Nigerian agri-tech company ThriveAgric has partnered Heifer International to launch the AYuTe Project, which aims to empower 125,000 smallholder farmers with access to financial inclusion.
Founded in 2017 and fully operational since 2018, ThriveAgric empowers farmers in Nigeria to sell their products to FMCGs and food processors, leveraging its proprietary technology to access finance as well as improve productivity and sales to promote food security.
The technology, an agricultural operating system, works entirely offline, dispatches USSD to farmers, and powers Android apps used by field agents to help digitally collate creditworthy farmers and gather relevant farm data.
ThriveAgric, which in March of 2022 raised a US$56.4 million round of debt funding from local commercial banks and institutional investors, has now partnered Heifer International in a move that will over the next year see ThriveAgric and its technical partners facilitate the opening of bank accounts for 125,000 smallholder farmers across eight northern Nigerian states – including Adamawa, Gombe, Yobe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, and Bauchi.
“At ThriveAgric, our driving force has always been to empower smallholder farmers for a dignified livelihood. By connecting smallholder farmers to the formal financial economy, we are positioning them for better access to finance, credit, digital services and introducing them to the formal economy which has numerous other benefits in the long run,” said Ayodeji Arikawe, co-founder at ThriveAgric.
“We are excited about this initiative we’re undertaking with Heifer International through the AYuTe Africa Challenge, and for the long term impact of this strategic partnership with VISA towards the creation of job opportunities, financial and social inclusion. Our unwavering commitment to positively impact smallholder farmers and their immediate communities across Africa will become even more evident through this project, as we power towards our goal of developing the largest network of profitable farmers in Africa.”
