The ‘Innov8Agric Challenge’ is a key initiative of the Meet The Farmers Conference (MTFC) set up to promote innovative ideas for Agritech start-ups from all sectors of the ecosystem using creative and modern methods to change the landscape of the agriculture value chain in Africa.

Ahead of the event, the organizer: Crenov8 Consulting called for applications from agric-tech start-ups looking to get funding opportunity, and investment opportunities from African and GCC investors.

Four start-ups: Qualitrace (Ghana), AgriQ & Automations (Kenya), Spiderbit (Rwanda) and Smart Farms (Nigeria) all won the regional pitch competitions and will over the next few days be pitching at the Grand Finale during the Meet the Farmers Conference in Dubai.

Here’s a run down of the StartUps and how they are solving key challenges in the agriculture value chain:

Qualitrace: is an Agri-Tech start-up that uses track and trace technology to authenticate agricultural product inputs and outputs. It also provides a clear simple means by which players in any given supply chain can trace products along the till the final consumer also independently verifies the source and quality of the product.

QualiTrace work together with major stakeholders in the Agriculture ecosystem to reduce the high influx of counterfeit agro-inputs like fertilizers, seeds and crop protection products.

AgriQ & Automations: it aims to reduce post-harvest losses in Africa which is estimated at 45% of the produce harvested. They tend to achieve this by providing affordable and efficient cold storage solution to smallholder farmers to extend the shelf-life of their horticultural produce thus improving food security in the continent and increasing the farmers income.

Spiderbit: is a technology firm that designs and builds custom software solutions specializing in different sectors of Agribusiness including:

1. a) Food market place, which enables the farmer to sell their produce using the platform and also providing flexibility to buyers to locate crops on market.
2. b) Bringing service providers (seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides, vet services) closer to the farmers. The platform enables Farmers and countryside agro-dealers can order for inputs from main city, purchased and shipped to their area pickup points.

Smart Farms: They provide commercial farming hub where busy professionals and beginning farmers can get access to land, modern farming facilities, professional management and market so they generate income from a passive investment which does not distract them from their regular jobs. This start-up provides a co-working space for farming where mechanization, ICT tools, Irrigation facilities are accessible and affordable to maximize productivity.

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

See More:

• Spiderbit Wins Innov8Agric Challenge, Rwanda
• Smart Farms Wins Nigeria Innov8Agric Challenge, to Compete with Other Start-ups for $5,000
• Ghana Agric Start-up, Qualitrace Wins Ghana Innov8Agric Challenge
• Kenyan Agric-Tech Start-up, AgriQ & Automations Wins Kenya Innov8Agric Challenge
• Wefarm Hits Over 1 million Users Across Kenya and Uganda

The post Meet the 4 AgriTech Start-ups Pitching at the MTFC’s Innov8Agric Challenge in Dubai appeared first on MTFC | Meet The Farmers Conference - Nov 2019 - Dubai UAE.

Spiderbit pitched .eHaho, an ecommerce platform built to empower agriculture business operations and foster end-to-end information dissemination.

The platform core services are:

1. a) Food market place, which enables the farmer to sell their produce using the platform and also providing flexibility to buyers to locate crops on market.
2. b) Bringing service providers (seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides, vet services) closer to the farmers. The platform enables Farmers and countryside agro-dealers can order for inputs from main city, purchased and shipped to their area pickup points.

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.

Spiderbit 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 innovation challenge is a key event at the Meet The Farmer’s Conference and it’s designed to promote ground-breaking ideas for early stage Agric entrepreneurs from all sectors of the ecosystem using creative and innovative methods to change the landscape of the agriculture value chain in Africa.

The MTFC conference took place at Raddison Blu Hotel, Rwanda on the 5th of October..

Other start-ups that participated in the pitch include: BazaFarms, SMAgri, Agrigo, Spiderbit, and KizaAgriLab.

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 of the Innov8Agric Challenge, while AgriQ & Automations of Kenya won the Kenyan edition of the challenge.

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

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