Professional Documents
Culture Documents
October 2016
Youth
e-agriculture
entrepreneurship
Contents
2
October 2016 ICT Update issue 83
Photo on the right:
CTA
CTA
Winners of the AgriHack
Talent Caribbean in
2014.
their produce. This segment relates up a large customer base for ICT4Ag additional employment opportunities.
directly to revenue generation for farmers applications. Also influential has been Donors and development organisations
CTA
and thus has attracted an important the growth of mobile banking in many are financing innovation hubs,
amount of mobile applications and African countries, which has created incubators and accelerators, and
entrepreneurial initiatives. M-Farm additional incentives for purchasing provide start-up grants to entrepreneurs
in Kenya, launched by three young phones and expanding the network, has and technical support. The World Bank,
women in 2010, is one of the most familiarised people with non-call related for instance, has assisted in the creation
prominent examples. Others include uses of their phone, and facilitates the of mobile innovation laboratories (mLabs)
AgroCentral in Jamaica and MlLouma provision of ICT-enabled services that in different regions. CTA has also offered
in Senegal. Also important in this require payments. support through various initiatives such
segment are agribusiness and supply In addition, entrepreneurs have as the AgriHack Talent Programme and
chain management services (e.g. benefited from the emergence of Plug and Play events.
mFamrs, Ghana) which can greatly supportive innovation environments Last but not least, while the role
improve efficiencies. in some ACP countries. ICT innovation of national governments in actively
Applications in the consumption hubs have sprung up in several countries, supporting ICT entrepreneurs has been
segment are fairly new and opportunities driven initially by visionary entrepreneurs limited in many ACP countries, some
for developing innovative applications and tech developers (such as the founders examples highlight their potential
are still to be explored. One example of the iHub in Kenya), and more recently contribution. In Kenya, for instance,
is Chowberry from Nigeria (former also by large companies such as Nokia, the government has established a unified
Foodrings) which aims to fight food IBM, Orange and Safaricom. The hubs and open licensing regime, invested in
waste by offering a platform to help offer a space for developers, mentorship submarine and terrestrial fiber optic
collect food for disadvantaged groups. from more experienced entrepreneurs, cables, removed VAT for mobile handsets,
As a cross-cutting application, and opportunities to interact with fellow supported an internet exchange point
ICT-enabled solutions are also being developers, business partners and, and reduced the calling costs between
developed to offer financial services, sometimes, investors. At the same time, networks. These measures have played an
such as mobile payments, insurance the human resource pool in the ACP important role in attracting private sector
schemes or group lending, some of which regions is growing rapidly, thanks to investment, increasing competition,
are targeted at farmers and other value the large, tech-savvy and increasingly improving network quality and reducing
chain actors while others are more confident and risk-taking youth with the cost of mobile access. Some countries
widely available. improving access to education have also organised innovation
opportunities through universities and competitions. In Senegal, for example, the
What has helped e-agriculture specialised training institutes (such as the telecom regulator Agence de Rgulation
entrepreneurs to emerge? Mobile Technology Institute eMobilis des Postes et Tlcommunications (ARTP)
A number of factors have supported the in Kenya). rewarded ICT innovations for agriculture,
growth of e-agricultural entrepreneurs International cooperation has also livestock and health. In Cte dIvoire,
in ACP countries. We have seen an helped to strengthen ICT innovation the government launched an innovation
increasing ICT democratisation in the and entrepreneurship in ACP countries. fund of EUR 200 million in July 2016,
agriculture sector. Access to affordable ICT4Ag is seen and promoted as a in collaboration with the African
(albeit low-tech) handsets has greatly promising means to engage young Development Bank, which aims at
improved and mobile networks have people in agriculture by making supporting innovative businesses and
expanded deep into rural areas. These farming more attractive and lucrative start-ups.
technological advances have opened as a source of income and offering
http://ictupdate.cta.int 3
Many challenges for young scaling), and an unfavourable business have been the preferred delivery channel
e-agriculture entrepreneurs environment in general. The e-agriculture for many service providers, to also take
remain sector is more acutely affected by these advantage of other mobile technologies,
Despite the rapid growth of e-agriculture challenges because it is a new market with such as weather stations to monitor
businesses and applications, most unclear potentials for many stakeholders, rainfall for insurance purposes, electronic
ICT-enabled solutions have yet to reach including investors. Young entrepreneurs scales and tags for supply chain
scale and companies are struggling to often struggle to develop profitable management or sensors to measure soil
move from start-ups, or even from business models for their products. moisture and nutrient levels for farm
application owner, to fully-fledged Information on their target market, its management. Such a broader focus on
businesses. Young e-agriculture products and services is very limited. users and technologies will yield a much
entrepreneurs in ACP regions are facing As a result, similar solutions are being greater diversity of ICT4Ag services to
a number of challenges related to three marketed in parallel and most of them support agricultural growth and rural
key factors. fail to reach profitability. development in ACP countries.
