Technology for Agriculture — Feeding Africa’s rising billion+ population
Much is said about Africa’s rising population which is estimated to double to 2.4 billion by 2050. A key question facing governments is how this burgeoning population will sustainably access essential commodities such as food. We believe technology will play a major role with startups and entrepreneurial tech innovators leading the way.
One such example is Zazu,an Agritech startup using technology to improve agriculture and the livelihoods of farmers in Africa
ATBN recently sat down for a chat with Perseus Mlambo, co-founder and CEO of Zazu, to talk about their solution and journey to-date.
ATBN: How did the idea for Zazu Come about?
ZAZU: The idea for Zazu came to me while volunteering with Progressio back home in Zimbabwe, where I was born but had not returned for 14 years. When I arrived, I was working with farmers in rural communities and the challenges they faced, I thought, could be addressed by using technology to simplify these processes. I met an 80 year old woman who travelled over 5 hours to sell her produce, getting up at 4am to get the earliest bus. I felt that with the rising access to technology in Africa, this should not still be the case.
ATBN: What is the problem that Zazu is trying to solve?
ZAZU: Around the world, farmers are losing out on profits because of exploitative brokers. Zazu is about helping them to get fairer prices and improve their livelihoods.
There are over 1 billion people in Africa and 70% of those live in rural areas. They rely on agriculture for their livelihood but despite growing quality food to feed the continent, are excluded from the $300 billion agriculture market. This problem is not unique to Africa. Farmers in India face a similar challenge in a market worth over $200 billion.
ATBN : How is Zazu addressing this problem?
Zazu is a logistics supported digital marketplace connecting farmers and retailers in emerging markets.
We aim to change not only the way cities interact with food, but to also create additional value for the whole food ecosystem. If you think of Zazu as a digital marketplace operating in selected countries and impacting the lives of farmers, it’s great. If you think of Zazu as giving transparency to the way people transact for the most valuable commodities on the planet, that vision gets even bigger. If you think of Zazu as assisting governments around the world with the most problematic issues, it gets pretty huge. If you think of Zazu as coordinating millions of open air markets around the world, in places whose infrastructure did not allow it before, then you get to understanding the full extent of our ambitions.
ATBN: Wow sounds like you are heading for world domination! What have you achieved so far?
We ran a pilot in Zimbabwe to assess the demand for our solution which involved getting farmers to text in their produce and speaking with retailers to understand the challenges they face in sourcing agricultural produce. Once we convinced a buyer that they could save costs by ordering through Zazu, we hired a truck to pick produce from a number of farmers and delivered it to the buyer. The feedback we got was amazing because offering logistics support meant farmers could save more of their profits and participate in markets they would otherwise be excluded from. While for the buyer it meant getting fresh, quality produce delivered to them with less hassle and at a lower cost.
ATBN: And what are your next steps?
We are currently in London attending the Ignite accelerator and are looking to connect with investors and partners who share our vision to build a global food ecosystem that creates value for everyone. Once we secure funding, our next step is to roll out our solution across Africa starting in Zimbabwe and then look to expand to other emerging markets.
Africa Technology Business Forum-London Tech Week 2016
To meet more high-potential, Africa-focused startups like Zazu, join us at the Africa Technology Business Forum in London on 22nd June which is dedicated to showcasing Africa’s emerging technology opportunities.
The Forum will bring together over 120 experts, investors and professionals from the Banking, Finance, Venture Capital, Private Equity, Impact investment and the Mobile/Telecom sectors for a dynamic programme which includes informative panels and keynotes, expert-led round table discussions and an exciting startup innovation showcase. We have released some limited early-bird tickets , grab yours before they run out!
