SMART-COLD — RIFT Case Study

The opportunity

Cold chain for smallholders — massive losses, massive market

0

% post-harvest loss

Up to half of fruit, veg, dairy, fish and meat is lost for lack of cold chains.

$4–5B

Lost yearly in SSA

The annual value of post-harvest loss across Sub-Saharan Africa.

0

% smallholders

Most of Africa's farmers are smallholders — first-mile cooling is the gap.

30–40%

Loss reduction

The impact reliable cold chains can deliver — with strong farmer income gains.

01 · The solution

Affordable, durable, locally maintainable

A fully off-grid, mobile cold-chain model piloted for avocado farmers in Western Kenya.

Solar-powered Cold Hub (4 MT) providing both charging and storage

Fleet of cold e-trikes reaching farmers within a ~69 km radius on a single charge

Cooling range 4–15°C, preserving export-grade quality

A scalable, locally maintainable model for affordable cold logistics across Africa and the Global South.

// Cold e-trike · Western Kenya

02 · The cold chain

Four links, one unbroken chain

25–35°C

Harvest → load · 0–2h

Smallholder farmers

Fresh produce harvested at ambient field temperatures — rapid deterioration begins.

12–18°C

First-mile · 2–3h

Mobile pre-cooling

Field heat removed during first-mile collection; temperature stabilises fast.

3–8°C

Storage · 12–48h

Solar chilling hub

Off-grid cold storage extends shelf life 2–5×. Sorting and consolidation happen here.

3–8°C

Processing · 12–48h

Distribution network

Grading, washing, sorting and packing — produce stays in the chain to export grade.

Pre-cooling is the single highest-impact intervention in the entire cold chain.

03 · Prototyping

Three solutions, field-tested

RIFT built and tested three cold-box designs in real operational conditions to optimise energy management.

01

Fibreglass + AC

Air-tight fibreglass with sealing door locks.

02

Canvas + AC

Waterproof canvas, metal frame, PVC insulation.

03 · winner

Light Lowtech

Canvas + fans + pre-frozen icepacks.

Loading produce crates into a SMART-COLD box

// Field test · operational conditions

04 · Head to head

The "Light Lowtech" wins on every axis that matters

Parameter	01 · Fibreglass + AC	02 · Canvas + AC	03 · Light Lowtech
Cooling	Compressor (active)	Compressor (active)	Icepacks + dual fans
Power draw	Highest	Medium	~25–30% less than AC
Weight	640 kg	497 kg	495 kg (lightest)
Range · 400 kg load	51 km	57 km	62 km
Capacity	20 crates	36 crates	36 crates
Ease of repair	Imported composite	Compressor expertise	Fully local · modular

05 · Why it matters

"90% of the performance at 50% of the cost"

$5,750

Build cost

32% cheaper than the fibreglass + AC build ($7,600).

40–50%

Lower energy / trip

No compressor — dramatically lower running cost.

45–50%

Lower 3-yr TCO

Locally repairable, no refrigeration gas.

6–8 mo

Payback period

Versus 12–15 months for AC-based models.

What's next

From one hub to a network

01

Upgrade 1st-mile

Higher-performance canvas insulation and an efficient chilling module for a steady 12–15°C.

02

Low-power solar hub

A smaller sub-3 kW solar cold room for rural hubs — one prototype at an additional SONGA hub.

03

More value chains

Extend from milk and avocado into horticulture and fish, across 2–3 additional hubs.

04

1st → last mile

Urban milk distribution with Fresh Networks; fish distribution with Victory Farms.

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