First there are the characteristics of the
agriculture sector. While the agri-food
sector offers a huge customer base with
Attracting impact
potentially more than 7 billion clients
who consume services on a daily basis, investors will require
most of the farmers are digitally illiterate
and small-scale with limited financial
raising awareness of
means. They are strongly dependent on investment opportunities
climate variabilities and natural hazards,
which may suddenly deprive them of
in e-agriculture.
many of their assets. Moreover, outdated
infrastructure, unreliable electricity and
weak network coverage still persist in Looking ahead
many rural areas. Despite this reality, Addressing the above-mentioned
many entrepreneurs market their ICT4Ag challenges will require actions at various
Youth services to farmers while business- levels. Governments need to create an
e-agriculture to-business opportunities are weakly enabling environment for e-agriculture About the authors
entrepreneurship explored. Young innovators often have a (and other) entrepreneurs and then leave Heike Baumller (hbaumueller@uni-
limited understanding of the agriculture the start-up sector to grow. Attracting bonn.de) is a Senior Researcher and
sector, specifically the functioning impact investors will require raising Coordinator of the Programme of
of value chains and the diversity of awareness of investment opportunities Accompanying Research for
stakeholders that could be targeted in e-agriculture and better information Agricultural Innovation (PARI) at the
by service offerings. about the market potential of ICT4Ag Centre for Development Research
The second key factor is the early age solutions. Innovation environments (ZEF) at the University of Bonn,
of ICT adoption in the agriculture sector. will need to be further strengthened, Germany.
In addition to farmers, other key not only for e-agriculture, but the
agricultural stakeholders such as ICT sector as a whole, including Ken Lohento (lohento@cta.int) is ICT
extension officers, agro-dealers, retailers, through sustainable incubation spaces for Agriculture Programme
agricultural researchers and policy and mentorship. In addition, training Coordinator at CTA; he notably
makers could be promising clients with opportunities for e-agriculture coordinates e-agriculture and
a higher purchasing power and better entrepreneurs need to be expanded by entrepreneurship activities. He is a
access to ICT infrastructure. However, integrating relevant topics in university former member of the United
many lack the necessary understanding curricula and developing specific courses Nations Advisory Group on Internet
of ICTs to request or employ ICT4Ag and training centres. Governance.
services. This is also due to the fact that Such measures will help to establish
ICT applications in the agri-food sector the necessary framework conditions
are still relatively new, even in more for young e-agriculture entrepreneurs
advanced economies, and many e-services to develop and commercialise their Related Links
are still being developed (although this applications. In addition, to overcome FAOs 2015 e-Agriculture 10 Year
can also be seen as an opportunity by challenges of marketing, purchasing Review Report
e-agriculture entrepreneurs). power and literacy, more developers http://goo.gl/YlA9NA
Insufficient support for entrepreneurial need to think beyond farmers as the CTAs 2016 report Innovate for
activities is the third factor. Specific main end users to increasingly target Agriculture: Young entrepreneurs
gaps frequently mentioned by young other players in the value chain with overcoming challenges and
entrepreneurs and application developers linkages to farmers (e.g. agrodealers, tranforming agriculture
include the lack of business courses in processors, supermarkets or insurance http://goo.gl/cG2JkG
agriculture and ICT curricula, the lack providers) or stakeholders that can Heike Baumllers 2016
of capacities and sustainability in facilitate the use of ICT-enabled publication Agricultural Service
innovation hubs and incubators, the solutions (e.g. farmers organisations Delivery Through Mobile Phones
limited availability of venture capital or savings groups). This will also require http://goo.gl/Kzb1GD
(especially mid-level financing needed for thinking beyond mobile phones, which
4
October 2016 ICT Update issue 83
Interview
http://ictupdate.cta.int 5
Building a healthy ecosystem for ICT
entrepreneurs
Countries could see economic growth in e-agriculture when the private and public sectors
are aligned to create a climate that fosters innovation. Some lessons can be learned from the
Caribbean and Latin America on creating a healthy ecosystem for ICT start-ups in agriculture.
Leonard Seale of
CropGuard attend a
convening to create an
agtech ecosystem in
Barbados.
