Multi-sided business models to digitize Africa’s Agriculture

A Multi-sided business model is a survival strategy that we think is critical to success – diversify or die.
While this multi-sided business model may allow African start-ups to survive and even develop, it carries with ít certain marketing and communication risks, which digital entrepreneurs would do well not to ignore. Using experience from running our own digital start-ups, we offer some advice on branching out.

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Developing Skills for the Digital Economy

The digital economy is solely a golden opportunity for Africa to leapfrog and lead all other continents into the a more sustainable development. It’s a ripe market full of opportunities, especially in infrusturecture, water , food, logistics etc.
Most digital products have been built for 2 billion consumers leaving 5 billion offline market (majority in the developing countries). That’s a huge market! The biggest opportunity for entrepreneurs is to leverage on digital technologies to deliver services to the next 5 Billion. When you see entrepreneurs that are organizing these market, they are laying the foundation for the future unicorns.

Disrupting the water business

Water: A Global Issue 2/3 of the world population will be living in water stressed conditions by 2025 according to the UN. Majority of these will be in Sub Saharan Africa Africa remains the… Continue reading →

Taking on Africa’s biggest challenges

BOSIRE ONYI || A WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES The Techstars Paris program welcomes startups from all over the world. One of them comes directly from Kenya: Hydrologistics. We interviewed its CEO, Brian Bosire, to know more… Continue reading →

Digitizing African Agriculture

Agriculture can and should not be left behind in these digitization age. We should incorporate ICT not as an independent initiative in agricultural practices but as a core fabric enabling each of these activities. ICTs can streamline most of the challenges along the value-chains eg access to knowledge on markets, market linkages, crop management, access to financing and insurance services. 

THE GAP IN AFRICAN AGRICULTURE

Knowledge remains one of the biggest challenge preventing modernisation of smallholder farming in Africa. By improving knowledge dissemination to these farmers, we increase their ability to be economically attractive, able to make better decisions and reduce production risks!

Youth and Technology: The Missing Link in Agriculture

There is a growing demand for food, yet the young population who have the energy, diverse skills and technologies to modernize farming are not yet fully engaged in agriculture. We, the young population, have an opportunity to transform agriculture by driving technology uptake and innovation in the sector. We need to take advantage of our boredom and frustration from the current state and adopt technologies that can make us more resilient to the very challenges that have kept us away from agriculture. Interestingly, as we lower the average age of a farmer, we easily spearhead a shift from poor low-tech production to better and profitable approaches to farming. We enhance knowledge-based, skill-driven farming, become climate resilient and move to sustainable food production.

AFRICAN PROSPERITY LIES IN AGRICULTURE

Its true that the majority of the world’s poor are farmers, and these explains why solving the poverty problem shall begin with fixing the agricultural sector especially among the small scale farmers. Poverty increases chances for poor sanitation, poor nutrition, ignorance and even reduces the human resilience to effects of global climate change, thus, there is need to first struggle to jump-start the journey out of poverty by supporting the very simple and basic source of economic development of the worlds poor, farming.We have to agree that the knowledge that fed the world population 100 years ago can not feed the current population.

INNOVATING FOR HUMANITY

The essence and soul driver of true innovation is that it provides hope to people.it inspires people to dream and dream big. It excites emotions of those experiencing it to bring the best out of themselves so that they can also be counted among the few who make a difference. It’s true that the biggest gift that humankind was blessed with is the ability to innovate and better themselves.
Change comes when we wake up every day and feel the inadequacy around us. that nagging feeling that tells us that we are not enough, that we have to bring something better to add up to what we are today, to leave a mark on the face of the world that defines our existence.

The Randomised Life

The best thing about being young is the potential hidden inside us. This potential opens doors for us and hustles for us. It’s the biggest currency that the youth can trade with. Anybody will be willing to invest in us provided we clearly articulate this potential with your vision and build capacity, skill and ability around it. Basically, we have a future! Living life isn’t living in comfort but rather adjusting to new challenges every day. The only way you know you’re moving forward is by conquering each challenge you face, one at a time. It never gets easier as you move forward, it only gets familiar.