VictualMart

VMART is an initiative with a focus to use innovate technological solutions to bring a lasting solution towards reducing poverty by providing farm produce at fair prices. It connects consumers to farmers who in turn serve the need of the consumer by providing fresh victuals.

Our business bridges the gap between the farmers and the consumers, wholesalers etc. It brings the smallholder farmers to the formal plane thereby allowing customers and the farmers interact effectively using our mobile application VMART (victual MART; which means a market for food fit for human consumption). This is an entirely new conversation. Each party will be able to express its needs to the other for the first time ever.

The excessive time and money farmers, agribusinesses, and cooperatives spend managing the risk of doing business with unknown partners is a drag on efficiency. Our business helps smallholder farmers to communicate easily with the market and sell their products at a fair price. When these partners can know each other easily and can function as nodes in a single marketplace, agriculture will thrive.

Research has shown that 60% of the World’s poor people are farmers so by alleviating the poverty of the farmers, we alleviate 5% of the world’s crisis. With VictualMart, The future of the World’s food system will be shaped by the extent to which we can appreciate the World’s ability to feed itself and adjust to a vision of world farmers as profitable business actors. This means putting smallholder producers at the center of how we think about food and agriculture in World. At every level—global, regional, national, and local—we can rethink how we approach this important issue.

The main problem stems from the fact that agricultural markets, like banks, exist on a formal plane, whereas smallholders exist on an informal one. So farmers and markets cannot communicate effectively. Smallholders don’t know what the market will pay. They can’t grow crops according to the market’s specifications because they don’t know the specifications. They have no way to learn the farm-management practices that would let them double or even triple their yields. Instead, they grow mostly what they can eat or trade locally, the way they’ve always grown it, making farm produce generally inaccessible to sustain the urban communities.

Food is the most purchased basic commodity we believe that any impact made in the food market will lead to a domino effect in improving all other sectors of the world's economy.

Imagin we all plant crops instead of grass. Then, every community will be a local food economy waiting to come to life.

The simple act of planting a garden can shape issues like economics, health, and politics at the same time because food is an essential focal point of human activity. As the urban farming movement grows, it will lead to a sustainable urban community that will transform our world.

IMPACTS

• To have a customer base of 50 in our first year of operation and increase to 100 before the end of our second year in business.
• To increase the production rate of food grown in Cross River State nigeria
• To empower girls and young women to see the need of venturing into the agricultural sector in other to reduce idleness and intense poverty. 

Our business will benefit farmers and urban dwellers.

Communications and transaction will be made through our mobile application "victualmart"

Track downloads in app store - 100 people in Nigeria downloaded our app in our first year in business

Track purchases through our mobile application. - 60 people in Nigeria made online purchases through our app in our first year in business

Through feedback mechanism and our online What's app forum. - 30% of non farmers ventured into farming during the Cost of organizing free workshop for farmers in order to create incentives for smallholder farmers.

VictualMart is a mobile application which bridges the gap between farmers and buyers. It’s a digital agricultural market that gives farmers an opportunity to connect easily with buyers in order to sell their farm produce and help buyers purchase victuals at a subsidized rate. It simplifies the tedious process of purchasing victuals by bringing both parties together on a single platform. With a simple user interface and dual functionality, the app serves both farmers and purchasers depending on the role the user logs in with. The applications layout is quite descriptive and this allows for easy posting, categorization and payment.

Smallholders are already using mobile phones to communicate within their networks, to talk to family and friends. The institutions that make up the formal marketplace communicate in much the same way. So it is now possible to generate a two-way conversation between Nigeria’s producers and Nigeria’s consumers. The excessive time and money farmers, agribusinesses, and cooperatives spend managing the risk of doing business with unknown partners is a drag on efficiency. Our business helps smallholder farmers to communicate easily with the market and sell their products at a fair price on a single marketplace.

As a startup company, all of our products are gotten directly from the smallholder farmers in bulk and stored in our warehouse (that is, for those who do not have proper storage facility). Our products are also gotten from farmer living in the rural area with no good market system. 

Every request is stored in a virtual order tray and forwarded to the VMART agent. The driver/agent picks up the victuals and delivers it to the appropriate billing/shipping address. Private individuals/organizations can also pay at the point of delivering (but only customers within our region) with a receipt voucher.

Pricing: VMART pricing scheme is a per unit price. Consumers may purchase any quantity of victuals.

Distribution: Consumers are able to purchase the victuals using VMART app from any location. Customers will have their victuals delivered and get a commission upon delivery.

Advertising and promotion: A mixture of advertisements and networking will be used to increase visibility for VMART.

Customer service: Obsessive customer service will be the mantra.  VMART philosophy is whatever needs to be done to make the customer happy must occur, even at the expense of short-term profits.  In the long term, this investment will pay off with a fiercely loyal customer.

In the nearest future VMART will consolidate her gains in the marketplace and diversify into new products and services based on consumer need and driven by demand. We will also develop VMART for other platforms such as iOS and Windows.

Threats

• Volatile costs mean VMART has to plan for scenarios where costs skyrocket. Cautious planning leads to development delays that can negatively affect VMART.
• Mature markets are competitive. In order for VMART to grow in a mature market, it has to increase market share, which is difficult and expensive.
• Intense competition can lower VMART’s profits, because competitors can entice consumers away with superior products and flexible rates.

https://youtu.be/U16AYMjviRs

https://youtu.be/F_9vGHomZvs

Since Solve's challenges are a unique opportunity to bring ideas and talent to a growing global community tackling the most important challenges facing the world, we want to use it as a stepping stone to get our idea out to the market place, benefit from the partnership and mentorship as well as improve our knowledge during the cause of this solve's program.

Farmers: farmers we work with in other to get their farm produce ready for the market.

Customers: Individual homes and neighborhood who love natural food, Small upscale natural food stores, Markets with natural food stores.

VMART Agent: they keep track of the smallholder’s farm to know the harvesting time

AACE Food Processing & Distribution Ltd.

Newell Foods Limited