FarmDrive has created a platform that creditworthy smallholder farmers can gain access to credits which can enable them purchase farm inputs that increase farm yields.
In 2014, Rita Kimani and Peris Bosire founded FarmDrive. Peris and Rita both grew up witnessing how their families and the community faced challenges in agriculture. The farmers would work day to day toiling in the farms. However there would be little or no harvest. Majority of these farmers had no sufficient funds to enable them buy fertilizers, inputs, etc that led to increased yields.
The two founders became friends during the first day as students at the University of Nairobi. Throughout the university period, they participated in skills that would empower their knowledge in computer science. They participated in competitions and internships at top technology firms. During their final year in school, they resolved to use their personal and academic experiences to bridge the gap that existed between smallholder farmers and financial institutions. That is how FarmDrive was founded.
FarmDrive connects smallholder farmers with loans and financial management tools, via their mobile phones. Financial institutions are offered with products and services that enable them become aware of agriculture portfolios, means of mitigating risks and how to reduce costs.
The products and services offered enable the financial institutions save time spent manually accessing farmer creditworthiness. Farmdrive helps the financial institutions design agricultural loan products that accelerates the agricultural portfolio growth.
Financial institutions have been able to cut down costs by working with FarmDrive. The costs incurred during the on-ground recruitment have been replaced with the digital farmer acquisition. There is a platform that enables the alternative risk assessment thus reducing losses. The scalability of Farm Drive’s model reduces operational costs which range from paper consumption to travel fees.
Risks associated with giving credits to the farmers have been controlled by FarmDrive. FarmDrive provides an algorithm which produces credit scores that account for the many factors that affect the repayment capacity of farmers. There has been providence of decisioning tools and bundling the loans with hybrid index insurance which controls risks. Financial institutions can now create loan products that can be repaid on time thanks to FarmDrive. This enables the financial institutions prepare for unforeseen environmental circumstances.
Farmers should no longer face agricultural difficulties alone as FarmDrive provides them with tips meant to favor them.
