What Cowtribe does

Cowtribe is a Ghana-headquartered veterinary technology company founded in 2016/2017 by Peter Awin and Alima Bawa to address the structural gap in animal vaccine access for smallholder farmers across sub-Saharan Africa. Its core product is LastmileDaaS (Last-mile Distribution as a Service), a platform that coordinates livestock registration, real-time inventory, last-mile delivery, proof of delivery, and emergency response for mass vaccination campaigns. The platform sits on top of a partnership with Zipline, enabling drone-based 30-minute vaccine delivery to roughly 4,000 drop locations across Ghana, Kenya, and Côte d'Ivoire, with claimed cold-chain integrity.

The company monetizes through two complementary streams. First, a Direct Distributor Program is a dropshipping model in which agrovets and veterinarians (accessed via the Zhulia provider app) register farmers, place orders, and collect payment; Cowtribe delivers directly and captures the wholesale spread. Second, for governments, NGOs, and donor-backed programs, Cowtribe provides managed end-to-end vaccination campaign services under LastmileDaaS. The Lamisi WhatsApp-based virtual vet assistant automates scheduling, reminders, and ordering for individual smallholder farmers, while voice-based SMS addresses literacy barriers. Notable institutional engagements include a 2019–2023 Women's Resilience Project with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, IDRC, and Global Affairs Canada, and the 2023 Ghana Government anthrax outbreak response in which Cowtribe delivered 300,000+ vaccine doses and vaccinated 118,000 livestock within a week.

The company has raised modest disclosed funding (cumulative ~$1.5–2M across Fledge, Techstars, Seedstars/Draper Richards Kaplan, an undisclosed 2019 round, and Boehringer Ingelheim Social Engagement in 2022, with additional 2024 SAIS-linked capital). It operates with an 11–50 employee base from Tamale, Ghana (with operational hubs in Accra, Nairobi, and Abidjan and a US contact address in San Marino, CA). Quantitative outcomes reported by the company include $337 of average additional annual farmer income, 42% women among served farmers, 40% reduction in antibiotic usage, and 99% reduction in delivery-related carbon emissions versus traditional van delivery, though these figures are self-reported and unaudited.

Name

Cowtribe

Legal name

Cowtribe

Website

https://cowtribe.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cowtribe is a Ghana-based veterinary technology company operating a drone-enabled, on-demand animal vaccine distribution platform — LastmileDaaS — for smallholder farmers, agrovet providers, and government/NGO vaccination campaigns across Ghana, Kenya, and Côte d'Ivoire.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Veterinary Vaccine Distribution

NAICS

Veterinary Services (54194), Support Activities for Animal Production (1152), Veterinary Services (541940)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Vaccine Distribution, Cold Chain & Field Logistics (HLAMAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Veterinary Vaccines (HLAIAEAH), Livestock Vaccines (Cattle, Swine, Sheep & Goats) (HLAMAKAB), Vaccination, Parasite Control & Immunization Programs (AFACADAG)

Keywords

• Animal vaccine delivery
• Livestock healthcare logistics
• Last-mile vaccine distribution
• Veterinary supply chain
• Drone delivery services

Headquarters

HQ city

Tamale

HQ country

Ghana

HQ region

Africa

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Direct Distributor Program (Dropshipping): Animal health providers join Cowtribe's network and sell vaccines to farmers. Providers set their own prices and keep the profit margin between wholesale and retail prices. Cowtribe handles order delivery directly to clients and takes a wholesale price from providers.
2. LastmileDaaS Platform Services: Provides end-to-end mass vaccination management solutions for governments, NGOs, and community organizations. Manages large-scale vaccination campaigns including registration, inventory, logistics, and proof of delivery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Cowtribe operates Africa's first on-demand animal vaccine distribution platform, delivering veterinary vaccines to smallholder farmers in under 30 minutes via Zipline drone partnerships. The company combines a proprietary LastmileDaaS (Last-mile Delivery as a Service) platform with a dropshipping Direct Distributor Program and a WhatsApp-based Lamisi virtual vet assistant to manage the full vaccination workflow from farmer registration and inventory to proof of delivery.

