4th Wave Tech

PROBLEM: Insufficient digital skills & technologies in farming in Southern Africa; amplified by the covid-19 crisis, leading to severe poverty and exacerbating food insecurity.

SOLUTION: Digital technologies with real-time content offered in different ethnic languages, accessible on mobile phones off-line or online; to teach farmers to navigate the platform, access critical agricultural information on the health of their farms, provide guidance on crops, disease control, soil management, yield forecasting, waste reduction, weather, supply chain and demand planning; as well as access to critical digital eco-system of institutions that support Agriculture.

This solution will close the digital gap in farming, making the agricultural- food sector more inclusive, efficient and sustainable; thereby, increasing benefits for farmers, consumers and society. 

By introducing more productive and resilient agricultural practices, local food production increases, jobs created in rural areas, hunger & poverty reduced and food security increased if the solution was to be scaled globally.

Digital inclusion of smallholding farmers with low levels of education and income in Southern Africa to increase Food Security.

COVID-19 pandemic has increased attention to both the need for and utility of digital technologies in the agricultural sector and has facilitated the urgency for the introduction and adoption of digital technologies in farming.

Digital inclusion and digital literacy which have always been lacking even prior to the pandemic are some of the critical solutions necessary to transform the agricultural sector for Africa’s post- Covid recovery and long lasting Food Security resilience. 

According to the United Nations’ World Food Program, 135 million people around the world faced acute food insecurity before the pandemic, as of April 2021, the World Food Program estimates that 296 million people in the 35 countries where it works are currently without sufficient food—111 million more people than in April 2020. 

Africa is the worst hard hit, since 50% of its population depends on agriculture for their livelihoods and access to food, threatening food security of many African countries and their progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals according to the African Development Bank.

A digital Agricultural Platform that enables farmers with less education to engage with each other and agricultural ecosystems as well as access farming information in local languages from mobile phones.

The platform consists of the following content:

• Crop advisory, standard practices and crop health
• Crop monitoring calendar with comprehensive tracking of crop progress and yield
• Detects cropping patterns and predicts the future of the crop and historical performance
• Water stress and drought assessment
• The Eco-system made up of organizations selling farming inputs such as fertilizers & seeds, micro lending institutions, Aggregators
• Order processing capability
• Performs crop growth analysis to monitor risk in real time
• Farmers Forum to enable farmer collaboration and engagement

The content is in video format therefore, easily comprehensible. Farmers can capture pictures of their farms and infections to resolve impending problems or disease.

Data Collection

The platform improves both the collection and the publication of accurate and real-time data, including quality control and farm to folk traceability. Agronomic data, land and farm level and regional/ national level data.

The platform consists of reusable assets including Architecture, Design, Xamarin based mobile app, Cloud ready Microservices based Backend, Azure SQL Databases, Azure Function & Web Front End for Admin.

Small-holding farmers concentrated in rural areas and unserved communities in Southern Africa who are excluded from the digital world due to low levels of education and income.

Through the partnership with USAID, Fourth Wave Tech has access to small holding farmers in 8 Southern African countries (South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia) and have had an opportunity to interact with some of the farming associations including farmers themselves to understand their needs and challenges; which subsequently led to the development of this solution.

We plan to pilot the solution in Zambia first, where we have access to 44 000 farmers focusing on non-GMO products; We've had webinars to conduct needs-analysis with farmers in the 8 countries to understand common challenges and those specific to their countries. 

We are plan to pilot in Zambia first because it recently suffered major locust infestation and drought that destroyed crops and devastated most small farmers and Covid-19 has worsened the situation. 

This solution will:

• Close the digital gaps in underserved communities by increasing digital literacy and access to critical Agricultural information and education.
• Provide farmers with guidance about crop rotation, optimal planting times, harvesting times, soil management, crop diseases and their treatments among others, thereby promoting sustainable and precision farming.
• Raise farmers' productivity and profitability.
• Give access to real-time data that helps farmers make critical & strategic decisions concerning their crops.
• Improve resource use efficiency (water, fertilizers).
• Create localized value-chains.
• Improve traceability.
• Enable procurement efficiencies.
• Enable access to information on government schemes and support programs and institutional finance.
• Enable access to affordable and quality products for their farms (inputs).
• Create employment and improve local and international Food Security.