Youth
e-agriculture
entrepreneurship
6
October 2016 ICT Update issue 83
experiences of Devlabs in supporting ICT the innovation and entrepreneurial hub
start-ups in agriculture. Jermaine Henry of Latin America. In 2010 the Chilean
is an entrepreneur based in Kingston, Economic Development Agency
Jamaica, who specialises in business (CORFO) launched Start-Up Chile, which
development. He worked with a team to offers training, mentoring, networking
create a two-sided agriculture marketplace, events and US$40,000 in seed grants to
connecting farmers to wholesalers. Their start-ups. Universities support start-up
business would have to get both farmers entrepreneurship, and there are tax and
and buyers on their platform. His team immigration policies to attract foreign
was winning pitch contests, going to investment.
conferences, getting press attention, and ReinSystem is one of the start-ups
speaking at the United Nations about to come out of the fertile ecosystem in
alleviating hunger in developing nations. Chile. The team created the business at
Their business plan expanded to providing Universidad de la Frontera as their thesis
capital upfront to the farmers while project. ReinSystem was a combination
wholesalers sold their product. Yet after of hardware and software to help
a year and a half they had not finished farmers monitor soil conditions. They
building their platform and they had leveraged the universitys incubator,
not made one sale. Incubatec grant programme. The seed
funding they received allowed them
to develop the software and hardware
An advanced ecosystem to begin selling across Southern Chile.
After a year of generating revenues,
allows entrepreneurs to some members of the team realised that
fail and learn from their their revenue margins were too low and
decided to create a new business. From
mistakes. their work with ReinSystem they learned
that most large farms already have
Devlabs brought Henry and his sensors in their soil and that the indicator
team to Silicon Valley for an informal that makes the biggest impact is water.
fellowship. In the first week Henry was They decided to focus solely on vineyards.
talking to farmers and buyers. He realised In three months the team launched
that his solution was too complicated Irricrops, a software platform that helps
and unsustainable. Henry spent time vineyards manage irrigation. Irricrops
on the Oakland docks with wholesalers, is now experiencing growth five times collaborative relationships that support
watching them work and found that as fast as ReinSystem. the local ICT entrepreneurs and
their systems were analogue and time The Irricrops example illustrates trust building among the actors,
consuming. Henry saw an opportunity an advanced ecosystem that allowed like education institutions, start-up
for a software solution that would be entrepreneurs to fail and learn from incubators, accelerators, business
manageable to create and added value. their mistakes. The Irricrops team associations, government and
He pivoted from a marketplace to a learned from their first experience and multilateral programmes. Everyone in
management tool for freight forwarders launched their minimum viable product the ecosystems needs to understand
in his new company, Quicdock. (MVP) quickly, with contracts already the key points that make e-agriculture
Henrys experience shows that ICT pending. They applied for and received companies different from traditional
entrepreneurs in agriculture need to focus the same funding that they received for agriculture businesses and how to
on talking to their customers to develop a their first company. The ecosystem did support their growth.
product that fits the needs. Education and not penalise the team for their failure,
training programmes as well as but allowed for experimentation and
incubators and accelerators need to About the author
learning. Governments, foundations and
Barni Qaasim (barni@devla.bs)
understand this and not distract multilateral organisations should not is a partner at US based Devlabs
entrepreneurs from building a product invest in companies, but should invest Venture Capital, which helps
and making sales. In addition, moving in the talent in the region. potential high-growth ICT start-ups
away from two-sided market places in the Caribbean and Latin America
and focusing on selling business to Collaborative relationship to become investment ready.
business are sustainable strategies for What the three examples show is
entrepreneurs that do not have access that when stakeholders including
to angel or venture capital and need to governments, investors and the
Related Links
make sustainable revenues business community, are committed
Website of Devlabs Venture
immediately. to investing in entrepreneurial success,
Capital
a diversity of entrepreneurs are
https://devlabs.vc/
Learn by failure empowered to create inventive methods
Website of Start-up Chile
Chile is a country that has invested and solutions. An ecosystem in which
http://startupchile.org/
heavily in the software and ICT start-up agriculture technology can be developed
ecosystem and has transformed itself into and flourish, therefore, depends on the
http://ictupdate.cta.int 7
Enabling user-inclusive innovation
in African agriculture
Ignitia has developed a disruptive technology that allows smallholder farmers in West
Africa to access accurate weather predictions. Engaging with local partners and initiating
reliable impact measurements were key factors to gain trust and scale-up the business.
Ghana, Ignitia
explains the concept
FAO DLIS
of predictions and
how the mobile
service works.
8
October 2016 ICT Update issue 83
Ignitias team is
IGNITIA
A start-up has to deal with receiving feedback
from farmers that their
the many mixed feedback yield has increased
with the assistance of
messages that it receives better forecasts.
from end-users and
clients.
http://ictupdate.cta.int 9
Balancing entrepreneurial values
with social impact
Social entrepreneurs in Africa have developed innovative ICT-enabled models for
agriculture with the aim of combining profit with inclusive rural development.
