Complete Farmer Founder Desmond Koney Joins Endeavor Network

Ghanaian agribusiness entrepreneur Desmond Koney, founder and CEO of Complete Farmer, has been selected by Endeavor Nigeria to join the global Endeavor network following a multi-stage evaluation process. Koney was selected at Endeavor’s International Selection Panel in Athens, Greece, alongside 27 other entrepreneurs representing 16 companies from Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. The selection makes Complete Farmer the first Ghanaian company to join the Endeavor network.

Connecting Farmers to Global Markets

Founded in Ghana, Complete Farmer operates an agricultural trading platform that connects smallholder farmers with international commodity buyers. The company works with more than 72,000 farmers across Ghana and Togo and supplies retailers including Aldi and Lidl.

Its network of more than 350 field agents and eight fulfilment centres supports the movement of agricultural produce from farms to export markets. The centres handle aggregation, grading, quality control and export logistics.

Complete Farmer has also expanded beyond commodity trading to address some of the financial and operational challenges faced by farmers. Its platform provides access to agricultural inputs and equipment, while a credit product uses farm data to support farmers seeking financing. The company is using these services to give smallholder farmers greater access to inputs, finance and international markets while improving the way agricultural products move through the supply chain.

Koney’s Move From Engineering to Agriculture

Koney’s route into agriculture began in engineering and technology. He studied mechanical engineering at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, where he graduated as valedictorian, before studying hardware manufacturing in China.

In 2017, he co-founded renewable energy company Cibus Technologies. His career took a different direction after he inherited his family’s pineapple farm outside Accra following his father’s death.

Running the farm exposed him to challenges that included unreliable buyers, limited market access and difficulty accessing finance. Those experiences eventually led Koney to leave Cibus Technologies and establish Complete Farmer. The company was built around addressing some of the commercial challenges he had encountered directly as a farmer.

Endeavor Nigeria Managing Director Ireayomide Oladunjoye said Complete Farmer stood out for its potential to grow from Ghana into a wider regional and global agricultural business. She also highlighted Koney’s selection as an opportunity to strengthen connections between West African entrepreneurs and Endeavor’s international network of founders, mentors, investors and business leaders.

Combining Technology With Physical Infrastructure

Complete Farmer’s model combines its digital platform with physical infrastructure and local relationships. Danielle Du Toit, Founder and CEO of Humanify and a member of Endeavor’s International Selection Panel, highlighted the combination of technology, infrastructure and local networks behind the business.

The model recognises that agricultural supply chains require more than digital platforms. Farmers also need support with production, aggregation, quality control and getting produce into export markets. Complete Farmer’s field network and fulfilment centres therefore form an important part of its model, allowing the company to connect farmers with buyers while managing several stages of the supply chain.

For Koney, joining Endeavor represents an opportunity to connect Ghana’s entrepreneurial ecosystem with a wider international network. As the first Ghanaian company admitted to the network, he also sees the selection as an opportunity to share knowledge, build relationships and help other Ghanaian entrepreneurs access resources that can support their growth.

Complete Farmer’s entry into Endeavor comes as the company continues to build its agricultural trading and support platform around a growing network of farmers. Its combination of commodity trading, logistics, agricultural inputs, equipment and data-based financing gives it several points of engagement with smallholder farmers and international buyers.

The Endeavor network could give Koney and Complete Farmer access to additional international relationships, expertise and business networks as the company considers its next stage of growth in Africa.