How AgriTech Startups are Reshaping Agriculture in Africa

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Intro

Agriculture is by far the single most important economic activity in Africa. It provides employment for about two-thirds of the continent’s working population. If that’s the case, then Africa shouldn’t go hungry. What happens to all the farm produce?

According to reports from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Africa is the net exporter of food despite its vast agricultural potential. Research conducted shows that population growth, low and stagnating agricultural productivity, policy distortion, weak institutions, and poor infrastructure are the main reasons Africa is at this critical stage despite its agricultural potential.

Here are some entrepreneurs who are working to improve productivity and infrastructure in African agriculture through innovations and ideas.

1. Mathias Charles Yabe

Mathias Charles Yabe is the co-founder and CEO of AkoFresh, a company that specializes in cold storage preservation technology.

Mathias grew up in a small village in Ghana’s Ashanti Region, where he witnessed many farmers struggling with food insecurity. He was optimistic about finding a solution that would assist farmers in reducing post-harvest fruit and vegetable losses.

After conducting research, he discovered that post-harvest loss is a problem for many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, where up to 36 percent of total harvested food can go to waste, with inefficient supply chains accounting for up to 94 percent of these losses.

Mathias Charles Yabe invented a solar-powered cold storage preservation technology that increases the shelf life of perishable crops from 5 to 21 days.

The AkoFresh mobile off-grid cold room serves multiple functions.

In some cases, the cold room houses fresh fish as well as medical materials such as vaccines.

2. Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu

Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu is the founder and CEO of ColdHubs, as well as a farmer, innovator, and leading social entrepreneur. ColdHubs Limited is a pay-as-you-go store model that uses solar panels to power batteries to maximize energy efficiency while minimizing cooling’s environmental impact

ColdHubs was founded after farmers and market organizers complained about a lack of cold storage due to significant food spoilage.

Since its creation, ColdHubs has served 3,517 farmers, retailers, and wholesalers with 24 coolers. Each cold room is able to hold three tons of food, including tomatoes, beans, and peppers.

Through ColdHubs, Ikegwuonu is working to create economic opportunities for women in Nigeria. ColdHubs hopes to have more than 100 coolers in Nigeria by 2024.

3. Emmanuel Ansah-Amprofi

TROTRO Tractor Limited (TTL), an AgriTech solution company, is led by CEO and co-founder Emmanuel Ansah-Amprofi.

After realizing that many farmers in Africa could not afford tractors, he founded TROTRO Tractor to connect them with readily available tractors and other farm mechanization services for rent. Tractor owners can use the TTL platform to track the movement and progress of their equipment. On the platform, farmers can also request, schedule, and prepay for tractor services. TROTRO Tractor is currently available in six African countries: Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Emmanuel Ansah-mission Amprofi’s is to help farmers on the continent improve and serve them in order to change the narrative of agriculture in Africa.

4. Caleb Edwards

Caleb Edwards is the co-founder and CEO of Wami Agro. Wami Agro is an AgriTech company that was established in Ghana in 2019. The company’s mission was to reduce post-harvest losses by at least 50 percent and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 20 percent.

Wami Agro works with a network of over 10,000 smallholder farmers, and its mission is to use technology to solve some of the challenges faced by smallholder farmers in Ghana by providing agriculture input credit and access to markets.

Read: How AgriTech Startups are Reshaping Agriculture in Africa

Across Africa, many young AgriTech entrepreneurs are assisting farmers in harvesting more crops from their farms. More of these entrepreneurs will be introduced on Entrepreneursplazza.com in the near future.

Read about: Four types of entrepreneurial ventures you can thrive in as a young African this year