Their main challenges are scaling-up and earning an income while serving the poorest
rural communities.
private sector actors (e.g. short-termism),
PHILIPPE LIONNET
Access As consumers of critical Improved access to Agriculture inputs Rural and urban BoP
products and services critical products and
services that are high
quality and affordable
Ability As partners in enterprise Through skills Agro-processing and Rural, urban and export
value chain and/or skill improvements, increased capacity building of market (middle and
Access/Ability/
development productivity and output farmers upper income)
Knowledge Knowledge As consumers of Improved awareness and Information linked to Rural and urban BoP
Framework (Source: information behaviour change towards good farming practices
Intellecap 2016) better quality of life
10
October 2016 ICT Update issue 83
to track their productivity, expenses and make it cost-prohibitive for small Africa need to design innovative
revenues which are analysed to reveal companies with limited scale to reach a financing mechanisms such as multi-year
performance patterns. The information network of thousands of disparate farms financing plans, result-based financing,
helps financiers to make lending decisions while larger companies encounter a host and other forms of blended finance in
based on the credit profiles of the borrowers. of logistical issues. Transportation order to cater to the growing demand.
Small vendors lack money and time to bottlenecks can also run up costs. With financing and support the enterprises
travel distances to remote rural markets to will be able to scale simultaneously
purchase fruits and vegetables. Therefore, Way forward creating profit and much needed impact.
social enterprise Twiga Foods has developed Intellecaps analysis has shown that Ultimately social entrepreneurs need
a tool that vendors can use to order stocks. East Africa has seen a proliferation of a lot of support not only financially but
It procures the produce directly from farmers entrepreneurship and innovative in capacity building and networking.
at a guaranteed price and delivers it to the business models with two factors This can come from governments, NGOs,
vendors. The vendors are allowed to make emerging as key for success. Firstly, donors, private sector actors (e.g. angel
flexible payments using mobile money the importance of providing end-to-end investors or impact investors), and
depending on what they sell during the day. support across all stages of the value increasingly specialised support
chain. Those enterprises that provide organisations for the social enterprise.
quality inputs and processing facilities, The support should not only target the
Social entrepreneurship support capacity building of farmers, and individual social entrepreneur, but must
has the opportunity to ensure market linkages were the most seek to create the perfect ecosystem for
successful. This model locks in revenue social entrepreneurship to succeed in
improve rural stream and collectivises smallholder their social mission. Because such
employment, to empower farmers to reap economies of scale whilst ecosystems are less advanced in rural
ensuring that farmers receive fair pricing areas, support should take into account
communities, and to for their products on a regular basis. the special measures to succeed social
tackle various constraints Secondly, enterprises should consider enterprises in rural circumstances.
leveraging technology. Enterprises with
in the food value chain. access to customer data can collect,
analyse and predict future trends and
Challenges for social enterprises highlight business opportunities. In the
Social entrepreneurs that serve poor and absence of such data, customer insights About the author
remote rural communities face many remain locked within individuals and Sheena Raikundalia (sheena.r@
obstacles. Although for social entrepreneurs enterprises and responses to challenges intellecap.net) is a senior advisor
the social mission is as important as remain reactive. with Intellecaps consulting team in
profit-making, earning an income from Despite numerous examples of social Kenya providing strategic advisory
their activities is a must. A key challenge, enterprises in e-agriculture, social services to corporates, start-ups,
however, is the limited purchasing power entrepreneurship is still nascent in East development agencies and NGOs
of a low income rural population. Intellecap Africa and more than 60% of enterprises across the East Africa market.
noticed a shift in the way social enterprises interviewed for the report were younger
in Eastern Africa react to the challenges of than five years old. Around half of the
affordability. Creating affordable products enterprises have not achieved break-even
was synonymous to creating low-cost and 67% earn revenues of less than Related links
products with basic features. However, US$100,000. Investments of US$100,000 Website of Intellecap
social enterprises now focus on designing to US$500,000 are critical for the growth http://www.intellecap.com
innovative pricing and payment solutions of these enterprises, but currently demand Game Changers report (2016)
for full-feature products and services. for such investments outstrips supply. As http://goo.gl/lyM6AP
They use sliding fee scales or special such, impact investors focusing in East
discounts for people of lesser means or
A look in the iHub in
introduce new payment models.
IHUB
http://ictupdate.cta.int 11
Young ICT entrepreneurs provide
solutions for agriculture
The IITA Youth Agripreneurs (IYA) ICT unit has established its own businesses by making
use of ICT tools, like drones. The members also give ICT trainings with the aim to enhance
agriculture and sensitise rural entrepreneurs.
during adrone
operation conducted
by IYAs ICT unit in
Joga-Orile,Nigeria.
12
October 2016 ICT Update issue 83
Demonstration of Hello
http://ictupdate.cta.int 13
Unleashing the next generation
of entrepreneurs in e-agriculture
The Tony Elumelu Foundation has started a Pan-Africa entrepreneurship programme for
a total of 10,000 start-ups. Many of them work in agriculture and strive to modernise the
sector with technology-based solutions.
TEF Entrepreneurship
Bootcamp.
