PLATFEx

PLATFEx is an end-to-end solution that utilizes multiple technologies to provide agricultural support for rural women farmers using low-end phones. It connects the agricultural value chain in order to make smallholder women farmers more visible to markets and agricultural data for improved food production and improved livelihoods.

There's a genuine problem, when, despite the production of food by more than half of a country’s labour (60-80% of which is provided by women), Nigeria still imports food and the farmers wallow in abject poverty.

Ranging from sex discrimination in extension programs to cultural norms that can make it difficult for women to hire and manage labor during harvests, various barriers prevent women from contributing in the food system despite their very active roles in production, processing, marketing and consumption. Women are even more disconnected and in some cases completely isolated from the formal markets, including banks.

We ask why NIgeria's smallholder farmers, particularly women are in such a deplorable condition despite their numbers and contribution to its agriculture? Why do women have a little say and very little access to information and tools that would enable them maximise their contribution despite being active in every role across the food system? 

We believe that the democratization of data and easy flow of information across the value chain will break many barriers for women to help manage risks, bring down their cost of farming and further more; enable them to access resources, markets and even finance. 

Our targets are rural women farmers in Nigeria, most of whom practice subsistence agriculture and are very low income earners with little or no formal education. These farmers' age group ranges from 16 to 70.

PLATFEx can help rural farmers using novel mobile technologies that adapt to their realities and totally transform their farming from barely manageable subsistence farming to profit-making businesses that enrich them as well as provide abundant food for their communities. It bridges the gaps and link the farmers to not only markets but also knowledge bases, and thereby release their energies and resourcefulness.

Track registrations, active users on PLATFEx dashboard - 25,000 Women register, use platform

Track Buyers, Financial Institutions, Farm Input Providers, Extension Agencies and Agribusinesses on the platform - 1000 Stakeholder Registrations

Observe extension information delivered, transactions completed, agricultural credits and loans facilitated and granted via PLATFEx - 25,000 women access to finance, markets, agricultural data

PLATFEx, brings together the entire agricultural value chain under one platform through a cocktail of mobile applications for each stakeholder (EG: Farm Input providers, financial institutions, extension agencies and buyers). PLATFEx is the only mobile solution in Nigeria and perhaps Africa that enables interaction between all major stakeholders of the agricultural value chain including banks, markets, research agencies and farmers. In a situation where stakeholders and partners can know each other easily and exist as entities in a single platform, we believe agriculture will be boosted to unimaginable levels, especially for women who are the most disadvantaged on the value-chain.

To foster food security and equal access to resources, PLATFEx helps women farmers in producing more food with less input and better managerial support. It is expected to bring together the entire value chain for smallholders ranging from input providers to financial services thereby cutting down the cost and risk of transacting with partners.

Women farmers are able to interact and transact without bias or any of the hassles they usually encounter due to their new ability, through PLATFEx to not only learn market prices and forecasts but also acquire and sell with ease and without discrimination due to gender.

Free for all farmers, PLATFEx is available to women farmers through a simple SMS based registration on their mobiles. The system enables farmers to interact with other stakeholders using text and voice, thereby removing the requirement of using a smartphone. It is currently offered in English and Hausa, a major Nigerian language.

Whereas the farmers can access PLATFEx for free, the other stakeholders such as financial institutions, buyers and farm input providers pay a subscription fee to have access to dashboards and mobile applications that connect them to the pool of farmers.  

Over the past two years, we have collaborated with International donor organisations in building products for smallholders. However, as a social enterprise, we aimed at building financially sustainable products as we scale. Currently, our major product PLATFEx charges subscription fees from key players who have a access to a unified agricultural value chain. We have sold data to not only input providers but governments and policy makers who have, prior to this, never had access to realtime agricultural data. 

Collaborations/Partnerships: We believe that through collaborations with research agencies that have the resources and facilities to provide accurate and local agricultural information we will be saved from reinventing the wheel in generating information. Also, partnerships with financial institutions that offer services like loans and insurance to farmers will be worthwhile.

Data Capture: Capturing available farmer and farm data is very valuable to Verdant as it will be the basic structure upon which the entire business is based on. A holistic database of farmers, soil samples and other data in the regions and countries is cardinal to our business's success.

https://www.forbesafrica.com/people30/nasir-yammama/

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The biggest goal for Verdant lies in the improvement of food production and livelihoods by enhancing both production and productivity to feed Africa and the world. To achieve that, we are dedicated to present unique opportunities to women, thereby unlocking potentials through simple technologies.

We operate on values that are geared towards promoting fairness, equal opportunities and cutting corruption. Also, as a company, we are dedicated to bridging digital information divides in especially affecting women and young people. We hope to utilise the network of professionals and access to innovation and resources at Solve in achieving this. 

National Agricultural Extension and Research Laison Servicses (NAERLS)

Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)

OXFAM

GIZ

Virgin Atlantic

British Council

Cellulant

Esoko