When Modou Njie launched Farm Fresh in 2014, online shopping was a novel concept in The Gambia. Internet penetration was low, digital payments were nascent and most people preferred to buy food in open markets. Njie, who had worked in technology and consulting for years, decided to take a risk on something new.
A decade later, Farm Fresh has grown from a simple grocery website into what Njie calls a “tech-enabled food distribution platform.” The company now uses AI for analytics, integrates with mobile and card payment systems, and is building cold-chain storage that will extend the shelf life of its produce.
The platform attracts between 3,000 and 5,000 daily visitors, according to Njie, with the majority coming from Gambians living overseas. This positions Farm Fresh within The Gambia’s growing e-commerce market which is projected to reach around US$72.44 million in 2025.
From a $5,000 boost to a thousand-farmer network
A year after launch, Farm Fresh got a $5,000 boost from the 2015 Tony Elumelu Foundation, which helped it strengthen operations and branding. At the time, Njie handled orders manually, stored accounting records on paper, and used his personal car for deliveries.
“It wasn’t easy,” he said. “But I had a passion for innovation and wanted to start something new.”
Over time, Farm Fresh’s impact grew. Njie said Farm Fresh introduced thousands of Gambians to online shopping and inspired a wave of small Information Technology (IT) firms to explore e-commerce.
“The Tony Elumelu Foundation funding played a huge role here because it helped us carry out branding and a lot of marketing which created the awareness for something like shopping online,” he said.
Farm Fresh also tapped into a powerful cultural dynamic: food remittances.
“Many Gambians abroad were sending money to their families every month,” Njie explained. “We said, why not send food instead? Just spend a small portion of your remittance to feed your family directly.”
That simple idea now sustains the company. Sixty to seventy percent of Farm Fresh’s online orders come from the diaspora, especially in Europe and North America. The company also ships dried products like cereals, honey, and herbal teas internationally, though fresh produce remains a challenge due to spoilage.
Customers often rely on informal courier services, travellers who bring packages for a fee, to avoid expensive shipping through companies like DHL.
“Gambians are always travelling and some of these people have turned moving things from the Gambia to other parts of the world a business. People always patronise them due to their low cost,” he explained.
From a handful of smallholder farmers, Farm Fresh now works with between 1,000 and 1,500 producers during peak season. The platform features over 80 locally made products, from vegetables and dairy to cereals, and herbal teas.
“Strawberries are one of our bestsellers,” Njie said proudly. “They’re grown locally and the demand is always high from January to May.”
The company operates on a 10% to 15% markup model, buying at wholesale prices from farmers and adding costs for packaging, branding, and logistics.
Farm Fresh is also preparing to start its own farming operations on newly acquired land, with plans to grow its own vegetables and strawberries by early next year.
Technology as a game-changer
When Farm Fresh launched, the platform was a basic website listing prices and products. Payments were handled in cash. But today, the platform is fully automated, with integrations through TablePay, a Gambian fintech that processes global payments via Visa and MasterCard, and Wave, one of West Africa’s fastest-growing mobile money firms.
The startup also uses AI-driven hybrid live-chat systems that combine bots with human agents for customer support and reporting. “Our reporting process is now fast and data-driven,” Njie said. “We’ve come a long way from doing everything manually.”
Farm Fresh’s shift into automation has allowed it to expand without significantly increasing its headcount, critical in a country where reliable staffing remains a challenge. “You can’t copy and paste passion,” Njie said, referring to the struggle of finding committed employees who share the company’s vision.
Njie’s pivot reflects a broader trend in The Gambia, where digitalisation has accelerated in the last five years. Internet penetration now stands at roughly 1.28 million users, about 45.9% of the population, while mobile subscriptions exceed the population, creating a foundation for digital commerce.
Solving the logistics problem
In The Gambia, logistics has long been a major bottleneck for e-commerce. Njie remembers making deliveries himself in the early days. As demand grew, Farm Fresh acquired its own delivery bikes to handle the workload. But maintaining the bikes proved expensive, and the company eventually shifted to partnering with third-party delivery services.
“Over the past five years, there’s been an upsurge of delivery companies,” he said. “Many now offer tracking codes and hourly delivery. Prices are more competitive, and that is a win for everyone.”
Still, Farm Fresh’s biggest breakthrough is underway. Through the World Bank’s Tourism Diversification and Resilience Project, the company was selected as part of 62 businesses after a rigorous training process. The project is now funding the installation of Farm Fresh’s first cold-storage facility and processing machines for oils and related products.
“It’s a game-changer,” Njie said. “Once our cold room is ready, we can buy in bulk, extend shelf life, and control prices better. We won’t need to rush to farms for every order.”
Before this, Farm Fresh operated on a just-in-time model, sourcing produce from farms only when orders came in, a stressful and unreliable process.
Building through infrastructure constraints
The Gambia’s infrastructure challenges have tested Farm Fresh at every turn. Internet data costs remain among the highest in Africa, averaging $3.56 per gigabyte in 2025, ranking the country 4th most expensive on the continent. For a nation where over half the population lives in poverty, this stifles both innovation and customer access.
Power supply presents an equally persistent problem. Frequent blackouts and voltage fluctuations have become routine, with outages sometimes lasting several hours or even all day. The National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC), the country’s sole electricity provider, struggles with ageing infrastructure and outdated transmission networks that have not been significantly upgraded.
“Electricity is definitely still a challenge,” Njie said. “It’s been improving, but at times it can be quite frustrating, especially during the rainy season.”
To address this, Farm Fresh plans to transition entirely to solar energy. “We just want to solarise, make sure that everything runs on solar, so that we don’t have delays in our operations,” Njie explained. “Even though the government is doing its best, we would also like to do our part, so that with or without the government, we can still remain fully functional.”
For Farm Fresh, funding remains a persistent challenge. This reflects the wider venture-capital drought in The Gambia. There are a few VC firms operating locally, and digital capital-raising in the country remains negligible compared to its neighbours, according to Statista data. The few available channels, such as the Gambia Angel Investors Network (GAIN), launched by the International Trade Centre, are only beginning to build investor confidence and deal-flow capacity. Most startups still depend on donor programmes like the Youth Empowerment Project and on diaspora remittances, leaving growth-stage firms like Farm Fresh largely self-funded.
“We’ve reached out to investors,” Njie said. “Some were interested but didn’t find the numbers compelling. Still, we’ve managed to grow with or without funding.”
The Gambian tech ecosystem and Farm Fresh’s role
The Gambian tech ecosystem is evolving, with government-backed digital policies helping to shape the future of the sector. The National Digital Economy Master Plan 2024‑2034, for instance, outlines plans to improve digital infrastructure and make e-commerce and digital services more accessible, with a focus on financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, and digital government.
The government has also introduced tax incentives for agribusinesses, as part of its efforts to support innovation in the sector. According to Njie, these measures are set to ease operational burdens on startups like Farm Fresh. However, challenges such as high internet costs and unreliable power supply remain, but initiatives like the e-Government Strategy 2021-2024 aim to address these gaps over time.
In line with these policy shifts, Farm Fresh is planning its expansion into Ghana, Senegal, and Rwanda over the next five years, aiming to establish a reliable export market to Europe and other parts of the world. Njie remains confident that government support, coupled with regional investments and digital transformation, will allow Farm Fresh to scale and address food security issues more effectively across West Africa.
Njie’s optimism for the future of Farm Fresh aligns with the broader growth trajectory of The Gambia’s digital economy. With ongoing investments in digital infrastructure, policy reforms, and entrepreneurial support, the coming years will be critical for startups to make a significant impact in the country.