Youth
e-agriculture
entrepreneurship
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October 2016 ICT Update issue 83
The majority have built businesses in the their businesses. In line with this, the
Africas youth are more advanced end of the value chain Foundation produces evidence-based
including processing, cold rooms, reports to support policymakers in
aggressively identifying storage, distribution and increased addressing key issues in finance, access
opportunities in reliance on ICT. They are utilising to markets and information, high
innovative techniques that enhance the operating costs, scarce inputs and
agriculture, and leveraging competitiveness of the sector, resulting equipment, obsolete land laws, and high
innovation and in standardised produce and products taxes that affect start-ups. In May, the
that are eligible for export overseas. Foundation released the Unleashing
technology tools to build This trend of utilising technology to Africas Agricultural Entrepreneurs
sustainable and profitable increase transparency and efficiency in publication at the 2016 World Economic
agriculture is widespread in Africa and Forum on Africa in Rwanda.
agri-businesses. gives insight to what extent entrepreneurs The reports insights come from case
candidates remain as members engaged are employing ICTs and a range of studies and experiences of Tony Elumelu
in the Tony Elumelu Foundation technology platforms to drive development agricultural entrepreneurs, as well as
Entrepreneurship Network where they in agriculture. Transforming agriculture input from established stakeholders,
receive non-financial support and will unlock jobs and improve skills at practitioners and investors across the
access to diverse opportunities for a time when forty million young people value chain. Eleven key recommendations
their business ideas. in Africa are out of work. Over 30% of are included for decision-makers in the
the finalists who work in agriculture private and public sectors to improve
Young entrepreneurs have joined local cooperatives to share the agriculture value and supply chains:
in agriculture the training they have received and cheaper and more reliable access to
Amongst these start-ups, agriculture is provide support to farmers. Others have finance, insurance, and inputs such as
by far the most popular sector. The data become inspired to return to school to fertiliser, seeds, livestock vaccination,
suggests that contrary to mainstream earn advanced degrees in agriculture. pesticides; more formal degrees of
belief, Africas youth are aggressively training and extension services;
identifying opportunities in agriculture, SME-friendly policies improved storage and warehousing
and where possible, leveraging Entrepreneurs do not exist in isolation. to mend the fractured value chain;
innovation and technology tools In order for entrepreneurs to succeed, agri-friendly financial products, like
to build sustainable and profitable they must operate in economies with warehouse receipts to enable borrowing
agri-businesses. Over 20,000 of SME-friendly policies in place that allow from banks; reduced taxes or tax
entrepreneurs in the network are engaged them to thrive, generate income and breaks and provision of infrastructure
in ventures along the agriculture value create employment for others. Essentially, to support and engender productivity
chain and at least 600 of the 2,000 to succeed, they need the public sector rather than hinder entrepreneurial
finalists are involved in agri-business. to create an enabling environment for investment in the long term.
Four of the finalists in the Tony Elumelu Foundation About the author
Entrepreneurship Programme: Somachi Chris-Asoluka (somachi.
chris-asoluka@tonyelumelu
Crowd Farm Africa Ltd is a Kenyan Enric Farm Fresh Delivery Enterprise foundation.org) is the head of
crowd-farming company. Crowd Farm in Kenya is an online store that facilitates research for the Tony Elumelu
Africa uses technology to promote home and office delivery of locally- Foundation in Lagos, Nigeria.
shareholding farming, strengthen local sourced organic fresh fruit and vegetables.
agricultural value chains, and connect It provides local farmers with trainings,
smallholder farmers to markets. Crowd seeds and seedlings for planting. The sales
Farms online platform enables investors strategy targets working professional and
to invest in the food value chain. business owners with no time to visit food
All investments are centrally managed markets and supermarkets. The company Related Links
by Crowd Farm Africa to ensure high makes a small premium on every delivery. Website of Tony Elumelu
returns. (www.crowdfarmafrica.com) (www.enricfarmfresh.co.ke) Foundation Entrepreneurship
Programme.
Sub-zero Foods Networking Company Fasbol Global Link Limited in Nigeria http://tonyelumelufoundation.
in Nigeria is an e-platform that preserves produces, packages and distributes org/teep/
and distributes a variety of frozen foods, gluten-free foods and flour through Tony Elumelu Foundations
like sea foods, poultry, fruits and vegetables. its online platform. The client base publication Unleashing Africas
All produce is preserved via freezing includes gluten-sensitive individuals, Agricultural Entrepreneurs.
technology, marketed online and celiac disease patients and diabetic http://goo.gl/PDbRRD
distributed to customers. The mission patients. The companys vision is to be Article in The Huffington Post of
is to reduce food wastage and losses the preferred supplier for people living Marime Jamme.
caused by poor preservation and storage with health challenges in Nigeria. http://goo.gl/xzmWAU
methods. (www.sub-zerofoods.com) (www.fasbolgloballink.com)
http://ictupdate.cta.int 15
Support for ICT entrepreneurs to
match each need
French mobile phone provider Orange has developed several support programmes
for ICT start-ups in Africa and the Middle East. By providing the right, tailor made support
facilities it aims to enable a home-grown e-agriculture sustainable growth model for
innovative, young entrepreneurs.
