250 million in revenue over five years — suggests the technical foundation is solid.
The real test will be the “post-program” phase. Success stories like Debra Dagada, a former Afrika Tikkun trainee who transitioned from a plant production qualification to securing her own land at Northern Farm, provide a blueprint.
Afrika Tikkun plans to introduce a second cohort of 20 participants in 2027. If the “Hydro-Coop” proves it can turn a profit in the harsh economic climate of Diepsloot, it may well become the standard for decentralised food production in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Has the South African agritech sector finally found a way to bridge the gap between “impact” and “profit”? The next 12 months in Diepsloot will provide the data.