News

OUR CORE AIM IS TO MAKE AGRICULTURE CONVENIENT – AFRIMASH CEO

 

 

In this interview, Ahmed Ayoade Oyedotun, the Chief Executive Officer and Co- Founder of Afrimash, an eCommerce firm focused in agriculture ecosystem talks about making agriculture convenient, ensuring that smallholder farmers enjoy quality inputs and finally how to deepen food productivity in the country. Anthony Nwosu captures this in an exclusive interview.

 

 

Tell us about Afrimash as an organisation?

We are an eCommerce platform based in Ibadan, Oyo state. We basically connect farmers with quality kits and products. What we do is basically connect farmers to good agricultural inputs. We deliver nationwide. We started in 2016 and we are about 4 years now. We can be said to be an eCommerce platform that is agricultural oriented where farmers can get tools, inputs and other agricultural inputs. Our core aim is to make agriculture convenient. We are a very valuable, sustainable, and profitable organization that provides premium value to customers via the contribution of a talented workforce who enjoy providing quality service to customers. We work with a set of very important core values that guide every action we take. We pay close attention to    Prioritization, Excellence, Speed and Integrity

Majority of farmers are said not to be vast in IT, how do you go about this as an eCommerce platform?

What people think about eCommerce is that it makes buying and selling seamless and easier.  We know that this (Ecommerce) has to do with access to internet. One thing that eCommerce does is that it makes it easy for suppliers and buyers to meet but in agriculture it is a different ball game, we are talking about life products like day old chicks etc. Access to quality inputs is one of the biggest challenges that a farmer faces in Nigerian and Africa. We are here to bridge that gap. Today, a lot of farmers have access to internet and we have broadband deployment that is spread out so we are leveraging on these communication infrastructures such as widespread availability of internet and broadband technology. Though apart from internet access we developed a hybrid system that makes it easy for farmers to buy even without internet. We have dedicated shopping assistants that farmers are able to call. We have solved these problems is difficulty of accessing inputs.

How secured is Afrimash platform?

We are very secured and we don’t take this aspect our business lightly.  eCommerce has come of age in Nigeria. We have partnered with reputable firms like Paystack and others. These is to ensure that ensure top-notch security and encryption is maintained especially in the area of payment. There is adequate security for every transaction that goes on in our platform. We have top-notch encryption in the platform. This security is layered and we always improve on security of our platform. We have not had issues with security.

How has the market accepted this?

Well, when we started over the years, a lot of pessimist said that farmers are not online, but trust me, we have come to realise that this is wrong. With high repeat customers and a lot of our customers come through referral. We have a lot of referrals and they always send others to come back because we mase shopping easier for them and we ensure that we have quality products that we deliver to these farmers. So, the market or the farmers have come to accept us over the years for what we stand for which is quality and effectiveness.

How do you handle logistic challenges?

Well as an eCommerce platform, logistics have always been a huge challenge in Nigeria and in Africa. Though, we have partnered with a lot of logistic firms and this has made it convenient for farmers.  In agriculture logistic is a bigger challenge but we have circumvented this challenge. We have learnt that we can’t do it on our ow so we partnered and outsourced the logistic arm of our business. We just want our farmers to be happy.

Support system has always been a problem for eCommerce in Nigeria. How do you handle it?

Yeah, we are particular about support, in agriculture support is important because we are dealing with tools and livestock. Before a farmer buys from us, he speaks to shopping assistant and these shopping assistants advise farmers before they even buy, that is the first step. We also provide training and advisory services and we encourage farmers to come for these training. We have other levels of supports such as introducing farmers to consultants and we ensure that we have a lot of professionals that interface with the farmer. These professional work like the extension workers and they help to boost the farmers’ productivity. We do not play with advisory services this is from before they buy and after they buy.

Advisory and consultancy can be said to be your value-added service. How do you engage these farmers?

You know that agriculture is highly specialised space, take for instance you buy a layer or chick, we advise the farmers the immunisation schedule etc.  Equipment that do have manuals, we ensure that we walk through the farmer and make him understand how to use these sophisticated tools. We ensure that the farmers follow the manufactures requirements religiously. Also, we advise farmers on access to premium markets.

What kind of partnership are you looking at with the government, are you open to that?

We are very open to partnership especially with the government and we are of the opinion and we are focused to making agriculture convenient. We want to use technology to achieve this, in the next 20 years there might be high demand for food in the world and every partnership that we can go into that will make agriculture convenient is welcomed. We are very open to partnership with government organisations, states, training institutions, financiers and development organisations. We want to partner with them in providing quality services to these farmers in order to deepen food security in the country.

Agriculture equipment are very expensive, how can small scale farmer get these inputs

We looked at this from many perspectives. We are a platform that makes suppliers to reach out to farmers. Years ago, we were selling incubators of four thousand, five thousand capacity but the market wasn’t ready for this, the market was demanding of incubators between ninety chicks to two hundred. We have to reach out to the manufactures of these incubators and make them understand this is the market demand and in such a way, we have made farmers buy within their capacity. We also have partnership with microfinance banks.  If farmers can access funds from government and pay back over a period of time. We also work with cooperative where financier partners can work with the cooperatives and these are the areas, we cushion the paucity of funds from the farmers.