Social Venture
ORANGE
Youth
e-agriculture
entrepreneurship
16
October 2016 ICT Update issue 83
Photo on the left:
Orange start-up support in
DOMINIC CHAVEZ/WORLD BANK
Farmers working in
Africa: their fields in
preparation to plant
Entrepreneur Club: this free digital corn in Gnoungouya
hub enables anyone to access Village, Guinea.
operational advice, tools or Orange
activities whatever their
entrepreneurial stage.
http://entrepreneurclub.orange.
com/en/
Orange Social Venture Prize: since
2011 the winning entrepreneurs have
been awarded 265,000. A further 22
enterprises have benefited from
expert coaching.
http://entrepreneurclub.orange.
com/en/social-venture-2016.html
Imagine with Orange: a free Orange
platform to test entrepreneurial ideas
products at the best price. MLouma and concepts with a community of
won the 2014 Orange Developer Start-up support 12,000 members in 56 countries
Challenge, integrating three APIs worldwide.
in the process: USSD, to make the
programmes should also http://imagine.orange.com/en/
platform available via feature phones; promote trainings in how startup
SMS, to notify users of prices; Billing, Incubators: co-created by Orange
to charge users communication credits
to use ICTs in agriculture to and its local partners in 5 countries:
while they browse. Since winning the end-users to create a CTIC in Senegal, CIPMEN in Niger,
Challenge and integrating the APIs, EBENE in Mauritius, SABOUTECH in
MLoumas user base has grown from
critical mass of users. Guinea, CREATEAM in Mali.
500 exclusively web-users to more Orange Fab: a 3-4 months
than 100,000 mainly mobile phone prize-winners many saw difficulties acceleration programme with the
users in 2016. The ambition now is to which they had to adapt, or that objective to sign a partnership opened
to cover Senegals entire agricultural occasionally became too big to be in Ivory Coast, Senegal, Jordan and
sector and make inroads into solved, which was for example the Cameroon
neighbouring countries. case of Kachile in Ivory Coast. This Orange Developer/ APIs: a platform
Our major challenge at the start was company was one of the prize-winners dedicated to developers to access APIs
to reach farmers who live in rural areas of the 2011 edition, but because of the that can be downloaded and bought.
without access to the internet, says crisis in the country and an immature Orange also organises regular API
Sonko. The Challenge was our best market, it could not survive. Or take the Challenges since 2014.
opportunity to extend our services Agasha Business Network, created by https://developer.orange.com/
to the mobile market that could reach Sharon Againe, a 2011 prize-winner, Orange Digital Ventures: this capital
farmers more easily. Sonko appreciates who designed a web marketing agency venture takes financial minority
most of all the technical support that promotes and connects African participation in tech start-
received from Orange Senegal in SMEs in agriculture who are having upsChallenges since 2014.
the implementation phase. Our two difficulties in accessing the global http://digitalventures.orange.com/
strengths are the scalability of our market. Technical problems prevented Teranga Capital: created in March
service and the quality of our the web-based platform from being 2016 in Senegal, this capital venture is
partnership with Orange and their created. Now the concept continues in dedicated to the missing gap
network of APIs in Africa, he adds. the AgaSha Group, the publisher of between 75,000 and 300,000
Agribusiness Directory East Africa investments in ICT enterprises.
Challenges remain for winning that consists of linking agribusinesses, http://www.terangacapital.com/
enterprises experts, professionals and supporting
Sonko hopes that start-up support sectors in agriculture. It also facilitates
programmes also will focus on Whatsapp Agribusiness Information
promoting solutions and training in the Platform groups with over 1,500 About the author
use of ICT in agriculture to end-users participants sharing opportunities, Catherine Flouvat (catherine.
that are the producers, transporters experiences and challenges in real flouvat@orange.com) works for
and traders. This would achieve a time with experts and practitioners. Orange on Corporate Social
critical mass of users in agriculture Both successes and failures determine Responsibility in Africa, Middle
for the good of all stakeholders. And the future of O4Ds entrepreneurship East, and Asia, in particular, with a
it should open APIs to other young programme by providing the right, focus on strategies to improve farmers
entrepreneurs in the field of ICT4Ag. tailor made support facilities, which life in rural areas by making use of
Not all the prize-winners do have enable an e-agriculture sustainable ICT services.
the same success story. Among the growth model for enterprises.
http://ictupdate.cta.int 17
Insights from Benins EtriLabs
Technology hubs give young innovators and entrepreneurs the unique opportunity
to develop their products and services and to make them marketable. The lack of
awareness about the opportunities that e-agriculture has to offer, is one of the main
obstacles to succeed.
