From a Congo prison cell to a $9M raise: how AgriDex is rewiring the backbone of global agriculture

Sometimes, I get the life story of a startup founder who would make a great film.

Henry Duckworth is the CEO and founder of AgriDex — a transparent blockchain marketplace for agriculture. Simply put, the company tackles corruption and middlemen in the food supply, making farmers earn more and customers pay less.

 But before we get into the tech, let's cover some of that life story. I spoke to Duckworth to learn all about him, why agriculture needs blockchain tech, and the launch of its platform Loam.

Duckworth is the son of a British farming family from Zimbabwe whose assets were seized by authorities in 1999. Henry started his business career working for Congo Foret, but his real path started… in a prison cell. 

According to Duckworth, growing up in Zimbabwe, which at the time was politically toxic under the dictatorship of Mugabe, was difficult.

"He was dismantling the agricultural industry and seizing businesses, including those owned by my family. That experience shaped my views on food. In about a year, Zimbabwe went from being a major food producer to facing starvation. It never really recovered.

That planted the seed for wanting to work in food technology.

Eventually, I became a trader, operating in places like the Congo."

But what about the prison story? 

Duckworth was going up the Congo River as part of a team working to revitalise a port city called Deemer as part of an infrastructural deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars. 

The police were backed by corrupted local authorities who were pursuing the same asset.

He recalled:

"This was around 2009 or 2010. I was really young—just out of school, starting my first job at Congo Foret. The local politicians at the time were under Joseph Kabila's government. I was picked up very early on and thrown into a jail cell for the day.

And I can tell you, a Congolese jail is a pretty harrowing experience. No charges were ever filed. I was released the next day, but the whole thing was clearly intended as an intimidation tactic—to scare me and push me out.

Not long after that, they seized many of the agricultural assets in the area. It was heartbreaking. We were in the middle of building a factory— something like a $40 to $50 million investment — to process and export agricultural products from the region.

But the local political group didn't want outside involvement. They wanted complete control. And to this day, as far as I know, nothing has been built there."

Ooof not a good experience. 

While Duckworth's work as a trader meant he ran into intense local corruption he also realised there are things in Africa you just can't change —" like bad roads or port systems."

"But some technologies can help leapfrog legacy issues. One example was the widespread adoption of mobile phones in the 90s and 2000s.

At one point, you couldn't make phone calls across Africa because no one had invested in landline infrastructure since the 60s. Cell phones changed everything overnight."

After being released, Henry spent a lot of time thinking about the nature and extent of corruption in the region and the possibility that a person may start a business by doing good for people and benefiting local communities. 

"That led me to believe there must be a similar opportunity for agriculture.

Over the last few years, I've found that blockchain technology and stablecoin settlement can provide a robust infrastructure for agricultural trade — even in remote parts of Africa."

Henry took all his life savings (which he aimed to use to purchase a house in London) and funded his business, AgriDex, with this money. 

Empowering agricultural trade 

AgriDex is a platform that brings the global agricultural industry on-chain, offering instant settlements, low fees, and full transparency through blockchain technology. It empowers farmers, buyers, and other stakeholders to trade more efficiently, securely, and fairly—reshaping how agricultural commodities are bought and sold worldwide.

An example of how it works in practice — For every tonne of cocoa shipped from Nigeria to Rotterdam, roughly 12.6 per cent of the total trade cost is spent on transaction costs. Traditional settlement fees range from 3-6 per cent, with processing times of up to 5 days. AgriDex transforms this process by charging less than 0.5 per cent and settling transactions in seconds.

According to Duckworth: "As long as someone has a phone and internet access — which over 80 per cent of African communities now do — they can trade agricultural goods with buyers in Europe or the US, who are willing to pay a premium. The system offers legal structures, stablecoin-based settlement, and instant payments."

From cocoa to a royal bull 

AgriDex has already tokenised trades involving wine, olive oil, cocoa, coffee and livestock, including a royal bull from England's Gatcombe Park.

Duckworth detailed: 

"Right now, we focus on mid-tier agricultural producers — typically those with 30–50 hectares or more. 

While anyone can use our system, we emphasise verticals we know well, like cocoa, wine, and wheat. Cocoa is ideal because of its compliance issues, multiple intermediaries, and documentation needs. Our system offers immutable documentation uploads and removes unnecessary middlemen.