The solution relates to all 3 dimensions of the Challenge.

Historically, the Agricultural sector has been an employer to many of the poorer and more marginalized segments of the population including immigrants, refugees, and the internally displaced individuals— therefore this solution enables digital inclusion of low income communities; 

Culturally relevant digital literacy for them to participate in the digital economy by using a tool that uses different vernacular languages, videos and pictures that are easily comprehensible;  

As well as access to financial tools through the e-commerce on the platform and securing their digital private identities as we gather data sets.

Our solution is in the Prototype development stage; 

We've gathered requirements of farmers in Zambia and Southern Africa as a whole, we've refined the tool requirements incorporating farmers and key government partners' suggestions.

We are now building the prototype and adding additional features as per the needs and requirements of the end-users.

Fourth Wave Tech has been operating for a year and has been bootstrapping to create solutions that leverage technology to solve socioeconomic challenges. 

COVID-19 pandemic has increased attention to both the need for and utility of digital technologies in all sectors, including agriculture.

In Southern Africa, the agricultural sector consists of small holding farmers from the poorer and marginalized communities, excluded from the digital world and have relied on antiquated methods of farming for many years.

Our solution is innovative because it has simplified and modified existing technologies to suit the needs of farmers in emerging markets given their unique and complex environments.

By using mobile applications and offering agricultural content accessible in different vernacular languages to appeal to different ethnic groups; farmer literacy, off-line modules; we are changing the utility, the value and the economic characteristics of technology by making it appropriate, accessible and affordable to the un-served markets.

Our solution transforms farming by making it inclusive, and environmentally sustainable, thereby increasing benefits for farmers, consumers, and society at large.

Through digital literacy and education on the platform, farmers will improve the quantity and quality of agricultural output while using less inputs such as water, energy and fertilizers; as well as increasing productivity, efficiency and profits.

The solution enables the collection and publication of real-time data specific to the agriculture sector to support the development of evidence-based government policies and farmers' decision making.

 Our data will help identify specific challenges facing small farmers, climate change, including monitoring and evaluation of government agricultural programs.

Our solution is crucial to the transformation of the agricultural sector for Africa’s post- Covid recovery and Food Security.

We are currently working with 6000 farmers in Zambia for Prototyping however we have access to 40 000 farmers in total in different provinces in Zambia that we will serve in 1 year.

In 5 years, we plan to have served small holding farmers in 8 Southern African countries (Zambia, South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Malawi & Namibia where 70% of the rural population depends largely on Agriculture for their livelihood, 82% of farmers being smallholders.

Our road map and Data reports will track progress on farmers development, yield progress, their access to funding, traceability of products from villages to buyers and more. These indicators will lead to:

Poverty & hunger reduction - Improved farm productivity and yield, leading to profits and food security, thereby eradicating poverty and hunger. 

Good health and well being - Food security means communities  have sufficient and nutritious food; moreover all produce in Southern Africa is non-GMO. 

Gender equality - Women play important and varied roles in agriculture yet, have unequal access to resources and opportunities relative to men. Our tool caters for everyone regardless of gender.

Quality education – farmers with minimal education will acquire digital skills and agricultural education to participate in the digital economy and have access to market information that will increase their competitiveness and trade opportunities.

Economic growth & sustainable communities -  Giving farmers opportunities will contribute to economic development and sustainable communities in Southern Africa.

Reduced inequalities - marginalized segments of the population in rural areas are the focus for inclusion into the mainstream digital economy to develop skills & access opportunities like everyone else.

Responsible consumption and production -  Well informed farmers know how to conserve natural resources; and reduce food wastage by managing supply and demand effectively.

Industry innovation and infrastructure - We are engaging key partners and governments to solve the current challenge of high energy and data costs in Southern Africa by subsidizing farmers in support of the transformation of Agriculture.