ETRILABS
connected to the internet by for agricultural usage have been
smartphones. They mainly use mobile developed and marketed yet.
apps to gain information and exchange These include Agri-Help, an enabling
it with family and friends. Mobile apps platform to determine urgent problems
are also used for agriculture purposes in food production that was developed
by some. There is a growing, but still during the Space Apps Challenge 2016,
weak recognition of the opportunities a competition organised by NASA.
e-agriculture could provide for young Another app that has been launched
entrepreneurs and innovators. from EtriLabs is Smart Grange, an
To develop a product or service that is automated management system for
marketable and suits the demands of farmers that allows them to develop
all the stakeholders that are involved parallel activities while managing
in agriculture needs time, money, and the farm via the app.
networking skills. To help the youth
entrepreneurs and innovators to improve Partnerships
Youth their skills, to connect them in local and In addition, EtriLabs has partnerships difficulties to find further financial
e-agriculture international networks, and to make with other technology hubs and support dedicated to technological
entrepreneurship their innovations suitable for end-users, incubation programmes. For instance, innovation in agriculture, inadequate
is why technology labs spring up all it is a partner in the AgriHack Talent promotion and subsidies for young
around in Africa. Programme in West Africa, also known agronomists, and low awareness of
In Benin, Etrilabs is such an incubator as the Youth Enabled AgriHack Fish the opportunities of e-agriculture
that welcomes e-agriculture innovators. Farming (YEFFA). This is a project entrepreneurship within Benin.
Benin is a country heavily dependent supported by CTA and managed by To boost technological innovation
on agriculture. The agricultural sector Wennovation Hub Nigeria. Within in agriculture in Benin and in the
contributes to more than 30% of the YEFFA many stakeholders, such as sub-region, EtriLabs suggests to clearly
Gross Domestic Product (GDP), provides fish farmers, wholesalers, retailers, define successful cases to increase
75% of export earnings, and 70% of academics, and policy makers awareness on opportunities. It also
total employment. The sector could give participate with the young innovators. would like to involve more agricultural
young innovators and entrepreneurs in In August 2016 a site visit, boot camp, youth organisations in the debates to
e-agriculture many opportunities to and a hackathon were organised define agricultural policy
strengthen their business case. simultaneously in four cities: Cotonou recommendations that include references
(Benin), Lom (Togo), Warri (Nigeria), to e-agriculture. Furthermore, hackathons
Mentoring and advising and Lagos (Nigeria). At the EtriLab in and e-agriculture competitions should
EtriLabs is a project of Educational Cotonou two protoypes were selected give investors, policy-makers, and the
Technology and Research International for further development and support: youth the chance to understand the
(ETRI), an NGO dedicated to the use of e-MAS and Fisher_Innove. The regional business opportunities in agriculture
ICTs for development. It aims to support final is scheduled to take place in Lagos. through innovations.
technology developers, entrepreneurs, EtriLabs faces different challenges to
civil society, businesses, and governments support young innovators and
About the author
to create and stimulate the usage entrepreneurs. Inadequate financial
Louis Agbokou (louisassou@
of innovative technological solutions resources, lack of direct support from the gmail.com) is engineer of rural
in agriculture. government in Benin for e-agriculture development in Benin, consultant
The lab supports youth through innovations, the inadequacy of local in agricultural entrepreneurship.
mentoring and advisory. It provides stakeholders to build an enabling His blog: https://suivifermesdele
a workspace in which innovators can environment that suits particularly the vage.wordpress.com
exchange their ideas with others. young entrepreneurs, are among others
EtriLabs also facilitates dialogues the most important challenges.
between stakeholders in agriculture, According to Murielle Anatohon, Related links
which helps the young innovators a lot, Programme Assistant at EtriLabs, young Website of EtriLabs
because their network is still limited. innovators that successful went through www.etrilabs.com
Strengthened with EtriLabs support the mentoring process still face
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October 2016 ICT Update issue 83
Young Voices
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Nicholai RajKumar(left),
icholais passion for ITs combines
COMMUNITY HUB CORPORATION
http://ictupdate.cta.int 19
Resources
AgriHack Talent Programme News about UAVsEvaluation of The MasterCard Foundation Fund for
CTA has initiated the AgriHack Talent incubation programmes Rural Prosperity has launched the
Programme to support youth ICT Measuring Value Created: By Impact Innovation Competition and the Scaling
innovations and entrepreneurship in Incubators & Accelerators (November Competition for innovative entrepreneurs
agriculture. A new component of the 2014) is a report of I-DEV in conjunction that work on new financial products
programme is Pitch AgriHack! - a with the Aspen Network of Development and services that can effectively meet
bootcamp followed by a pitching Entrepreneurs (ANDE) and Agora the financing needs of people living in
competition, and opportunities to win Partnerships, which examines and poverty in rural and agricultural areas.
