Meet the Entrepreneurs
Mobile Agricultural Alliance January 2014
Mobile Innovation
mobile agricultural alliance
CONTACT INFORMATION
Providing East African farmers with solutions to knowledge and communication gaps
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania +255 755266985
marikim@nm-aist.ac.tz
Martina Mariki, Co-Founder, Tanzania
CHALLENGE In East Africa, farmers have no means to properly record agricultural data such as production trends, sales numbers, and medical treatment of their livestock. This also means that there is no formal line of communication among farmers in the region to share this information. This presents a great challenge because agricultural activity records have the potential to yield valuable information for decision-making, forecasting, crop yields, budgeting, local animal diseases, and more. Additionally, farmers do not have a formal platform where they can discuss obstacles, ask questions, or inquire about best practices.
“THERE IS NO SYSTEMATIC WAY FOR LIVESTOCK FARMERS IN EAST AFRICA TO COLLECT, ANALYZE, STORE, AND SHARE INFORMATION RELATED TO FARMING ACTIVITIES.”
IDEA Martina Mariki, co-founder of Mobile Agricultural Alliance, recognized the communication and knowledge gaps faced by East African farmers. This motivated her to design a mobile application that could provide solutions to these challenges. Her Master’s studies at the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology, from where she graduated in December 2013, helped her to gain insights into how farmers operate and to recognize their main challenges. Before fully developing her idea, she decided to include the beneficiary feedback in the application design process. She conducted several in-depth interviews with farmers to learn more about their backgrounds, record keeping behavior, and their use of mobile devices. It took Martina about one year to move from the concept phase of the idea to the first prototype of the actual mobile application. The Mobile Agricultural Alliance application allows farmers across East Africa to enter agriculture data such as production levels, sales, and livestock vaccinations into an online platform via a mobile device. The application also connects farmers so they can share best practices and seek guidance.
“I TALKED DIRECTLY WITH LOCAL FARMERS TO FIND OUT IF MY IDEA WAS RELEVANT, FEASIBLE, AND REALISTIC.”
BUSINESS MODEL The Mobile Agricultural Alliance business model will be subscription-based, meaning that the farmers will pay a monthly fee of USD1.00 to use the application. The initial target markets are individual and small-scale poultry farmers across East Africa. During the pilot phase, seven farmers have been using the Mobile Agricultural Alliance application. Currently, Martina is looking for investors to scale up the application. In the future, Martina intends to expand the application’s user base to a total of 12,000 farmers across East Africa, including medium and large-scale poultry farmers. She aims to make the data collected via Mobile Agricultural Alliance’s online platform available to other stakeholders in the value chain, such as NGOs, government, research institutions, feed manufacturers, and suppliers. Martina considers to offer reports and consulting services to those stakeholders for a fee. Mobile Agricultural Alliance is a product of the registered company eSolutions.
www.infodev.org
twitter: @infoDev
ENTREPRENEUR’S INSIGHTS • MAKE A MOVE: Be pro-active and spread your idea. No one will be more passionate than you about your idea, so start moving it forward from the concept phase to a tangible or intangible service or product.
NEXT STEPS Finalize the application and the online platform used by farmers to enter and collect data Identify and recruit valuable business advisors and mentors
$
Secure investors for business expansion
• ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS FOR THE “STRONG OF HEART”: Entrepreneurship is a very powerful process that requires and builds both resilience and courage. Be ready to engage the challenges and opportunities that come with launching a business.
WORKING WITH mLab EAST AFRICA AND infoDev • MARTINAGRADUATEDINJULY 2013 from the four-month “Mobile Application Development and Entrepreneurship” training course offered by mLab East Africa. • mLab EAST AFRICA PROVIDED MARTINA WITH A PLACE where she could apply her mobile development skills and combine them with newly acquired business development knowledge. • mLab EAST AFRICA EXPANDED MARTINA’S NETWORK by exposing her to new entrepreneurs and mentors throughout the course. • MARTINA WAS SELECTED to participate in the infoDev-run Mobile Startup Camp 2013, hosted in Washington DC, where she was able to further develop her network and gain access to potential investors.
KEY OUTCOMES VALUE FOR USERS Reducing the information gap: With Mobile Agricultural Alliance, farmers are able to effectively report and share information such as production levels, sales, and livestock counts. This will allow them to manage their farms and funds more effectively and seek advice from other farmers and agricultural extension officers. Building stronger partnerships between NGOs and beneficiaries: Through Mobile Agricultural Alliance, NGOs will be able to track and monitor their agricultural clients, resulting in improved development service response rates. Improving decision-making processes: Data collected by Mobile Agricultural Alliance can be used by governments to improve planning, decision-making, forecasting, and resource allocations in the agricultural sector.
BUSINESS FACTS CUSTOMERS EXPECTED TO BE REACHED
3,000 farmers
until January 2015
JOBS EXPECTED TO BE CREATED
Supported by:
www.infodev.org
twitter: @infoDev
8
until January 2015