Why is Afrimash different from other eCommerce platform?

We are building an eCommerce platform that is designed and customized for farmers. We have a focus on farmers and we are mission and vision driven, this separates us. We are also an online market place that provide guarantee for people that buy from us. We have a robust buyer protection policy. We are not like other eCommerce platform that just dumps products on customers. If you buy from us you can be sure that you are buying from trusted source.

How has Covid 19 affected your company and what are we to expect from you next year?

It has been an unusual year; we have to take drastic measures. We are lucky we have a passionate team that align with the vision of the company. We had to work remotely, the Covid 19 disrupted office work, though we adopted to it, that doesn’t mean that there were no disruptions. The supply chain was affected. The suppliers couldn’t open up shops due to lockdown but we tried to find a way around this. Though, Covid 19 brought digital acceleration and we experienced increase in numbers of people that want to shop and sell online.  There was tremendous increase in these areas and we responded to this also. We are looking at 2021 in a positive light, we have over 20,000 farmers presently, next year we want to make sure that we provide a lot more items for farmers. Our second focus is that we are seeking for partnership that would make agriculture convenient, farmers need financing and these are the type partnership we are seeking out for. We know these farmers; we can vouch for them and we hope that partners will key into this. we believe that our service delivery would be top-notch.

If you are to advise government on food security, what will you tell government?

Well, I would take it from two aspect, Nigerian agricultural space is dominated by smallholders’ farmers about eighty percent unlike in developed nation which is opposite.  If the government want to increase the food production, government must channel support programmes to these people. An average farmer needs four things such as training, funding, access to market and extension services and government has to provide these. The other leg of it is that, having been in this input supply, input suppliers need funding, we have manufacturers in Nigeria and they need funding for input suppliers to enable them mass produce at a very cheaper rate.

 

“Though, Covid 19 brought digital acceleration and we experienced increase in numbers of people that want to shop and sell online.  There was tremendous increase in these areas and we responded to this also. We are looking at 2021 in a positive light, we have over 20,000 farmers presently, next year we want to make sure that we provide a lot more items for farmers.”

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.

You may also like

Business Economy Society Software Technology

The critical role of data in debt recovery amid surge in consumer debt

post-image

 

 

As South Africans and their pockets are impacted by rising inflation, cost-of-living increases, and a spate of interest rate hikes over the past two years, consumer debt has surged at an alarming rate. More people are turning to credit facilities to keep up with daily expenses, with worrying knock-on effects for businesses and the entire South African economy.

 

With a renewed focus on debt recovery processes and procedures, businesses need to ensure they have the most reliable, up-to-date information available to assist with recovering outstanding monies. “As the cost of borrowing escalates, and the average South African consumer finds themselves allocating approximately 62% of their take-home pay towards servicing debt, the need for efficient, effective debt recovery strategies is a crucial consideration for any business extending credit,” explains Chantelle Frier, National Sales Manager of SearchWorks, South Africa’s largest and most innovative data aggregation platform that allows users to conduct…

Read More
Announcements Business Culture Events

NITDA Celebrates Exceptional Women Staff Members in Commemoration of International Women’s Day 2024

post-image

In honor of International Women’s Day 2024, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) proudly recognized the invaluable contributions of its female staff members during the Quarterly Staff General Meeting.

Led by the esteemed Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa CCIE, the event served as a platform to commend and honor female staff members whose remarkable efforts have significantly contributed to the agency’s accomplishments. In a gesture of appreciation and acknowledgment, Director-General Kashifu Inuwa CCIE presented letters of commendation to these outstanding women, underscoring NITDA’s unwavering commitment to fostering inclusivity and empowering women within the agency.

The Quarterly Staff General Meeting not only celebrated the achievements of these exceptional women but also reaffirmed NITDA’s dedication to recognizing and nurturing talent across all gender identities. As an agency at the forefront of technological innovation, NITDA remains steadfast in its mission to create an inclusive and equitable workplace where every…

Read More
Business Events Fintech

PAFON 1.0: Experts Harp on Stricter Data Privacy Measures in Payments Ecosystem in AI Era

post-image

·      Tasks Payments System Operators on the Need for Consumer Education

 

The Chairman of the Committee of Chief Information Security Officers of Nigerian Financial Institutions (CCISONFI), Mr. Festus Amede, has identified Data Minimization Principles, User Consent and Control, as well as Compliance with Privacy Regulations as important elements in protecting privacy in payments.

 

Amede who was represented by an executive member of CCISONFI, Mr. Olusola Odediran (also, the Chief Information Security Officer) Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), spoke during his keynote presentation at the maiden edition of Payments Forum Nigeria (PAFON 1.0) held at Oriental Hotel, Lagos on Thursday.

