Produce Pay
Founded 2014 · 187 employees on LinkedIn · 21 known investors
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ProducePay operates a Predictable Commerce Platform for the fresh produce industry, connecting growers and buyers while providing capital, trading opportunities, supply chain visibility, and market insights. The company aims to reduce food waste and inefficiency across the agricultural supply chain, operating across the Americas and Europe.
Also known as Produce Pay Inc. · ProducePay
Founders & leadership
Produce Pay was founded in 2014 by Pablo Borquez, Ben Dusastre, and Pablo Borquez Schwarzbeck.
Investors · 21
Also in the syndicate · 2
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Produce Pay Inc., operating as ProducePay, runs a digital platform for the fresh produce industry that combines financing, trading/sourcing and supply chain data services. Its financing products include Pre-Season working capital, made available before the season begins, and Quick-Pay, which converts produce shipments into cash during peak season. Historically the company advanced growers up to 10% of financing before harvest, 50% at the pick-and-pack stage and 80% on shipment, and it also purchases produce-related accounts receivable through factoring contracts on its platform, taking assignment of PACA trust rights on invoices for commodities recognized by the USDA under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act.
Beyond capital, the platform offers ProducePay Visibility (real-time insights, shipment tracking and quality control, including pallet-level defect, size, weight and temperature data) and ProducePay Sourcing, a B2B service connecting fresh produce buyers and sellers to build long-term supply programs. These elements are bundled into Predictable Commerce Programs tailored by commodity and aimed at securing year-round supply. The platform also provides real-time market pricing, weather and movement data as an alternative to less current USDA data, and includes verification and vetting of users, digital communication tools, contact management and dashboards for pending negotiations and transaction history.
The company describes itself as having created a means of securitizing perishable produce as a financial asset through technology, purchasing produce receivables and other contract-based payment rights at a discount for the benefit of private investors.
Founding story
Founder Pablo Borquez Schwarzbeck comes from a fourth-generation farming family and has worked in agriculture throughout his life; he says ProducePay was started to address challenges he experienced growing up in the industry. The company was founded in 2015.
Business model
ProducePay operates a membership-based online platform through which it provides financing (pre-season working capital, fast payment on shipments) and purchases produce-related accounts receivable at a discount under factoring contracts, alongside sourcing and data/visibility services for growers, shippers, marketers and distributors.
Revenue is tied to its financing activity — discounts and fees on purchased produce receivables and other contract-based rights to receive payment, purchased for the benefit of the company's private investors — together with platform membership and services such as sourcing and visibility.
Traction
By the 2018 Series B announcement, the company reported having moved/financed over $850 million of produce and provided liquidity to more than 600 growers and distributors across six countries in under four years, after financing $400 million of produce in 2017 versus $17 million in 2015. IDB Invest approved an $8 million equity investment in 2021 to support platform enhancement and expansion in Latin America.
Latest developments
IDB Invest's $8 million equity investment in Produce Pay Inc. was approved on 2021-04-27 and signed on 2021-05-03, with proceeds earmarked for enhancing the online platform and operating capacity to expand in Latin America; the project remains in implementation. The company's current product line-up comprises Pre-Season and Quick-Pay financing, ProducePay Visibility and ProducePay Sourcing, bundled as commodity-specific Predictable Commerce Programs.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Positioned as an agri-fintech and marketplace provider to the fresh produce supply chain; its CEO has described the goal of becoming the fintech leader of the produce industry, and press coverage places it among agribusiness marketplace startups addressing grower cash flow and food waste.
Its financing offering is the distinguishing feature relative to other agribusiness marketplaces: growers can be paid the day after produce ships rather than waiting for it to sell, and the company claims to have created the first means of securitizing perishable produce as a financial asset through technology, combining capital with supply chain visibility and sourcing in one platform.
Technology
A proprietary online platform for registering and verifying shipments and receivables (title, liens, case quantities, invoice accuracy, account debtor creditworthiness), a transaction management system covering purchase orders, containers, bills of lading and arrival/rejection data, a quality control application capturing pallet-level inspection data and photographs, and market data feeds delivering real-time pricing, weather and movement information.
Go-to-market
Direct onboarding of growers, shippers and distributors onto its platform as vetted and verified members, with financing offerings as the initial hook and sourcing/visibility products layered on to build multi-season programs between buyers and sellers.
Fresh produce growers, grower-shippers, marketers, distributors and buyers, including small and medium growers in Latin America exporting to the United States.
Geography
Headquartered in the Los Angeles area (Glendale, California). Its platform has provided financing for farmers and distributors in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Honduras and Chile for produce sold into the US market, and it serves growers, distributors and buyers in Mexico, Latin America and the United States. Compliance checks reference public registries in Mexico (RUG) and Peru (SUNARP), among other countries where customers operate.
History
Founded in 2015 and based in the Los Angeles area, ProducePay spent its early years building short-term financing for produce growers and distributors, growing produce financed from $17 million in 2015 to $400 million in 2017. It won an AgFunder Innovation Award in 2016, closed $70 million in debt financing in 2017, and raised a $14 million Series B led by Anterra Capital in October 2018, by which point it had raised roughly $23 million in equity. In 2021 IDB Invest approved and signed an $8 million equity investment as part of a new equity round intended to expand operations in Latin America. The platform has since broadened from financing into online trading, sourcing, quality control and market-intelligence tools packaged as Predictable Commerce Programs.
Risks & controversies
The company's terms of use disclaim responsibility for the creditworthiness, conduct and contractual performance of platform users and for the quality, safety or condition of the produce traded, and it does not grow, store, inspect or ship produce. Its receivables purchasing depends on eligibility conditions such as clear title, absence of liens, valid USDA PACA licensing (or exemption) of account debtors, and enforceability of PACA trust rights. IDB Invest classified the operation as environmental and social category FI-2, indicating medium risk potential in its portfolio of financed business activities.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 3
launches, deals, and filingsIDB Invest approved an equity investment of up to $8 million (project number 13082-01) in Produce Pay Inc., disclosed 2021-02-26, approved 2021-04-27 and signed 2021-05-03. The proceeds of the new equity round were to enhance the online platform and operating capacity and expand operations in Latin America. Status: in implementation; E&S category FI-2.
$8M source ↗
Glendale, California-based Produce Pay Inc. raised a $14 million Series B led by Anterra Capital, with participation from Rabo Frontier Ventures, Coventure, Social Leverage, FJ Labs, Greenhouse Capital, Moonshots Capital and Tribeca Angels. Proceeds were earmarked for scaling the financing business and developing the software platform.
$14M source ↗
Produce Pay was named a winner of the AgFunder Innovation Awards in 2016.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Produce Payproducepay.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Produce Pay do?
- Agri-fintech platform providing fresh produce growers and distributors with financing, sourcing and supply chain visibility.
- Who founded Produce Pay?
- Produce Pay was founded by Pablo Borquez, Ben Dusastre, Pablo Borquez Schwarzbeck in 2014.
- Who are Produce Pay's investors?
- Produce Pay's investors include 500 Global, Astanor Ventures, Dorm Room, DYDX Capital, Endeavor8, G2 Venture Partners, GroundForce Capital, Hemisphere Ventures LLC and 11 more.