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Focusing on everything from e-commerce to information management, supply chain management, to IoT, 82 African agro-technology startups are widely spread across the continent, according to a new report
. In total, 16 African countries host technological start-ups active in the agricultural area.
The main markets are Nigeria and Kenya, which together account for 46.4% of the labor force. the total amount of startups. Ghana is next with 14.7%. These three major markets account for 61.1 percent of the overall total
but there is also a significant activity elsewhere. South Africa has 12.2% of agro-technological startups in Africa, while Uganda and Zimbabwe each have four. There are also start-ups in The Gambia, Zambia, Botswana, Tanzania, Côte d 'Ivoire, Senegal, Somalia, Egypt, Mali and Cameroon.
The Pioneer of Kenya
In 2010-2011, the first wave of agro-technological startups of the continent came into being in East Africa, creating a new niche for l & # 39; innovation.
A country where agriculture is deeply rooted in national identity – everyone owns, or aspires to own, a shamba – Kenyan entrepreneurs have personally understood the obstacles to successful agriculture and have undertaken to tackle it using mobile and online technologies that are becoming more and more common.
Related Coverage: Agriculture Development
and knowledge-sharing platform was born: even the subsistence rural farmer could get answers to his agricultural concerns by SMS and save or improve his crop; small farmers suddenly had access to new markets at fair prices on the Internet, rather than resorting to tricky intermediaries.
By the end of 2013, entrepreneurs from a few other countries had started to join the party. Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Ghana and South Africa have all seen the strange start of the agro-technological start-up; but seven of the thirteen agro-technology startups operating in Africa were based in Kenya.
While Kenya continued to build itself an important area of agro-technological entrepreneurship in the following years, since 2015 West Africa – Nigeria in particular coming on board
Between 2015 and 2017, 16 agro-technological startups were launched in Nigeria (only three before 2015). Nigeria now has links with Kenya for the number of agro-technological startups active in both countries; and will almost certainly exceed Kenya by the end of 2018 given the launch rate of new businesses.
Alongside Nigeria, Ghana has quietly developed its own agro-technological market – the third largest on the continent.
So, while Kenya may be able to thank for the emergence of agro-technology in Africa, West Africa seems to be taking the reins.
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