Tech (870)
Nairobi residents can now report illegal dumping, unsafe waste disposal, and water shortages. It is possible thanks to Hatua, a mobile app launched last March 21, on the sidelines of the celebration of World Water Day at Kariokor Social Hall in the Kamukunji constituency. Hatua will also allow residents to report littered areas in residential districts.
Created by the sustainable development consultancy firm Niko Green, Hatua was developed with the support of the Kenya Alliance of Residents Association (Kara), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the European Union (EU).
When reporting a problem, users describe the issue, select the appropriate category and submit their contact information. The complaint will then be assigned a reference ID through which they can track the status of their report. According to Nickson Otieno, CEO of Niko Green, if the complaint is not processed within five days, the system will automatically forward it to another agency. “There is no chance for your report not to be processed,” he said.
“Our current system of reporting environmental pollution is long, tedious, and ridden with corruption. With the new platform, users can track the status of their complaints in real-time,” explained Henry Ochieng, CEO of KARA.
“The app will help NECC [National Environmental Complaints Committee] officials work even faster because they will be able to get reports of environmental pollution as they happen,” he concluded.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Egyptian fantasy soccer platform Eskab announced last Monday the successful completion of a US$3 million funding round. Led by 4DX Ventures, the funding round saw the participation of several financial institutions and angel investors. Thanks to the funds secured, Eskab wants to make soccer more exciting and interactive for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) fans by developing new products. In that regard, it intends to recruit engineering talents and product teams as well as partner with soccer clubs.
Fantasy soccer is a simulation game where users predict the outcome of soccer matches between virtual teams they create using virtual representations of real-life players. With their virtual teams, users can take part in free or premium competitions and win prizes.
“During my time [in Canada], I got exposed to the rise of DraftKings and FanDuel. My friends were playing these two games and while I didn’t know much about Canadian sports, specifically hockey, I found that playing these games was the easiest way for me to kind of get to know the sports and kind of develop that sense of camaraderie with my friends. (...)I enjoyed the games and realized, ‘Why is no one doing this for the hundreds of millions of football fans in the Middle East and Africa?’ So we did some research and realized there was a massive market gap for this kind of game [fantasy football] in the Middle East and Africa, ” explains Aly Mahmoud, Eskab founder.
Launched in 2018, the platform claims more than 700,000 users in Egypt. Its userbase has been growing steadily since the launch of premium contests in 2021. The platform plans to enter other sports but, with the coming soccer World Cup, Eskab to first explore the soccer world before venturing into other virtual sports.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank organized on March 30, a workshop on the development of the digital industry in Cameroon. During the workshop, the various stakeholders and the government discussed issues facing the development of the industry in the country.
According to Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Minette Libom Li Likeng (photo), it was the opportunity to present the current state of the industry, its challenges, and opportunities, the support programs implemented, and ways to accelerate the development of that industry in Cameroon.
"Digital transformation is at the core of Cameroon’s development strategy. This is why we have decided to support the development of that industry, therefore helping Cameroon operate that transformation as quickly as possible,” said Sylvain Kakou, IFC regional representative in Central Africa.
For the regional representative, the workshop is then a brainstorming session to make sure the policies formulated are coherent and consistent and their execution will have maximum impact.
The attending parties are expected to elaborate a digital development action plan by the end of the workshop. The World Bank, which has invested in various stakeholders like entrepreneurs and fintech actors, also awaits a well-formulated national strategy that defines the specific roles of every stakeholder. Minister Minette Libom Li Likeng for her part assured that Cameroon will implement the recommendations made during the workshop.
In 2020, Cameroon adopted a strategic plan for the development of its digital economy. On September 28, 2021, the World Bank approved funds to finance a project to accelerate the country’s digital transformation.
The US$100 million project aims, among other things, to extend broadband internet coverage in rural areas, and promote an environment conducive to secure and resilient development. It also aims to foster the implementation of data-driven solutions in the agricultural sector, encourage innovation in the said sector, and boost the use of digital solutions by small-scale farmers.
Ruben Tchounyabe
French telecom group Orange announced, on Wednesday, the launch of a new telemedicine service. Dubbed DabaDoc Consult, it is the outcome of a partnership between the French telecom group and DabaDoc, the Moroccan start-up specializing in medical appointment management.