We're also active in the Southern African wine industry — I love wine, so visiting the Cape Town vineyards that use our system was a nice perk."

Ukraine is another key region for the company, particularly in wheat and grain. The team has strong ties to the country, with several Ukrainians on the advisory board and the co-founder's wife originally from Ukraine. However, progress has been significantly slowed by the ongoing war.

Demeter Holdings is a Ghana-based trader and launch partner. They import fertiliser from the United Kingdom, biocontrol from Switzerland, and seeds from Israel, with a typical turnover of $1 million USD per month. They pay on average 2.8 per cent in transaction fees in USD-USD transactions. AgriDex will be able to reduce this to under 0.5 per cent.

Why Africa trusts blockchain

But I was curious to understand how Agridex gets adopters – sectors like trading inherently rely on legacy systems and loads of paperwork. Duckworth suggests that there's a willingness to adopt new tech in places like Zimbabwe and Kenya, partly because of how dysfunctional legacy infrastructure is. 

"There's also a kind of cultural nihilism — people are so disillusioned with institutions that they're willing to try alternatives if they're faster, cheaper, and easier.

We avoid exclusionary language — no buzzwords or technical jargon. Our rule is: if my dad wouldn't understand it, don't say it. It's about presenting the resolution, the problem, and the solution clearly. We focus on the benefits: faster payments, fewer intermediaries, less paperwork."

Entering foreign markets is not easy for any UK startup but Duckworth explained that being African — "my family has been there for five generations — gives me an advantage."

"I speak some of the local languages and understand the culture deeply. In Africa, touch, laughter, and warmth are essential. I see the difference when European colleagues visit and feel uneasy — I don't.

In terms of hiring, we're a small team of 12–14 people. Around five are based locally in Africa, but only three are nationals of the countries where we operate. We intend to hire more local staff."

So… why do we need blockchain? 

While blockchain – specifically cryptocurrency has a dark legacy with money laundering, Duckworth asserts that the power of blockchain, at its best, is that it transcends local control. 

But businesses, especially in the UK,  are increasingly utilising stablecoins for cross-border payments, offering faster and more cost-effective solutions compared to traditional banking systems.

"With stablecoins, someone in New Zealand can instantly settle a trade in dollars with someone in Northern Nigeria — without relying on inefficient correspondent banks.

Our system is highly regulated, with strict KYC/KYB processes."

The company initially built on a private blockchain, which ended up being a disaster. After that, they evaluated several blockchains and met Anatoly Yakovenko from Solana. According to Duckworth: "His focus on speed and low cost aligned with our goals — no evangelism, just practical tech.

Loam platform settles transactions in under 5 seconds

This week AgriDex officially launched its platform Loam to transform cross-border transactions in the agricultural sector. It is targeting a $40 million transaction volume by the end of the year.

Loam settles transactions in under 5 seconds with fees below 0.5 per cent, empowering agricultural businesses to scale faster and more efficiently.

Designed to be user-friendly, Loam offers an intuitive experience so farmers can deposit, withdraw, and transact using simple interfaces and PIN-based security—no technical expertise is required. Loam supports multi-currency payments and ensures all transactions occur within a secure, verified network of users, creating a trusted environment for smaller farmers and traders.

And to be clear, unlike most blockchain startups, this is no pilot. 

AgriDex has a roster of early adopters. Imperial Logistics is one of the largest haulage companies in Africa. Irvine's is one of the largest poultry and grain producers in Africa. Parrogate is a global trading house with $300 million in annual turnover.

Oldenburg Vineyards in Cape Town was one of the company's launch partners. They faced long payment delays and complex currency conversions.

"We streamlined the process: digitised documentation, pre-financed 90 per cent of the transaction, and enabled instant stablecoin settlements. Instead of waiting 28 days for payment, they got the majority upfront with minimal fees."

At the time of writing, Agridex planned to hit $3 million in turnover, up from $1.5 million the previous month. 

Duckworth asserts:

 "Our product is fully operational, available to any verified agricultural exporter, importer, or trader. I'm aiming for $10 million/month in the second half of the year."

Further, AgriDex raised $9 million in 2024 on a $28.5 million valuation from Portal Ventures, Endeavour Ventures, African Crops Limited, Hawkwood Capital, HU Investments, FS Ventures, Oldenburg Vineyards, and Sycamore Gap Management Ltd.