Product overview

Cowtribe is Africa's first on-demand veterinary vaccine distribution platform offering a multi-product ecosystem. The core offering is the LastmileDaaS (Last-mile Data-as-a-Service) platform, which provides end-to-end mass vaccination management for governments, NGOs, and organizations. This is complemented by the Direct Distributor Program, a dropshipping model enabling animal health providers to sell vaccines without inventory. The product portfolio includes Lamisi, a WhatsApp-based virtual vet assistant for farmers that automates vaccination scheduling and order management, and the Zhulia App for providers to manage clients and track orders. All offerings are supported by drone delivery partnerships for rapid last-mile logistics across Ghana, Kenya, and Côte d'Ivoire.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Zhulia: A provider app for animal health providers to manage clients, track orders, collect payments, and manage their veterinary supplies business.
• Lamisi
• LastmileDaaS

Products and services

• LastmileDaaS Platform End-to-end technology platform that handles livestock registration, inventory tracking, last-mile logistics, proof of delivery, real-time data monitoring, and emergency response for large-scale vaccination campaigns run by governments, NGOs, and community organizations.
• Direct Distributor Program Dropshipping model that lets animal health providers (agrovets, veterinarians) sell vaccines to farmers without holding inventory: providers register farmers, take orders, and collect payments, while Cowtribe handles wholesale fulfilment and drone delivery to end clients.
• Lamisi Virtual Vet Assistant WhatsApp-based AI virtual assistant that helps smallholder farmers manage livestock vaccinations through automated scheduling, order placement, delivery coordination, and real-time support.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 20,000 smallholder farmers served annually
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ZiplinecoreTechnology or IntegrationStrategic partnership with world's largest aerial logistics company enables drone delivery of vaccines to 4,000 drop locations across Ghana, Kenya, and Côte d'Ivoire. Zipline's drones overcome geographical obstacles and maintain cold chain during transit, delivering vaccines in just a few hours.
• Women's Resilience Project (WRP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-year project (2019-2023) supported by IDRC, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Global Affairs Canada focused on enhancing livestock vaccination in rural communities with gender transformative approach, utilizing Cowtribe's LastmileDaaS platform.
• Government of GhanacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic alliance formed during 2023 Anthrax outbreak response. Government worked with Cowtribe and Zipline to enhance vaccination campaign efficiency using the LastmileDaaS platform for real-time tracking and inventory management.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Zipline: Cowtribe's core logistics partner and the operator of the drone delivery network that reaches 4,000 drop locations. While a partner rather than a direct competitor, Zipline increasingly delivers medical supplies and animal health products directly to governments, creating both collaboration and competitive overlap with Cowtribe's managed-services offering.
• Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health: One of the world's largest animal health pharmaceutical companies and Cowtribe's disclosed first institutional investor via its Social Engagement arm. A potential future supplier/partner and benchmark for what scale distribution of veterinary vaccines looks like globally.

Direct peers

• Farmerline: Ghana-based agriculture technology company that provides information, inputs, and market access to smallholder farmers across West Africa. Most direct comparable in terms of geography, customer segment (smallholder farmers), and product-led growth approach via mobile/WhatsApp channels.
• iCow: Kenyan mobile (SMS-based) livestock management platform serving smallholder farmers with vaccination scheduling, breeding, and feed information. Directly comparable on target customer (African smallholder livestock farmer), use case (vaccination management), and geographic footprint (East Africa).

Emerging players

• Twiga Foods: Kenyan B2B food and agricultural distribution platform connecting smallholder farmers to urban retailers via technology-enabled logistics. Comparable in building tech-mediated agricultural distribution for African smallholders, though Twiga focuses on produce rather than animal health inputs.
• Hello Tractor: Nigerian/Kenyan agricultural technology company offering a tractor-sharing platform that connects smallholder farmers to mechanization via a tech-enabled booking and fleet management system. Comparable in serving African smallholders via asset-light platform model and mobile-first distribution.
• Apollo Agriculture: Kenyan agritech that uses satellite data, machine learning, and mobile channels to provide financing, inputs, and advisory services to smallholder farmers. Comparable customer base and channel-light GTM, though product is finance-led rather than vaccine distribution.
• Pula Advisors: Pan-African agricultural insurance and advisory company serving millions of smallholder farmers across Africa, often bundled with input distribution. Comparable in serving African smallholders with embedded service distribution and partnering with governments and development institutions.
• mPedigree: Pan-African technology company providing supply chain integrity, anti-counterfeiting, and data solutions across agriculture and pharmaceuticals. Comparable in providing data and traceability infrastructure for African agricultural and health supply chains.
• Sunculture: Kenya-based climate-smart agriculture company selling solar-powered irrigation and asset financing to smallholder farmers. Comparable in serving African smallholders with pay-over-time technology-enabled products and a focus on climate adaptation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cowtribe
• Facebookfacebook.com/cowtribe
• LinkedInmy.linkedin.com/company/cowtribe
• Instagraminstagram.com/cowtribe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cowtribe