Launched in Morocco in March 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic was raging, DabaDoc virtual medical consultation booking will expand into all of the Orange African markets with DabaDoc Consult.
With DabaDoc Consult, the African diaspora can book medical consultations for their loved ones residing in their home countries. For that purpose, a "simple and fluid process was developed jointly by the DabaDoc and Orange Link teams," Orange group explains.
"The customer, from the diaspora, wishing to offer a DabaDoc Consult must connect to the Orange ‘Country Transfer’ platform, choose the type of consultation and pay with his/her bank card. The beneficiary will instantly receive a code to pay for the virtual consultation," it adds.
DabaDoc was created by Zineb Drissi Kaitouni (photo) and Driss Drissi Kaitouni. The mobile platform launched in 2014 has already facilitated access to health specialists for thousands of people in Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria.
To book an appointment with a health specialist through DabaDoc, the requester must first register on the platform, then select the type of medical service being requested, fill in the city, select the health specialist close to the selected area, and choose a time slot. Once the appointment is validated, a confirmation message indicating the date and time of the appointment is sent by email and SMS to the requester.
In May 2015, the platform became fee-based for health professionals who would like to offer their services. According to Zineb Drissi Kaitouni, the subscription fees are "450 dirhams [122.5 USD] for one month, 300 dirhams/month for a 3-month subscription, and 225 dirhams/month for one year" subscription.
In April 2021, Orange Africa and the Middle East acquired a stake in the start-up through a fundraising operation. The telecom company immediately contributed its technological expertise and payment solutions to develop digital solutions that quickly proved beneficial for the entire African healthcare ecosystem.
DabaDoc, available in French and Arabic, has already received numerous awards such as the third prize for the best start-up in Morocco at Seedstars World in May 2014. It also won the top prize for GIS, a competition organized by the US Department of State in October 2014.
In 2016, its co-founder Zineb Drissi Kaitouni was named one of the top three female entrepreneurs in Africa.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
In Mid-March 2022, the Cameroonian government offered free broadband equipment and subscriptions to startups active in Silicon Mountain, Buea, South West. In this interview, Churchill Mambe, founder of AfroVision looks explains the impact those gifts can have on digital transformation and the operations of Silicon Mountain’s innovative ecosystem. He also discusses the importance of the internet for tech entrepreneurs.
We Are Tech: Can you tell us a little about Silicon Mountain?
Churchill Mambe: Silicon Mountain is a tech industrial zone based in Buea and Fako. It's not an association, it's just a zone where young tech entrepreneurs who have created their startups -like me with AfroVision Njorku and Buyam- are concentrated. Those startups include Zinger System, ActivSapces incubator, Jongo Hub, sienfliex [for media, series, movies], Mountain hub, Mountain credit union, Genie computer...
All those startups are part of Silicon Mountain. We don’t currently have an exhaustive list of all the start-ups in that startup ecosystem. It includes anyone earning money through smartphones, in the cities of Buea, Muyuka, Ekona, Tiko, Mutengene, Limbe. In short, all the startups in the department of Fako and the regions surrounding Mount Cameroon are part of Silicon Mountain. However, just some 50 startups active in Silicon Mountain are well-known. Even the Wikipedia list is not complete because not all the startups are listed.
WAT: Please tell us about AfroVision Group, your startup
C.M: AfroVision Limited Group is the first company I launched in 2006. It specializes in consulting, the development of web/mobile solutions for businesses, software engineering, website development, development of mobile applications such as Buyam that we just launched. We also develop IT systems for government institutions, such as the GCE Board. We are currently a team of 10 people. This year, we plan to increase the staff size to 40 people by adding new members, engineers mostly, because we intend to grow with the new partners and investors we have in the U.S.
We are currently working on our project "Buyam," an online marketplace with stores in the cloud. Through that marketplace, customers can directly contact merchants, via their mobile phones, to buy what they need.
WAT: On March 15, the Cameroonian government offered one year of free broadband internet subscription to 35 startups, including yours, active in Silicon Mountain. What does this gesture mean to you?
C.M: It's a sign that the government is ready to support us and help us make Silicon Mountain more viable and create more jobs for young Cameroonians. Some startups chose fiber internet connection. It is very fast but, it will take four weeks to install it. The 15 startups that chose cellular modems received their equipment the same day with a 135-gigabyte subscription per month.
