Zimbabwean agritech startup Farmhut has been named among the 11 winners of Hult Prize 2021, an annual competitionhelping students to solve a crucial social issue in the society. This year’s topics included: access to water, energy, food security, etc. Farmhut will receive US$100,000 in grants to help it improve their production offering and userbase.
Farmhut was founded by Ahmad Ashkar when he reflected on how farmers work day to day for survival. Ashkar noted that, for farmers, putting food on the table is still an ordeal and he hopes that Farmhut could help improve their situation.
Normally farmers worldwide lack a platform where they can market their products. Despite the energy and labor put in farms leading to many losses being incurred. Middlemen come along and buy the products at throwaway prices from the farmers. On the other hand, Consumers do not acquire these products when fresh. This has been a struggle for a very long time.
Farmhut provides Zimbabwean farmers with an Al-powered marketplace which links them to markets with reasonable prices for the goods farmers produce. Farmers are enabled to grow their business rapidly for the entire year. On the other hand, consumers get fresh products from their neighborhood. The whole problem of farmers and consumers is entirely solved in our platform.
Recently, Farmhut launched a WhatsApp-based chatbot to address the connectivity challenges experienced by most farmers in Zimbabwe. Success for Farmhut is when farmers and buyers give them positive remarks for their services. This achievement is a testament for the team and for all the farmers who toil every day to meet ends meet.