Tuesday 30 June, 2026
Resilient and efficient food systems are essential to tackling global food insecurity, especially as rising populations and climate change put unprecedented pressure on agriculture. Smallholder farmers—who produce a significant share of the world’s food—face mounting challenges, from limited access to information, markets and finance, to increasing climate risks and persistent gender gaps. Traditional approaches are no longer sufficient; digital agriculture offers a pathway to more sustainable, inclusive and productive food systems. Yet, most agritechs struggle to scale their solutions and reach those who need them most.
The GSMA AgriTech Accelerator sought to address these challenges by supporting ten agritechs across Africa and Asia to enhance the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, promote financial inclusion and improve climate resilience through digital innovation. Through tailored technical assistance, the Accelerator helped agritechs refine their products, engage users, become investment ready, and measure their impact—ultimately reaching over 335,000 new farmers.
The report draws on practical experiences and robust data to explore what works in scaling digital agriculture from lessons on user-centred design, business models, partnerships, and investment readiness; provide insights into the impact of the digital agriculture services on farmers; and offer actionable recommendations for agritechs, donors, investors, and technical assistance providers.
The GSMA AgriTech Accelerator (the “Accelerator”), commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development BMZ, is part of the Fund for the Promotion of Innovation in Agriculture (i4Ag) and is being carried out by the GSMA on behalf of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
