Digital Agriculture in LMICs - 6 Mar #5
Indonesia launches e-agriculture strategy, agritech Semaai bags $1.65M, WayCool and Bayer join forces in India, MasterCard and Obopay partner for financial inclusion
27/02/23
Indonesia’s agritech Semaai raises $1.65 million
Indonesian agritech Semaai has raised USD 1.65 million in a bridge funding round led by Accion Venture Lab and XA Network, a year after raising USD 1.3 million in a pre-seed funding round. According to reports, the start-up plans to use the fresh investment to build an agri e-commerce platform for fresh produce, linking farmers and agri retailers (toko tanis), and to expand its digital advisory services. Semaai’s ambition is to eventually build An end-to-end agritech platform solution for farmers and retailers. Established in 2021, Semaai’s main current solution is a marketplace app for agricultural inputs such as seeds, fertilisers and pesticides. The company leverages a network of toko tanis and its own network of delivery centres.
28/02/23
Indonesia launches national e-agriculture strategy
The Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture’s Data and IT Centre, in collaboration with the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), have launched the e-Agriculture National Strategy. The strategy states that by 2027, Indonesia will have an integrated database on farmers and farmlands, will digitalise early warning systems for agricultural-related disasters, and will have in place systems for agriculture data collection, extraction, and analysis. The strategy is line with the “Vision of Indonesia 2045” plan, which sets the goal of making the country one of the top world economies by 2045. In Indonesia, 45% of the population live in rural areas. 90% of those employed in agriculture are smallholder farmers.
28/02/23
Mastercard and Obopay partner for prepaid card for farmers
MasterCard and mobile money solution provider OboPay have partnered to launch a prepaid card for smallholder farmers and the adjacent rural ecosystem. The card is powered by Mastercard's Community Pass. It will work in conjunction with the Farm Pass, an app-based solution that establishes a digital identity for commercial farmers. The card will enable farmers to receive the sale proceeds for their crop digitally, make transactions in remote locations, where connectivity may be lacking, and build a transaction history based on their income and expenditure to access credit. Obopay will link the online prepaid cards with offline digital wallets at the backend to support farmers who lack connectivity or cannot afford data. Farm Pass is currently in operation in India, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
27/02/23
Agri e-commerce WayCool joins forces with Bayer in India
Indian agri e-commerce WayCool and life sciences multinational Bayer have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The two companies will collaborate to provide to farmers premium products and solutions via a unified platform as well as personalised advice. Through the partnership, WayCool will also leverage Bayer's Better Life Farming Centers and Farmer Producer Organisations to engage and train farmers via its Outgrow engagement business arm. Established in 2015, WayCool is the third largest digital marketplace for fresh produce in India by operating revenue after DeHaat and Ninjacart. It claims to have a network of 200,000+ farmers and 125,000+ retailers.
In other news…
03/03/23
Applications open for 2023 AYuTe Africa Challenge Kenya
NGO Heifer International has opened applications for the 2023 AYuTe (Agriculture, Youth, Technology) Africa Challenge Kenya. The competition is an opportunity for young Kenyan agritech innovators to learn with peers, and partner with a growing network of local governments, innovation hubs, academic institutions, and development organisations. Up for grabs are USD 15,700 for the top three winners. In 2022, AYuTe challenges were held in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Uganda, besides Kenya. The deadline for applications is 21 March 2023.
27/02/23
Crop2Cash makes it to the final of MultiChoice Africa Accelerator Programme
Nigerian agritech Crop2Cash is the only agritech among the 11 finalists of MultiChoice Africa Accelerator Programme. The agritech was selected out of a pool of 29 participants to pitch for funding to a panel of investors in Dubai later this year. Founded in 2018, Crop2Cash digitises the agri value chain for agribusinesses, enabling the provision of agri digital financial services (Agri DFS) for smallholder farmers. Its CashCard enables farmers to receive digital payments and build their financial identity. Established in 2021, the MultiChoice Africa Accelerator Programme is an initiative of the South Africa-based MultiChoice Innovation Fund, a parent organisation of satellite TV conglomerate Multichoice, in collaboration with Dubai-based business incubator Companies Creating Change (C3).
01/03/23
Nigeria’s agritech/fintech Vetsark is runner up at Sankalp Africa Awards
Nigerian agritech/fintech Vetsark was the runner up of the 2023 Sankalp Africa Awards. The event is part of Sankalp Africa Summit, a pan-African conference on impact entrepreneurship and sustainable development, which took place in Nairobi on 1-2 March. Vetsark was one of eleven finalists to pitch to a jury panel of business leaders and investors. The start-up has an app that helps farmers streamline their agricultural operations and manage financial transactions. It assists farmers in completing their Know Your Customer (KYC) and registering their personal and farm details. The app aims to make it easy for farmers to comply with government regulations and access financial services. Founded in 2018, it has to date raised USD 450,000, according to Crunchbase.