agrocenta

The problem

Sub-Saharan Africa’s food market is currently valued at $300 billion and expected to reach nearly $1 trillion by 2030. Although up to 80 per cent of the region’s farmland is managed by smallholder farmers, they remain excluded from the formal financial system. According to the IFC, only an estimated one per cent of bank lending in Africa is allocated to the agriculture sector even though it represents around 18 per cent of the region’s GDP.

The company

AgroCenta is an online platform that connects smallholder farmers in the staple food (rice, maize, millet and soybean) value chain to a wider online market, access truck delivery services and get real-time market information on their mobile phones via SMS and voice services. Building on this platform, AgroCenta aims to allow farmers to receive digital payments, build their credit score and access financial services through the AgroPay service.

Project description

AgroCenta received a grant from the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator Innovation Fund in November 2018 to further develop and scale its financial solution, AgroPay, to enable smallholder farmers in rural Ghana to receive digital payments and build their financial identity to complete deliveries through the platform.

Impact

As of January 2020, Agrocenta has reached over 3,500 smallholder farmers through the AgroPay platform and over 36,200 farmers are active users on the platform. AgroCenta has hosted and provided over 500 farmer engagement sessions.

Scaling Journey