On the 8th of October INSEAD Africa Club, a community aimed at increasing awareness about the challenging yet exciting business and social impact opportunities in Africa today held a virtual discussion themed ‘Building A Digital Economy In Africa’. In attendance were our Co-Founder and CEO, Akindele Phillips, Natalia Pshenichnaya, Independent ISF Advisor, Sheran Amod, CEO Recomed and Brice Kitio, CEO Wiiqare.
During the discussions, Akindele highlighted that within the African scene, there exists many opportunities and problems to explore and solve, but only if there were more players privy to this knowledge and, also willing to take on the challenges.
While addressing the aspect of the farmers, he mentioned that a close examination of the challenges most farmers face, especially with regards to post-harvest activities, helped fashion the initial model Farmcrowdy began with. This still plays a significant role in the organization’s modifications over the years. “We have heard cases where farmers take their produce to the market and are unable to sell everything they bring. At the end of the day, because they do not want to return home many kilometres away with unpurchased items, they sell at a very cheap price, thereby, affecting their expected returns.”- Akindele.
He also mentioned how the quality of the crops would have dropped when unsold, thereby resulting in post-harvest losses.
According to Akindele, a way to increase efficiency between farmers and buyers is to create a reliable structure where every player thrives. In doing so and to a large extent, there would be a significant reduction in the losses faced at the post-harvest stage. He cited the use of cold rooms now being included in business models to help farmers retain the value of their produce and attain maximum returns. “Another thing I would like to point out is that there is a business model concerned with providing cold room services on the go. Fresh vegetables, for instance, can have their shelf life increased. There are now many models like this out there”.
He concluded his session by urging all potential investors to invest in ideas that utilise the best techniques in fixing issues around post-harvest losses, as this will eventually increase and improve the production of food in Nigeria and Africa at large.
