Topic updates
How fintech is helping small-scale farmers become profitable producers

11th March 2021
This is a superbly relevant short video on development economics from the Financial Times as part of their series on the food revolution.
Raising yields from smallholder farmers is crucial to the transition process from subsistence to commercial farming and in reducing extreme poverty. Millions of small-holders have limited access to essential financial services such as insurance and the basic finance needed to purchase seeds, fertilisers and small units of capital.
This FT video focuses on the Nairobi-based Apollo app which is gaining traction among terns of thousands of farmers in rural Kenya. Apollo uses M-Pesa mobile money, machine learning and satellite data to track land ownership and crop yields.
Apollo Agriculture generates revenues on the sale of farm products and earning margins on financing.
The founder studied engineering at Stanford before working with the Climate Corporation. A great example to follow of the latency of a country's diaspora in helping to drive improvements in basic human development outcomes.
When smallholder farmers have the tools they need to improve their farming, they can earn better livelihoods and secure a brighter future. Our partner @apolloagri uses data and machine-learning to #OpenOpportunity for farmers in East Africa. pic.twitter.com/Mm9EynGceZ
— Accion (@Accion) February 9, 2021
You might also like

Sugar Cane and Economic Development in Mauritius
20th October 2014
The Power of Remittances
19th October 2014

Growth and Development in Ethiopia
17th October 2014

2014 Human Development Report focuses on Vulnerability
24th July 2014
Chinese FDI in Africa
15th May 2014

China’s Development - Past Present and Future
25th January 2014

Energy and Emissions: Taxation or Technology?
24th October 2013