The farmers have also asked and answered more than one million questions through Wefarm in a single calendar month. With one in five farms in Kenya and Uganda using the network, the company plans to expand into the rest of Africa in 2019, beginning with Tanzania.

With one in five farms in Kenya and Uganda using the network, the company plans to expand into the rest of Africa in 2019, beginning with Tanzania.

Wefarm’s network allows small-scale farmers to ask each other questions on anything related to agriculture and then receive bespoke content and ideas in response. Farmers can ask questions in any language and messaging is free of charge.

See Also: How to Finance Agribusiness in Nigeria

If farmers don’t have internet access (as many do not), they can access Wefarm via SMS on their mobile phones. Wefarm machine learning algorithms then match each question to the best suited responder.

The average time it takes for a farmer to receive an answer to their question is under six minutes – even for farmers without internet.

“Hitting one million farmers is the first step in our global expansion and we’re expecting growth to accelerate quickly from here on out… Wefarm now shares more content than Stack Overflow and has more content contributors than Wikipedia. Now that we’ve demonstrated that our network works on a mass scale, we’re looking towards our commercial vision for 2019 and beyond, which may include both data intelligence services and the creation of a marketplace that puts farmers needs first.” said Kenny Ewan, CEO of Wefarm.

“Wefarm is an extraordinarily ambitious and impactful business using the power of technology to connect small-scale farmers throughout Africa,” said Jon Callaghan, cofounder of True Ventures.

“We are very pleased with their growth and success,”

More on MTFC Blog

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• Smart Farms Wins Nigeria Innov8Agric Challenge, to Compete with Other Start-ups for $5,000
• How to Finance Agribusiness in Nigeria
• Binkabi To Boost Agriculture in Nigeria With Blockchain Technology
• Agribusiness: How Technology Is Transforming Supply Chains

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Held at Intercontinental Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya. AgriQ & Automations emerged the winner after an intense pitch with other Agri-tech start-ups such as Agrifor, Dophia, Agronomy Plus and Vinis.

AgriQ & Automations is an automated solar-powered evaporative cooler that offers a convenient, affordable and efficient way of extending the shelf-life of perishable farm produce in off-grid areas.

The start-up was picked based on its innovation, originality, and the viability of its ideas which was vetted by top-notch entrepreneurs, investors and industry leaders across Africa.

AgriQ & Automations will now compete for $ 5,000 grant price at the international Meet the Farmers Conference which will hold In Dubai on the 4th – 5th November 2018. It is a two-day conference which includes an all-expense paid trip to Dubai for the Grand Finale of the challenge and an opportunity to get funding, investment opportunities from African and GCC investors, business expansion opportunities and access to experts and mentors in the business of Agriculture.

The Challenge is designed to promote ground-breaking ideas for early stage Agric entrepreneurs from all sectors of the agriculture ecosystem using creative and innovative methods to change the landscape of the agriculture value chain in Africa. 

Qualitrace, a Ghana-based traceability and anti-counterfeiting start-up that uses track and trace technology to authenticate product farm inputs and outputs won the Ghanaian edition earlier this year.

Meet the Farmers Conference (MTFC) is an initiative of Crenov8, a leading conglomerate consulting & Digital Media firm in the Middle East, Dubai, and Africa.

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Crenov8; the leading consulting and digital technology firm in the Middle east, Dubai and Africa has announced September 4^th 2018 for its agro conference called Meet the Farmers Conference, MTFC.  This was announced during the Media Launch that held on August 6 2018, at Intercontinental Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya.

MTFC is an agro conference that aims to connect large scale agro commodity producers to buyers alike. Stakeholders from Africa and GCC will come together during a one-day event to network, collaborate, and form potential business partnerships across borders.

More importantly; African farmers, participants, exhibitors and delegates at this event will be able to leverage the business opportunities available to them in Dubai and other GCC countries.

Crenov8 embarked on this mission in 2017 to create a platform where the African agricultural producers with the off takers in the Middle East and beyond to effectively translate business deals holding the first edition in Dubai last year.

MTFC held its first African Conference edition in Ghana on July 4, 2018, at Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel, Accra and second edition of the Africa conference is scheduled to hold on the 4th of September 2018 at the Tribe Hotel, Nairobi.

The conference aims to provide a platform for African Agro producers to meet top buyers and investors from Dubai, United Arab Emirates(UAE) and (GCC) for trade opportunities and exchange of knowledge to promote innovation in the agriculture sector.

According to a communique released by Crenov8 Consulting, “This year’s theme is centred on the “Future of Agribusiness” whereby we wish to collate all partakers on the Agribusiness value chain; integrating them in a manner that would source insight into the collaboration of all these factors to promote Agribusiness in Africa as a whole.

The conference aims to promote export of agricultural products within Africa & across Dubai, UAE, to promote the industrialization of Agriculture based businesses in intra and extra African trade, to drive strategic foreign direct investment (FDI) from the GCC states to Africa, to increase and diversify Agro produce export of from Kenya to Dubai and to grow the contribution of Agro Export to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Kenya.

Present at the media launch were: Michael Gathu, Dubai Chamber of Commerce (Kenya chapter), Tobia Alando of Kenya Association of Manufacturer, Joy Kyula of KEE-Trade Links, Blockchain entrepreneurs, Government officials, Agric business stakeholders, Distinguished Guests, Agric reporters, other press men and a host of others.