grants and investments. Pitch-AgriHack! evaluates the value created by impact www.frp.org/
targets existing e-agriculture start-ups with incubators and accelerators for The Africa Agriculture and Trade
working prototypes or services already entrepreneurs. Investment Fund focuses on investments
in operation. http://goo.gl/AFpQ5p into the agricultural sector. It targets small,
http://pitch-agrihack.info/ and http:// medium and large scale agricultural
hackathon.ict4ag.org/ Insight into incubation in farms as well as agricultural businesses
rural areas along the entire agricultural value chain.
This report with the title Good www.aatif.lu/
Incubation in India: Strategies African Business Angel Network is
for supporting social enterprise a pan African non-profit association
in challenging contexts (January 2016) founded to support the development
was commissioned by the UK of early stage investor networks.
Governments Department for https://abanangels.org
International Development. It looks at CapitalFinder from AlliedCrowds is
Plug and Play the challenges of incubating enterprises a free database on alternative finance
CTAs tech-dating for agriculture event outside of the metropolitan cities. in the developing world. It lists from
showcases the range of ICTs/mobile http://goo.gl/vxdKpW crowdfunding platforms to venture
platforms developed and being capitalists to government programmes.
implemented along the agricultural value Knowledge in the impact http://alliedcrowds.com
chain. The event offers ICT innovators accelerator market The Seedstars Group is a Swiss-based
Youth the opportunity to demonstrate their The Rockefeller Foundation, in venture builder that is active and invests
e-agriculture solutions to interested clients; users to conjunction with Monitor Deloitte tried in emerging markets in Asia, South
entrepreneurship discover the latest ICT platforms along the to understand the needs of start-ups America, The Middle East and Africa.
value chain; investors to identify viable by studying the ecosystem of more than www.seedstars.com/
areas for investment; donors to discover 160 impact accelerators, in the US, South African venture capital firm 4Di
emerging areas for support; and agriculture Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Capital announced a first close of
policymakers to understand and explore Asia. The results have been summarised US$16.8 million in initial commitments
areas for action. in the report Accelerating Impact: for a new technology venture capital fund.
https://goo.gl/jVb01L Exploring Best Practices, Challenges, www.4dicapital.com
and Innovation in Impact Enterprise As worldwide start-up fund that is very
Acceleration (February 2015). active in Africa, Village Capital looks set
http://goo.gl/nx8aIJ to scale up its activities after announcing
the close of a US$17.7 million fund by
Social entrepreneurship in its investment arm VilCap Investments.
agriculture in Kenya http://vilcap.com/
A case study of health and agriculture Capria Accelerator announced the
social enterprises in Kenya (March 2014) launch of a US$100 million fund that
Disrupt Africa was produced by a team from ODI, will invest in equity and debt funds
Read all about Africas start-up Bertha Centre for Social Innovation targeting early-stage impact businesses
initiatives, incubation and acceleration and Entrepreneurship, University of Cape across Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
programmes, and hubs on the tech Town, KCA University, Nairobi, and the http://capria.vc/
start-up portal Disrupt Africa. It is a East Africa Social Enterprise Network UNICEF has launched a US$9 million
one-stop-shop for news, information and (EASEN). This is one of the few reports Innovation Fund to target open source
commentary pertaining to the continents that focuses on social entrepreneurship technologies for children
tech start-ups and their ecosystem. in agricultural in Kenya. www.unicefinnovationfund.org
http://disrupt-africa.com/ http://goo.gl/z1ZiDt Tech accelerator mLab Southern Africa
and the Technology Innovation Agency
Innovation Village Links to start-up funds and fund have launched the App Fund 2016 with
Innovation Village is about promoting sources grants of up to US$35,000.
new technologies, businesses, products, Start-ups are being backed by both www.mlab.co.za/funding/
services, and start-ups in Africa. This overseas and domestic investors and VC4Africa is the largest online
news blog gives information about funds. Not sure where to look for community of entrepreneurs and
innovation and business in Africa, investment for your business idea? investors. Entrepreneurs have access to
especially for start-ups and young This list of start-up funds could help free online tools, mentorship
entrepreneurs. you further (Source: CTA and Disrupt opportunities and private deal rooms.
http://innovation-village.com/ Africa - https://goo.gl/uxqosf). https://vc4a.com/
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TechCamp West Africa,
ike all enterprises, e-agriculture
KWABENA AKUAMOAH-BOATENG / US EMBASSY GHANA
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Dispatches
A farmer previews a
and some are making their own movies
J. BENTLEY
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October 2016 ICT Update issue 83
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