We at Afrovision Group chose the fiber internet connection because it is more stable and we need a fast and secure Internet to communicate with our customers in Africa, Europe, and the United States. We are still waiting for the installation of the cables. This can take up to a month.
WAT: What prompted the Cameroonian government to offer those amenities to you?
C.M: A year ago, the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications (Minpostel) sent a delegation to Buea. During a meeting with this delegation, its members asked us what challenges we were facing in our work. We replied that those challenges were the unavailability of quality internet connection and repeated power outages. Without the Internet we cannot work with our clients, we cannot manage our web platforms and applications. Without the internet, our work is jeopardized.
As far as electricity is concerned, we received a generator from the French embassy in Cameroon and French businessmen operating in our country. The generator is installed on the premises of ActivSpaces incubator in Buea. During that meeting, the Minpostel delegation offered to support us by providing an internet connection.
WAT: What criteria were considered for the selection of beneficiary start-ups?
C.M: The Minpostel asked us to make a list of the startups that need an internet connection. We created a google form and shared it with all the startups and tech firms active in Silicon Mountain so that they could register. To register, startups were to be based in Buea or anywhere in Silicon Mountain, specialized in mobile/web development, be a legal person, and pay taxes
WAT: What is the impact of that extra Internet connection on your business?
C.M: I usually spend XAF40,000 monthly to buy a 100-gigabyte internet subscription for the office and my home. It is an ADSL connection whose speed is between 1 to 3 megabytes per second. With the broadband internet connection we are being offered, speed will improve to 6-10 megabytes per second. It will greatly improve our working conditions. It will allow the young engineers I am working with to study online and attend meetings with our partners in South Africa and other parts of the World without much disruption. The rapid speed of the internet connection will make it easier and quicker for us to deploy our solutions in the cloud. With the new Buyam solution we are working on, at one point we had to move to a high capacity server. This took us about 3 weeks to complete the transfer. With a fiber internet connection, it would have taken just three hours. When you save time, you make more money.
WAT: Between January and April 2017, the government shut down the internet in the North-West and the South-West. That decision surely affected Silicon Mountain since it is located in the Southwest. What were the consequences of that government decision on startups in Silicon Mountain?
C.M: It was the most harmful experience ever faced by startups here in Buea. I can estimate that our company lost between 70,000 and 100,000 US dollars. When we were cut off, we first moved to Douala. Then, we rented a place at New Bonako, between Douala and Buea, where we could have internet access. I don't want to talk about it. It is a thing of the past. We are past it.
WAT: Can the internet connection and equipment the government recently provided compensate for the losses you suffered at that time?
C.M: We can't compare the two periods because the realities were different. The internet shutdown happened in 2017. We are now in 2022. We needed an internet connection and the government is offering it. We are happy and we will use it to improve our business, upgrade and hire more people. With the internet connection offered, we will be able to train more young people, work with more clients and develop more solutions
Interview by Ruben Tchounyabe
Uganda started digitizing its public services more than 10 years ago. Subsequent achievements confirm the soundness of the decision that the Ugandan government took much earlier than most African countries.
Uganda saved an average of USh4 trillion (US$1.1 billion) yearly over the last ten years thanks to digitization. The figure was disclosed by Hatwib Mugasa, executive director of the country’s information technology authority NITA-U, in Kampala last Wednesday, March 23, during the Huawei ICT Congress 2022.
“This cost would have been spent on paper, manual processes, and data centers’ service fees for each ministry, department, and agency,” the government official explained. As part of its digitization project, the government has “rolled out over 4172km of backbone fiber cable in over 62 Districts of Uganda,” he added. It also includes “rolling out last-mile fiber cable to extend connectivity to the grass-root user all the way to the Parish.”
“In a few weeks from now we shall have completed 764km under the Last Mile Phase and citizens shall be able to access e-government services at 1,400 administrative locations,” he concluded.
The financial gains aside, digitization also helped save time for citizens who can now pay their taxes, request passports, and register a business online, Hatwib Mugasa indicated.
Uganda is currently one of the African countries with the highest e-government readiness score. In its latest "E-government development index 2020", the International Telecommunication Union ranked the country 18th out of 54 on the continent. The country's score of 0.4499 out of 1 is above the East African (0.3738) and African (0.3914) average. In 2010, its e-government development score was 0.2812.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Orange S.A. is gradually implementing its digital skills development strategy in Africa. Initiated in 2019, the strategy has already benefited millions of people on the continent.