3 full time staff members currently:

Program Director 

Project Manager

US Buyers coordinator

Once we have enough funds, we plan to add the team below:

Field Engineer 

Field Marketer 

Agronomist 

Translator (contractor)

Systems Integrator Tech Team - (4 x contractors)

The quality, integrity and expertise of our team ensures that we provide the best solutions to end-users. Our Tech Team is made up of exceptional members with extensive experience and expertise in disruptive technologies, matched by their passion and good understanding of their markets.

Therefore, we are well positioned to innovate and deliver appropriate, accessible and cost-effective technology solutions.

Tumi Frazier, the project leader, has an extensive experience working with communities in Africa.

She is a former African Summit Director, a Global Women Initiative that empowers women worldwide to eradicate illiteracy, poverty and hunger.

Tumi is the co-founder of Fourth Wave Tech, a company that leverages technologies to solve business and socio-economic challenges in the US and Africa. She is a former Executive Director and Board member of a Johannesburg Stock Exchange Listed FINTECH Company; giving her access to corporations.

Moreover, Tumi Frazier grew up during the apartheid era in South Africa where black people were marginalized, lived in impoverished communities; and excluded from the mainstream economies with no access to electricity, technologies or digital literacy. So, she is well positioned to respond to this market’s needs because she has a frame of reference to its challenges and appropriate solutions needed to solve such challenges.

Tumi speaks at least 9 local languages spoken in some of the African communities.

We collaborate on a global level to deliver critical solutions for emerging markets.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion is Personal to us as black founders.

Therefore, we embrace diversity, equity and inclusion as a strategic advantage for breakthrough measurable results.

We use these core-values to drive inspirational leadership style, fair recruitment processes and retention strategies in our own business and communities or countries we operate in.

We believe that we are stronger in our differences than we are in our similarities.

The diversity of our team’s background and expertise enables an overall broader and enriched knowledge and experience, optimizing the value we provide in unserved communities.

The project team is a true representation of the communities we serve

We partner and hire expertise in every country we work in, regardless of age, gender, level of education or class. this way we have better understanding of the cultural dynamics on the ground.

We transfer knowledge and skills in each country we operate in to give them opportunity to learn and thrive.

1. To gain access to grants or donor funds.
2. To have access to global partners who can offer alternative and affordable data connectivity.
3. Introductions to partnerships/ institutions aligned to our solution with access to African governments and funds available for socio-economic empowerment and closing digital gaps and literacy.
4. Connect with advisors and mentors within Agricultural Technologies.

As a minority owned start up business, it is important to have a credible board of advisors for support; we currently have 1 legal council but the intention is to seek out more expertise.

Branding and marketing is also crucial at this stage of our business.

Fourth Wave is a technology company that develops and leverages existing technologies through partnerships. So, we are always evaluating opportunities for partnerships and/or support in the technology space.  

1. Elon Musk – Satellite Internet Company

• To learn more and leverage the high-speed internet connectivity service for the unserved rural communities.

2. United Nation’s World Food Program

• To explore possible partnership to digitally transform agriculture in emerging markets, as the world faces acute food insecurity post covid-19

3.  Global Foundations and Non-Profits that fund food projects & technologies in emerging markets.

In Africa, the Agricultural sector is an employer to many of the poorer and more marginalized segments of the population—such as migrants, refugees, and the internally displaced individuals— therefore a digitally transformed and resilient agriculture can play a critical role in reducing poverty and vulnerability.

Food scarcity; exacerbated by the pandemic crisis has led to small farmers losing crops, laying off farm workers, most of whom are refugees; 

Amplifying severe poverty, leaving the survival of refugees beyond crisis, with implications for food security and increased long term poverty and malnutrition.

Our team will use The Andan Prize for Innovation in Refugee Inclusion to fine-tune the development and deployment of our agricultural technology platform in marginalized communities with insufficient digital technologies deficient skills and knowledge in agriculture.

