Svenska Optimizer Foundation invests in Kenyan company Arifu.

– Look, so much stronger and longer than corn is on the fence of this page!

Farmer Zachary Ndegwa shows around his property outside Meru, in eastern Kenya. In a farmyard, he cultivated corn according to traditional methods, as his parents learned, and in the nearby field he cultivated a different variety of maize and used fertilizers, pesticides and pesticides. modern culture methods.

"On an acre, I now get thirty bags of corn against seven or eight, which means I earn almost four times more.Without modern technology, you just get worse harvests I put corn at the same time to show other farmers how big the difference is, he says.

Zachary Ndegwa has been a farmer since childhood. He learned to use the land with his parents, who in turn learned from previous generations. But the harvests were quite modest and Zachary Ndegwa started looking for information on how he could grow more efficiently.

Much of his knowledge comes from a text-based educational app developed by the Kenyan company Arifu – which last year received an investment of $ 100,000 (equivalent to about SEK 900,000) from the Swedish Optimizer Foundation . This year they are investing an equal amount.

The application works similarly to Apple's Siri assistant, but does not require internet connection or even smartphone. Users send an SMS keyword to a country-specific card number. On the basis of questions and answers, they are sent to relevant information on all topics, from opening a bank account to rationalizing their culture.

In Kenya, the application has about 800,000 users, said Craig Heintzman, founder and CEO of Arifus.

"Our goal is to expand training environment. The app allows people without internet access to get information on how they are going to look for a job or job. For example, it can be pregnant women seeking information on nutrition or care, he says.

The content is written by experts from various fields and the technology was developed by Kenyan software developers, explains Craig Heintzman.

Arifu collaborates with a number of organizations, NGOs and large companies that bring knowledge and content. In order to guarantee the quality, the content of a third party, called "expert in the matter", is checked.

Since its inception in 2016, Arifu has been launched in Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. In short, the application will also be in Zambia and Nigeria.

– We have just launched a digital learning adapted to refugees. We are now living in Tanzania, for example, seeking to support fugitives in Uganda and Jordan, for example, says Craig Heintzman.

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On the plumage outside Meru, located a few hours drive from Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, Zachary Ndegwa is investigating its maize plants. To avoid damaging insects, it sprays the plants twice a week.

"These are my offices," he says proudly, showing the crops.

In addition to corn, he grows beans, potatoes and millet. In order to pass on his knowledge, Zachary Ndegwa has launched a network of about 300 farmers in the region.

– The knowledge acquired by Arifu simplifies the task for me to understand. It's not just about farming itself, but also about creating a business model that works, he says.

Arifu is one of the sources he uses to acquire information and knowledge. Even artificial growers offer tips and tricks on how farmers in the region can streamline their fields and get more crops, says Zachary Ndegwa.

"But chemicals are expensive and we can not always trust the rain," he says.

Zachary Ndegwa was one of the first pilot users of Arifus 2013-2015. Now he uses the app daily to get tips and tricks on seed, care and sales.

The application is free For users, development and content costs are borne by Arifus partners, explains Craig Heintzman. Organizations and companies pay Arifu to develop content in certain areas, such as health, agriculture and the economy, in order to reach groups that do not have access to the Internet.

– Since the application is free, no one is prevented from accessing the content. In the long term, we want to create a global, free learning platform accessible to all. But we still have major challenges such as language or lack of literacy.

Is there no risk that the content financed by, for example, businesses will be adapted to primarily market their own products?

Helena Riese Harstad at Optimizer says she believes strongly in the information transmitted by the Arifus app.

– Basic idea of ​​Arifus to improve the living conditions of vulnerable groups. Farmers need strong advice to improve their crops. The next step is to ensure that the advice given is correct and safe. If it turns out that the content communicated by Arifu would have a negative impact on the user, then Arifu has entered into agreements with its partners to modify the content – or, if it is not not possible, they are allowed to terminate the collaboration, she says.

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