Orange S.A. inaugurated one of its Orange Digital Centers (ODC), in Rabat, Morocco, yesterday, March 23.
The center is the result of a partnership between Orange Morocco and the German Agency for International Development Cooperation (GIZ). It hosts four strategic programs: a coding school, a digital fabrication program (FabLab Solidaire), a start-up accelerator (Orange Fab), and Orange Ventures, Orange group’s investment fund.
Young Moroccans with tech business ideas and innovative projects or those willing to acquire digital skills can access coaching and mentoring resources at the center.
Alioune Ndiaye, CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa, says ODC Rabat further enhances the network of 32 Orange Digital Centers the group plans to build in all the African and Middle Eastern countries where it operates, but also in Europe.
“This project is a key step in our social responsibility plan to promote digital inclusion, for young people and women notably,” adds Elizabeth Tchoungui, Executive Director CSR, Diversity and Philanthropy, and Deputy Chair for the Orange Foundation.
In the framework of its strategic plan Engage 2025, which focuses on developing connectivity, energy, education, and financial inclusion, Orange is committed to deploying an ODC in each African country where it operates by 2025. Besides Rabat, the group has inaugurated ODCs in Tunisia, Senegal, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mali, and Egypt. It also plans to inaugurate more ODCs this year.
According to Hendrik Kasteel, CEO of Orange Morocco, to impact Moroccan society more, Orange will complement its ODC Rabat investment with support to higher education institutes in the country. To this end, several “ODC Clubs” are expected in the country, starting with Hassan II University in Casablanca.
Muriel Edjo
Africa’s digital transformation comes with threats of escalating cyber attacks. It is therefore crucial for the continent to take appropriate measures to protect itself from such attacks.
Togo is currently hosting an international cybersecurity summit. Started on March 23, the summit -the first of its kind in Africa- was organized by the Togolese government and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
According to the organizers, the event aims “to initiate high-level dialogue on avenues of cooperation and coordination to address the pressing challenges and issues of cybersecurity.” Above all, it will serve as a medium to “boost cooperation and agree on a cybersecurity strategy for Africa.”
Nearly 600 participants are attending the summit, including officials from a dozen countries, experts, private sector leaders, and civil society actors.
"The issue that brings us together today is one of the major challenges of our time. Africa must be ready for it and even play an active part [in the fight against cyberattacks],” said Faure Gnassingbé (photo), President of Togo, in his opening speech.
After this speech, the Head of State received the symbolic award of UNECA Champion for Cybersecurity in Africa for his commitment to cybersecurity.
“Africa offers economic opportunities in virtually every sector. The digital economy is a key asset to unlocking these opportunities. (...) Also, cybersecurity is an important pillar for any digital transformation,” said UNECA Executive Secretary, Vera Songwe.
Alarming figures
For the UNECA, the cybersecurity summit -whose organization was postponed in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic- is necessary given the numerous challenges the continent will have to face. As the Addis Ababa-based institution explains, even if Africa has been quick to jump onto the 4th industrial revolution’s bandwagon, it is increasingly faced with cyber governance and cyber security issues.
Over the past two years, cybercrime incidents have escalated in Africa. In June 2020, South Africa became the third country in the world with the highest number of cybercrime victims. The same month, the Ethiopian Information Network Security Agency (INSA) announced that it thwarted a major attack. Also, in the first half of 2021, South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria recorded about 80 million cyber-attacks.
Meanwhile, “more than 90% of African firms operate without adequate cybersecurity procedures,” the UNECA reminds.
Octave A. Bruce
World-leading tech firms’ interest in Nigeria has been growing since 2020. One of those firms is Microsoft. The group has made several commitments to the government. The Africa Development Center is the fulfillment of one of those commitments.
Microsoft's first Africa Development Center (ADC) was officially launched last Monday, March 21, in Lagos. Located at the Kings Tower in Ikoyi, it is Microsoft's 7th ADC worldwide. The about US$100 million infrastructure is dedicated to the development of technology and engineering solutions that will have “local and global impact.” In that regard, it will help build a continental “talent pipeline” and boost innovation in various strategic areas. Also, it will provide employment opportunities to millions of young people.