 

His presentation themed, ‘Payments: Trust, Security and Privacy in the AI Era,’ explored the critical…

Read More
Business Economy

Nigeria Seeks Joint West Africa Regional Protection of Undersea Cables

post-image

 

 

Following recent undersea cable cuts that challenged connectivities in many countries in the West African region, Nigeria has called for a coordinated and multilateral approach by the region to protect shared telecommunications infrastructure, and diversify connectivity to ensure uninterruptible connections.

 

Executive Vice Chairman of the  Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, made the submission in a statement delivered at the 21st West Africa Telecommunications Regulatory Assembly (WATRA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) which held in Freetown, Sierra Leone, from the 19th to 22nd March 2024.

 

Dr. Maida, whose message was delivered at the WATRA AGM by the Deputy Director, Public Affairs of the Commission, Nnenna Ukoha, stated that the recent submarine cable cuts that resulted in nationwide outages on multiple networks in 12 African countries has raised the urgent need for the subregion to establish a mechanism to protect itself from damage to submarine infrastructure and its attendant impact on the…

Read More
Business Opinion Technology Technology Trends

WHY HYUNDAI AND KIA HAVE ONE OF THE BEST FUEL ECONOMY

post-image

 

 

I watched one video yesterday when one of my brother Uncle IB did some review on Hyundai Sonata so i decided to throw more light on it.

Hyundai and Kia are so much underated in Nigeria and the reason is lack of information. Hyundai and Kia are the most fuel efficient vehicles but most people are not aware.
They use more advanced engine technology on and that’s why they use smaller engines to push out much power with less fuel.

They make use of technology like:
▪︎CVVT (Continously variable valve timing)
▪︎DPFI (Dual port fuel injection)
▪︎ITMS (Integrated Thermal Management System)
▪︎HTCS (High Thermal Conversion system)
▪︎FOMS (Friction optimized moving system)
▪︎ High Ignition Energy EGR
▪︎Smartstream Transmission.
▪︎Wet 8 – Speed DCT.

Hyundai and Kia make use of smartstream engines. Engines like GDi produce high power and good for high driving speed conditions while engines like MPi are smoother with less power…

Read More
Business

NDPC to Partner Ondo to Upskill Youths, Create Jobs in Data Protection

post-image

The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has expressed its readiness to work with the Ondo state government to promote a culture of Data Protection that would also help create employment opportunities for young people in the state.

The National Commissioner/CEO of NDPC, Dr Vincent Olatunji, revealed this when he received his excellency, the Ondo state Deputy Governor, Olayide Adelami, at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Friday.

Dr Olayide said the purpose of his visit was to explore possible areas of collaboration between NDPC and the state in a way that fosters development for the people of the State.

According to him, “our government is passionate about youth development and one of the ways to ensure our youths are gainfully employed is to equip them with the right skills, needed for 21st century workplace. In view of this, we have identified ICT as one key area to upskill our youths…

Read More
Business Economy Technology Technology Trends

8 Reasons MacBooks Are Better Than Other Laptops

post-image

MacBooks have been around for a while now, and in that time, they’ve cemented themselves as some of the most popular laptops available. They’re well-designed, easy to use, and come with some great features. But why are they so popular? And more importantly, why are they better than Windows-based laptops?

Here, we’ll explore several reasons why we think Apple laptops are better than the competition, touching on everything from durability to ease of purchase and more.

8. The Apple Ecosystem

The Apple ecosystem is made up of all the hardware and software that Apple designs and puts out. Almost all Apple devices, apps, and operating systems are a part of the ecosystem: iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Mac, iCloud, Apple Music, and so on.

So, when people talk about the Apple ecosystem, they’re actually referring to how well all these products work together. It’s the ecosystem that makes it possible…

Read More
Announcements Business

Bimbo Abioye, Fintrak Software’s Group Managing Director, Recognized Among “Top 50 Most Valuable Personalities in Nigeria’s Digital Economy”

post-image

 

 

Fintrak Software, Nigeria’s leading indigenous software development firm specializing in financial software, proudly announces the recognition of its Group Managing Director, Bimbo Abioye, at the prestigious “Top 50 Most Valuable Personalities in Nigeria’s Digital Economy” event. The ceremony, held at Providence Hotel in Ikeja GRA, Lagos State, celebrates Abioye’s outstanding contributions to the nation’s digital landscape.

Bimbo Abioye FCA,MBA,ACTI,CISA,CISM,CISSP,FICA,MNCS,AFCPN,SRMA - FinTrak Software Company LLC | LinkedIn
Bimbo Abioye , GMD Fintrak Software

Despite his absence due to commitments in an Eastern African country, Mr. Bimbo Abioye was represented by Ladi Ipaye, who graciously accepted the award on his behalf. The accolade underscores Abioye’s remarkable achievements and relentless dedication to advancing Nigeria’s digital economy.

Reflecting on Abioye’s impact, Ladi Ipaye remarked, “Bimbo Abioye has spearheaded Fintrak’s transformation into a powerhouse within the fintech ecosystem, elevating the firm from a modest consultancy…

Read More