Our solution is set to improve food security by increasing local food production, supply chain, revive employment of refugees in rural areas and reduce hunger by introducing more productive and resilient agricultural practices.

The agricultural sector in Southern Africa consists of small holding farmers from the poorer and more marginalized and unserved segments of the population, with less or no education who have been excluded from the digital world and have relied on antiquated methods of farming for many years.

COVID-19 pandemic has increased attention to both the need for and utility of digital technologies including within the agricultural sector and has catalyzed the introduction and adoption of digital technologies which have always been lacking or accessible to farmers in Africa

We offer simplified and modified technologies to suit the needs and the level of education of the users in emerging markets by considering their unique and complex environments.

Out platform offers digital literacy and agricultural education to help small farmers with minimal education participate in the digital economy and have access to market information to increase their competitiveness and opportunities to trade.

Through our solution, farmers will:

1. Improve efficiencies in farming

2. Increase yield and optimize resources

3. Conserve natural resources

4. Reduce waste along the value chain

5. Make data drive decisions 

6. Increase their competitiveness

7. Gain access to markets

8. Make Profit.

Inclusion of marginalized rural farmers in the digital world can contribute to the economic development and sustainability of communities in Southern Africa.

Women play important and varied roles in agriculture yet, they still have unequal access to resources and opportunities relative to men.

Women rarely own land in most African countries, they lack equal access to inputs, equipment and technologies and services that could connect them with information to improved agricultural practices.

This is compounded by unequal access to credit including lack of authority to manage the crops they produce or the income they generate.

Our solution enables female farmers to gain access to critical agricultural education and best practices, support from other farmers, financial services and inputs to ensure farm productivity and yield.

We expand economic opportunities and participation of women in agriculture to ensure their inclusion in the digital economy and decision-making bodies in their communities.

 This project is aimed at improving the lives of Africa’s female farmers in rural areas by helping them build agri-businesses instead of using Agriculture only as a source of food for their families but rather move them from being survivalist to running thriving enterprises able to compete in the digital economy.

We elevate women by eradication of poverty, skills development, employment creation and entrepreneurship because when women are self-sufficient there’s a ripple positive effect on health, education and the economy.

Appropriate, affordable, accessible and user-centric digital solutions and literacy are crucial to closing digital gaps in farming for Africa’s post- Covid recovery and long lasting resilience.

Our solution is set to make the agriculture sector more efficient, inclusive, and environmentally sustainable, thereby increasing benefits for farmers, consumers, governments, societies and the world.

Fourth Wave Tech applies technologies in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for:

1. Crop health analysis
2. Yield historical patterns and predictive analysis
3. Risk Analysis
4. Water stress and drought assessment
5. Land cover
6. Weather
7. Supply chain and demand planning

The platform improves both the collection and the publication of accurate and timely data specific to the agriculture sector including quality control and farm to folk traceability.

Over time we plan to have connected farms (IoT, Sensors and Satellite Imagery) 

Digital transformation of the agriculture will improve farm productivity and efficiencies with better yields leading to increased profitability of farmers, improved food security, eradication of poverty and hunger.

The most pressing issue in Africa right now is Food Security.

According to the United Nations’ World Food Program, 135 million people around the world faced acute food insecurity before the pandemic, as of April 2021, the World Food Program estimates that 296 million people in the 35 countries where it works are currently without sufficient food—111 million more people than in April 2020. 

Africa being the worst hard hit since 50% of the African population dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods and access to food, threatening food security of many African countries and their progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals according to the African Development Bank.

Our digital solution and literacy are crucial to closing digital gaps in farming for Africa’s post- Covid recovery and long lasting resilience.

Fourth Wave Tech provides a holistic, end-to end innovative approach to closing the digital gap in agriculture by focusing on the empowerment of farmers with technologies that consider the level of their education and income to improve farm efficiencies, increase yield, optimize resources, reduce post harvest losses and access to digital eco-systems.

 The solution includes mobile based digital financial transactions and payment systems to foster the inclusion of the unbanked farmers and enable trade. 

Digitally transformed agricultural sector will lead to increased food production and food security.