“The ADC is a place for world-class engineers to create products and services that would power the future global economy,” commented Joy Chik, Corporate Vice President, Identity at Microsoft. She also revealed that the ADC had already surpassed the target of 500 engineers it was planning to hire, by 2023, in the identity, Mixed Reality, Microsoft 365 services as well as data services divisions.
The Africa Development Center is one of many digital investments Microsoft has made in Nigeria since 2020. It "is in line with the federal government's digital economy project," said Ali Isa Pantami, Nigeria's Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, commending the fulfillment of that promise.
In May 2021, Microsoft ha promised to support the rise of the digital economy in Nigeria through the development of connectivity, youth training, and transformation of the public administration.
Today, March 24, Microsoft will inaugurate ADC Nairobi, Kenya. Like Nigeria, the country is one of the major digital hubs that Microsoft wants to capitalize on to boost its influence on the continent.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The startup, which took advantage of the slowdown of cultural and sports activities during the Covid-19 crisis, has improved its services. Now, it seeks more users.
The first fully-Moroccan smart ticketing platform Guichet.com, with more than 1,000 events and shows organized in collaboration with various partners, also plans to conquer other high-potential markets on the continent.
Guichet Maroc SARL, the startup behind Guichet.com, secured last Friday, March 11, a $309,000 (3 million dirhams) financing from CDG Invest, the investment arm of the CDG group. The startup, which was founded in 2009 by Ahmed Tawfik Moulnakhla (pictured), said it will use the money to consolidate Guichet.com’s operations in Morocco, extend to the sports industry, and conquer new high-potential markets in Africa.
Guichet.com is an intermediation platform between the public and event promoters (plays, soccer matches, music concerts, festivals, training courses, etc.). It provides them with tickets and digital tickets which can be paid for online. It's quite a useful app, especially for people who are not fond of waiting in line when going to see movies. The platform also provides partners with an autonomous management and steering environment with real-time ticketing monitoring.
The platform has tens of thousands of users, has covered over 1,000 events and shows, in partnership with several exclusive partners like the Mawazine Festival, the Marrakech Laughing Festival, the Fez Festival of World Sacred Music, and the Oasis Festival.
In 2021, new features were added to Guichet.com. These include an option to purchase packages including accommodation, catering, and ancillary products for an event; there is also a store where partners can sell their products. The app is available on PlayStore and AppleStore.
Ruben Tchounyabe
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Since 2019, the telco has been deploying measures to strengthen its footprint on its markets in the MENA region. Last March 10, Madagascar officially became the ninth country in Africa and the Middle East to join the Orange telecom group's digital training and innovation support network. The company inaugurated its "Orange Digital Center" in Antananarivo, in the Redland Tower in Ankorondrano.
This is an ecosystem entirely implemented with the German cooperation and dedicated to the development of digital skills and support for innovative project leaders. It has been operational since October 19, 2021.
According to Alioune Ndiaye, President, and CEO of Orange Africa and the Middle East, Orange Digital Center Madagascar "is part of the network of 32 Orange Digital Centers of the Orange Group, which will be deployed in all our markets in Africa and the Middle East, but also in Europe. The aim is to democratize access to digital technology for young people, both graduates, and non-graduates, to give them access to the latest technological skills to enhance their employability, and to prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow.”
The site covers 800 m2 and includes a Coding School, a digital manufacturing workshop, FabLab Solidaire, run by the Orange Foundation and located at the University of Antananarivo, and an Orange Fab startup accelerator, supported by Orange Ventures, the Orange Group's investment fund. All training and coaching programs are free and open to all. The collaboration between Orange and the German Cooperation in Madagascar is part of the development partnership of the "develoPPP program" developed on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The objective is to achieve a common vision, which is to promote youth employability and access to ICT jobs for women and girls while supporting sustainable growth and digital transformation.
To contribute to the access of an even greater number of young people to digital-related knowledge, two Orange Digital Center Clubs, extensions of the Coding school, are also planned to be set up at the University of Fianarantsoa and the University of Antsiranana.
Muriel Edjo
They were chosen among the eight candidates from the continent who were shortlisted in February. Their projects were judged to be in line with the major challenges facing society.
