SokoFresh
Strengthening first-mile cold chains with solar-powered cold storage
Climate-related network risk: Rising temperatures, unreliable energy access, post-harvest food loss and quality deterioration in the first mile of agricultural supply chains
Solution pathway: Decentralised, solar-powered cold storage close to farms and aggregation points, combined with pay-as-you-store access and market linkage support
Business type: SME / social enterprise / cold-storage-as-a-service provide
Sector: Food, agriculture and cold chain logistics
Geography: Kenya
In practice
Perishable agricultural supply chains are highly exposed to temperature risk before goods ever reach formal logistics networks. Fresh produce can lose quality quickly after harvest, particularly where farmers are operating in hot conditions, far from markets, or without reliable electricity. When cooling is unavailable, farmers may be forced to sell immediately, accept lower prices, or lose part of their harvest before it can reach buyers.
SokoFresh addresses this first-mile gap by offering cold storage as a service to farmers, aggregators and agribusinesses in Kenya. Its model uses mobile, solar-powered cold rooms that can be placed near farms, rural collection points or produce aggregation hubs. Farmers and buyers can access cooling without having to purchase and maintain expensive permanent refrigeration infrastructure themselves.
The service is designed around the practical realities of smallholder supply chains. SokoFresh’s cold rooms support pay-as-you-store access, meaning users can pay for storage based on the amount of produce stored rather than making a large upfront investment. The company also combines cooling with aggregation, produce handling and market linkage support. This helps farmers maintain quality, combine volumes with other growers, and reach buyers who require consistent supply and higher product standards.
For climate resilience, the importance of the model is that it moves cold chain protection upstream. Rather than treating cooling as something that begins only at a warehouse, port, processor or supermarket distribution centre, SokoFresh helps protect product quality at the point where heat and delay first enter the value chain. Solar power also makes the model more suitable for rural and off-grid areas where conventional refrigeration may be unreliable, costly or unavailable.
The case is useful for this section because it shows that cold chain resilience is not only about refrigerated trucks or large warehouses. For businesses that depend on fresh produce, resilience may depend on whether suppliers can protect quality immediately after harvest. First-mile cooling can reduce waste, improve supplier incomes, protect input quality, and make downstream logistics more reliable.
Why this example was selected
This case study was selected because SokoFresh is an externally recognised example of climate-smart cold chain innovation. It was named a 2022 Ashden Award winner for Energising Agriculture, with Ashden highlighting its role in bringing solar-powered cold rooms to smallholder farmers and improving access to commercial buyers.
The case has also been recognised by EEP Africa, which selected SokoFresh as its 2023 Project of the Year in the Scale Up category. EEP Africa highlighted the portability of the cold rooms, the company’s work across multiple produce value chains, and its expansion into new hubs across Kenya.
The example is especially relevant for businesses that rely on climate-sensitive agricultural inputs. It shows how supply chain resilience can be strengthened by supporting decentralised cooling, supplier access to infrastructure, and service-based models that lower the cost barrier for small farms and SMEs.
Key lesson
Businesses should identify where temperature risk first enters their supply chain. For perishable goods, cold chain resilience may need to start at the point of harvest, collection or aggregation — not only in large warehouses, refrigerated vehicles or formal distribution centres.