Click to register for the Nairobi conference here!

Check out more photos from the press conference below;

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Sunculture device – Photo Credit: dusruptafrica.

SunCulture, the Kenyan start-up that develops solar-powered water pumps and irrigation solutions for smallholder farmers has secured an investment fund from the EDF Group.

SunCulture improves the productivity of smallholder farmers by selling them affordable solar-powered water pumps and customised irrigation systems bundled with active support and financing.

The new fund, from one of the world’s largest electric utility companies and a global leader in low-carbon energy, joins SunCulture’s existing institutional investors – Energy Access Ventures and Partners Group.

SunCulture is opening up the East African market for EDF to expand its impact across the continent, while EDF will share its experience selling and installing off-grid solutions designed for residential customers and also, its knowledge of Central and West African markets with SunCulture.

EDF will also assist in setting up financing vehicles designed to help farmers afford these solar irrigation solutions under SunCulture’s “pay-as-you-grow” platform.

Also See: StartUp Spotlight: How Afrimash is helping farmers to Buy Agricultural Inputs Online

“EDFs commitment to partnering with local companies to create lasting impact represents an important shift in the way multinationals are doing business in Africa. We’re excited about this partnership, which gives us the opportunity to work with EDF to increase rural household productivity across the continent,” said Samir Ibrahim, SunCulture’s chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder.

Also, Marianne Laigneau, the vice president in charge of the International Division at EDF said, “We are proud to invest in a technology company that brings to African smallholder farmers genuinely innovative solutions transforming their lives and fostering economic development in African countries.This partnership enables EDF to enter a new and very promising business line of Off-Grid offerings. Our ambition is to become SunCulture’s partner of reference in their expansion beyond Kenya, especially in countries where EDF already has a strong footprint.”

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Photo Credit: Agrisa.co.za

A recent report by Disrupt Africa reveals that Kenya and Nigeria are currently topping the chart as African giants in agri-tech market.

According to the report, Kenya and Nigeria are in first place as the top two agri-tech markets in Africa, while Ghana falls in the third position. The three countries account for over 60 per cent of agri-tech start-ups active in Africa.

The report tagged, Agrinnovating for Africa: Exploring the African Agri-Tech Startup Ecosystem Report 2018 records 82 agri-tech start-ups in operation across Africa by the start of 2018, with 52 per cent of these ventures launched in the past two years.

Over the course of this period, over US$19 million has been invested into African agri-tech startups; with annual fundraising figures growing rapidly. The amount of funding raised in 2017 grew by over 121 per cent on the total for 2016.

Also Read: Amazing Facts About Soya Bean You Need To Know

According to Gabriella Mulligan, co-founder of Disrupt Africa, “The scope for innovation in the agricultural sphere is vast – a refreshed take on the sector could unlock huge value for the whole of Africa. That’s why this report is so exciting – it shines a light on the extent to which the continent’s entrepreneurs are already disrupting the agricultural industry. Behind the scenes, there has been formidable acceleration in the agri-tech market recently, and it is one of the most interesting spaces to watch in Africa today.”

Startups are particularly involved in applying e-commerce to the agriculture industry, with this type of agri-focused e-commerce platform accounting for 32.9 per cent of start-ups. Information and knowledge sharing platforms are also popular; while a substantial number of entrepreneurs are focused on delivering fintech solutions for farmers.  A total of six sub-sectors are examined in the report.

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Outgoing US ambassador to Kenya Robert Godec tastes tea at the East Africa Tea Association offices on February 27. PHOTO | Laban Walloga. FILE PHOTO | NMG

The United States has divulged a Sh11.5 billion programme to help Kenyan farmers by offering them innovations and technologies in dairy, livestock, root and drought-tolerant crops.

Dubbed Feed the Future Kenya Country Plan under the US Global Food Security Strategy, the program expects to diminish poverty and enhance the capacity of local farmers and pastoralists to adapt to financial stuns, such as, drought and subsequently help their incomes and nutrition status.

While commenting during the launch of the programme in Nairobi, departing US ambassador to Kenya; Robert Godec said the programme would focus on promoting long-term sustainable development that would help communities resist the shocks that are brought on by drought and other natural disasters.

“Together, we have reached nearly 900,000 Kenyan farmers,” said Mr Godec.

“We helped them grow better crops and increase milk production, and then get those products to market.  All told, working with partners we leveraged over Sh22 billion in new assistance to the agriculture sector.”

Kenya is one of 12 countries that had earlier been selected as the focus of the second phase of the American initiative to combat food insecurity.

Kenya was in the first phase of the “Feed the Future” programme which was launched in 2009.

Under the initiative, USAid reports that 1.1 million farmers used new technologies for the first time in 2016.

Globally, Feed the Future says it has facilitated Sh278 billion ($2.7 billion) in agricultural loans.

The Americans also say that the plan has increased US exports to partner states by Sh103 billion ($1 billion).

Other African countries targeted for the second phase of the programme are Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda.

You may also be interested in:

• Agripreneur Of The Week – Rotimi Williams of Kereksuk Rice Farm
• EIB, AfDB Invest $70m in Agriculture, Business in Nigeria
• Farmcrowdy Garners Up To £1,620,000 From Nigerian and Diasporan Investors Into The Agricultural Sector

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