A Gabonese, an Ivorian, a Ugandan, and a South African won the 10th edition of Les Margaret Awards. Ariane Akeret Soufiano, Cleo Ngokoudi, Malebina Tsotsotso and Shamim Nabuuma Kaliisa, were declared winners last March 8.
Ariane Akeret won with her project CaPay in the category Entrepreneur Africa. CaPay is an application designed to facilitate the payment of salaries and other financial transactions via mobile money in Gabon. It is a digital platform offered to employees, retirees and other unbanked populations of companies, social benefit funds, organizations, associations and public administrations.
Cleo Ngokoudi won the Intrapreneur Africa category with Anka, a platform that provides Ivorian merchants with integrated digital management solutions, facilitating international financial transactions. She is the CFO of the company.
Malebina Tsotsotso is 15 years old. She won in the Junior Africa category with MTutor, an e-learning platform designed to provide an adaptable, scalable, safe and secure edtech tool in South Africa.
Shamim Nabuuma Kaliisa received the Jury's Hope Award. She is the founder of Chil AI Lab, a startup that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to extend essential health services to poor and marginalized women in Uganda.
According to Delphine Remy-Boutang, president and CEO of The Bureau and JFD, which organizes the award, each winner's project was the best of hundreds. "We received more than 300 applications," she said in February. The winners will benefit from JFD's Growth Acceleration Program for one year. This includes media exposure worth €1 million, mentoring and coaching in collaboration with JFD partners.
The Margaret Junior will benefit from JFD's growth acceleration program - to develop her entrepreneurial project, a scholarship and digital participation in the ARTEMIS I mission, the first preparatory flight for the return of humans to the Moon. The Jury's Hope Prize was offered an original work by artist Caroline Corbasson, specially designed for the JFD.
Muriel Edjo
South African cryptocurrency exchange platform valr.com announced yesterday it has raised more than R750 million (about $50 million) in a Series B round to finance its expansion strategy. This deal represents the largest cryptocurrency fundraising ever in Africa, according to the company, which is currently worth $240 million,
Under its plans, VARL wants to expand into India, while strengthening its presence in Africa. “We believe that Africa’s future is bright for the adoption of cryptocurrencies for both asset diversification and payments. VALR brings an amazing product and service to onboard both retail customers and institutions,” said Paul Veradittakit, partner at Pantera Capital, the company that led the transaction.
Two years ago, in July 2020, VARL benefited from a $3.4 million Series A funding. The resources were used to develop new products and expand into new African markets. The cryptocurrency exchange platform claims to have processed more than $7.5 billion in transaction volume since its launch in 2019. It also claims more than 250,000 retail clients and 500 institutional clients on the continent.
According to an August 2021 study published by research platform Chainalysis, the African cryptocurrency market grew by 1,200% in value between July 2020 and June 2021. Despite this growth, the continent represents the smallest cryptocurrency economy of all regions studied by Chainalysis.
Chamberline Moko
Agritech investment remains low in Africa despite great successes by some startups. Egyptian agritech startup FreshSource Global announced last February 28 it has secured seed funding to finance its expansion. The B2B platform, which connects farms to businesses in Egypt and provides last-mile solutions, said it has raised an undisclosed “seven-figure” round in dollars from Wamda Capital, 4DX Ventures, and some angel investors.
“We are planning to use the funds to expand our team and invest more in our technology. Also, we are going to be covering all of Egypt’s governorates by the end of 2023. By 2024, we will start considering a global expansion plan,” said co-Founder Farah Emara. She believes the new resources will help "accelerate our mission to create more sustainable fresh food systems through data and technology to transform the lives of producers, businesses and consumers and improve the planet."
FreshSource acts as an intermediary between agricultural producers and businesses such as supermarkets. The company founded in 2018 and launched in 2019 relies on a digital platform through which it centralizes supply from farmers and demand from retailers. It ensures that customers' needs are met by reducing the number of intermediaries through which agricultural products pass. It also ensures the safety of agricultural products, particularly in terms of preservation and transportation to the buyer.
By 2020, FreshSource was already claiming 300 local farmers as users of its service, creating 1,500 jobs and also having prevented 200 tons of food loss. According to Farah Emara, "By reducing food waste, you reduce the cost of fresh food and enable a segment of the population that couldn't afford it before to live a healthier lifestyle. Also, this method increases producers’ income and thus improves their quality of life.”
Adoni Conrad Quenum