• Advertise
  • Jobs
  • Freelance Gigs
  • Motoring
  • Money
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
  • Login
  • Startups
    • About US
  • Reviews
  • Business
  • Motoring
  • Blockchain
    • Crypto News
  • Insider
    • Obituaries
  • Women
  • Hacks & Facts
    • How To
  • Editions
    • US Edition
    • India Edition
    • MENA Edition
    • Asia Edition
    • Europe Edition
    • International Edition
  • Columnists
No Result
View All Result
  • Startups
    • About US
  • Reviews
  • Business
  • Motoring
  • Blockchain
    • Crypto News
  • Insider
    • Obituaries
  • Women
  • Hacks & Facts
    • How To
  • Editions
    • US Edition
    • India Edition
    • MENA Edition
    • Asia Edition
    • Europe Edition
    • International Edition
  • Columnists
No Result
View All Result
TechMoran
No Result
View All Result
Home Business

This Award Winning Digital Marketer Quit His Job to Empower Farmers & He’s Just Won Sh 2.5M

FCASFarmers can hardly get a loan from a financial institution in Kenya and those that are willing to give them are still skeptical as farming itself is highly volatile but one young man thought differently.

With everyone seeing farmers as unbankable, Award Winning Digital Marketer, Alex Mwaura Muriu saw an opportunity and left his well paying digital media jobs for corporate firms seven years ago to help farmers get funding for their produce even before they plant.

Murui, a young Kenyan entrepreneur, developed a system to meet the perennial challenge faced by African farmers in accessing capital to finance planting and harvesting by providing an alternative from the burden of financial loans through his Farm Capital Africa project.

Alex and his Farm Capital Africa (FCA) say that their existence is inspired by the huge financing gaps currently experienced by the Small Scale Agriculture industry in Africa, which ironically forms the breadbasket of the Continent. Reports from the Mastercard Foundation indicate that just 1% of the continent’s loan portfolios currently go to Agriculture, leaving billions of dollars in unserved and untapped Markets in this sector. And the team adds than anyone can see the gap by looking at rampant food shortages across the continent and the fact that majority of Africans living below the poverty line are in the susistence agricultureal sector.

“Our vision is to generate Weath in Africa though Agri-investment. We aim to channel capital to profitable and sustainable agriventures through strategic partnerships supported by technology,” the team says.

FCA2With that in mind, the firm works simply by pooling funds from individuals and institutional Investors then invest these funds into evaluated agricultural businesses. FCA manages how these funds are spent on the farm and the farmer only focuses on what they are good at-farming. FCA sources for and provides distribution services to transport produce to buyers, manages finances to ensure business continuity and profit sharing and later FCA gets its profit share, and pays investors back their capital plus interest.

Muriu’s co-founder, Musyoka Jason, also believes that FCA is pioneering the next frontier of innovative investment opportunities in Africa and securing investor confidence and support is sine qua non to guarantee success of any great idea and it’s something he is charge of.

“I ensure we are accountable to our investors for every shilling, penny, dirham, dollar or whatever currency of the money they give us,” Musyoka says.

Farm Capital Africa today brought home US$25 000 as second prize from the Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA), now in its fourth edition and this year held in Morocco. IPA saw over 925 applicatons from 41 countries this year and has attracted over 3,000 applications from 49 African countries. IPA was founded by Jean Claude Bastos de Morais, the Africa Innovation Foundation (AIF) Founder who said he was truly impressed with this year’s winning innovations.

“African innovators are taking flight, their innovative ideas are increasingly proving to be transformative – not only for Africa – but for the world. Through the IPA, the AIF is fostering the development of robust innovation ecosystems, which are essentially nests for African entrepreneurs and innovators to develop solutions for African challenges,” said de Morais.

FCA3African innovators continue to provide more innovative African solutions to address African problems and this years innovations further demonstrate great potential to change the course of history in Africans’ responses to health, technology, enterprise and the agricultural sector, prioritizing needs-based responses through cost effective means – a critical tool for sustainable development.

The AIF believes that young people (below age 35) are the epi-center of the African innovation ecosystem as they represent 65% of Africa’s 1.1 billion population. All nominees received recognition through a US$5 000 voucher as a support fund to boost their different innovations in their home countries.

Muriu won the Second Prize and South Africa’s Lesley Erica Scott was awarded the Special Prize for Social Impact. Both received $25,000 for their innovations. The $100,000 grand prize was won by Moroccan researcher Adnane Remmal who took the coveted Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) 2015 Grand Prize, scooping the US$100 000 in cash.

Remmal’s innovation, a patented alternative to livestock anti-biotics is set to transform the broader medical and agricultural sector in Africa as it aims at reducing health hazards in livestock, preventing the transmission of multi-resistant germs and carcinogens to human beings through consumption of milk, eggs and meat.

 

Readers 2,073

Share

  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Sam Wakoba

Sam Wakoba

Taking you on tour through Africa's tech ecosystem, one startup at a time! editor@techmoran.com.

Related Posts

KCB appoints Paul Russo as Group CEO
Banking

KCB appoints Paul Russo as Group CEO

by Val Lukhanyu
May 24, 2022
0

The KCB Group PLC Board has today appointed Paul Russo as the company’s Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) effective May...

TikTok Effects That Will Take Your Videos to Greater Heights
Tech

TikTok is testing with in-app gaming.

by Yvone Kendi
May 23, 2022
0

TikTok is reportedly considering allowing users to play games on the app, with preliminary tests taking place in Vietnam. If...

Egypt’s Sylndr secures $12.6m pre-Seed round to expand its used car marketplace.
Startups

Egypt’s Sylndr secures $12.6m pre-Seed round to expand its used car marketplace.

by Weddy Thuranira
May 23, 2022
0

Sylndr, Egypt's online used-car retailer, has secured $12.6 million in a pre-seed round led by RAED Ventures and including Algebra...

Crypto Valley Venture Capital launches Early-Stage Fund for African Blockchain Startups.

Crypto Valley Venture Capital launches Early-Stage Fund for African Blockchain Startups.

May 24, 2022
Moroccan healthtech startup Blink Pharma secures first funding round for expansion.

Moroccan healthtech startup Blink Pharma secures first funding round for expansion.

May 24, 2022
Afrilabs launches an Academy to support African innovations.

Afrilabs launches an Academy to support African innovations.

May 24, 2022
Please login to join discussion
  • Advertise
  • Jobs
  • Freelance Gigs
  • Motoring
  • Money

© 2022 TechMoran Ltd, All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Startups
    • About US
  • Reviews
  • Business
  • Motoring
  • Blockchain
    • Crypto News
  • Insider
    • Obituaries
  • Women
  • Hacks & Facts
    • How To
  • Editions
    • US Edition
    • India Edition
    • MENA Edition
    • Asia Edition
    • Europe Edition
    • International Edition
  • Columnists

© 2022 TechMoran Ltd, All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Go to mobile version
 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.

    %d bloggers like this: