(A column highlighting scientific, technological, engineering, and design innovation in Africa)
Fin4Ag 2014 international conference on revolutionizing agricultural financing kicked off on July14 in Nairobi, Kenya, with Plug and Play Day, a showcase of some of the industry’s leading digital financial services platforms identified globally. Below are five Africa-developed platforms that were showcased.
Agrilife, based in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, enables groups of smallholder farmers to access financial services, markets and other services, as well as enables players in the agricultural and banking sector and insurance companies to have access to data about farmers’ financial and physical supply chain. Developed and owned by Mobipay Kenya Ltd., it is a cloud-based platform designed for both mobile phone and web channels.
Ensibuuko, a mobile and web application that integrates SMS and mobile money services to enable saving and credit associations to handle savings and give loans to smallholder farmers. The application was developed by a group of young entrepreneurs from Uganda who won the 2013 Hackathon at the ICT4Ag conference in Rwanda.
Musoni System, an affordable, flexible platform developed in Kenya that uses a cloud-based management information system. Musoni stands for ‘mobile usoni,’ which means “mobile future’ in Kiswahili. Microfinance institutions, savings and credit cooperatives seeking to use technology to improve efficiency and reduce their operational costs can benefit from the platform.
Tangaza Pesa, licensed by the Communications Authority of Kenya and the Central Bank of Kenya, is a mobile virtual network operator that provides a safe, efficient and accessible way of transferring money between individuals and organizations. It enables financiers to automate the loan application and approval process, disburse funds, and monitor loans performance through customized reports. Founder Gichane Muraguri says Tangaza Pesa’s Value Chain Automation Service allows farmers to register and ‘post’ their produce onto the virtual market place for buyers to order, collect their produce and make payments.
Umati Capital, a digital platform developed in Kenya that finances business owners and farmers supplying larger agribusinesses, enables traders and processors to pay farmers’ invoices early and at low rates. It consists of a collection of integrated mobile and web applications that allow tracking of supply information from a source to a point of processing. Users can access finance within 24 hours from as low as 2.5 percent per month.
