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#agribusiness companies in tanzania
eximparadise · 1 year
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We are certified exporters to export African commodities and Agro products to world-wide nations without compromising the standards. Our management strives to set a benchmark for efficiency in executing agro business. We are assured about the prompt delivery and quality of products.
We are engaged in supplying cashews, beans, lentils, seeds, tea, coffee, Animal feed and timber all under-one-roof. Our policy is to get complete satisfaction of customers and not merely make profits in import and export business in Africa.
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What are the Significance of ISO 22000 Certification in Tanzania
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ISO 22000 Certification in Tanzania
 ISO 22000 Certification in Tanzania is a worldwide famous site that defines the requirements for a food safety manipulate tool (FSMS). It is designed to ensure the safety of meals supply chains worldwide, incorporating the thoughts of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) alongside hassle prerequisite packages (PRPs). The huge applies to all corporations worried within the meals chain, from farm to fork, ensuring the protection and extraordinary of meals products.
Significance of ISO 22000 Certification in Tanzania
ISO 22000  certification in Tanzania offers considerable massive advantages to mechanisms in the food business, which includes:
Enhanced Food Safety: Ensuring secure meals handling and manufacturing practices to reduce risks of foodborne ailments.
Regulatory Compliance: Meeting nearby and global meals protection guidelines and requirements.
Improved Market Access: Facilitating get right of entry into new markets thru meeting worldwide meals safety necessities.
Consumer Confidence: Boosting consumer recall within the safety and exceptional of meals products.
Operational Efficiency: Streamlining strategies and decreasing waste through systematic control practices.
Risk Leadership: Recognizing, handling, and mitigating food security risks virtually.
ISO 22000  certification in Tanzania Process
The tool of sporting out ISO 22000  certification in Tanzania includes several critical steps:
Initial Assessment: Conducting an opening assessment to observe present practices in the direction of ISO 22000  certification in Tanzania necessities.
Planning: Developing an entire plan to address diagnosed gaps and align procedures with the identical antique.
Implementation: Applying essential adjustments, putting in a sturdy FSMS, and educating employees.
Internal Audits: Internal audits make certain the FSMS abilities as intended.
Certification Audit: Undergoing an out of doors audit with the aid of the manner of an authorized certification body.
Continual Advancement: Supporting and improving the FSMS to make sure continued compliance and significance.
ISO 22000 Certification in Tanzania
In Tanzania, the importance of ISO 22000  certification in Tanzania is increasingly realized at some moment in the dinners company, enclosing agribusiness, foodstuffs processing, catering, and retail sectors. With the US recognizing the extent of improving meals safety requirements and enhancing its agricultural and food product exports, ISO 22000 certification plays an paramount role.
Steps to Obtain ISO 22000 Certification in Tanzania
Awareness and Training: Organizations begin by means of teaching their employees about ISO 22000  certification in Tanzania requirements and blessings.
Consultation: Many groups interact with professionals to offer records and steering in the course of the certification machine.
Documentation Development: Creating critical documentation, collectively with meals protection suggestions, strategies, and records.
FSMS Implementation: Applying the documented techniques, mission risk analyses, and installing crucial control elements.
Internal Audits: Performing internal audits to verify that the FSMS is efficiently finished and powerful.
Selecting a Certification Body: Choosing an permitted certification body to behavior the outdoor audit.
Certification Audit: The certification body audits the agency’s FSMS. Upon achieving the very last touch, the employer company receives ISO 22000 certification in Tanzania.
Certification Bodies in Tanzania
Several famous certification organizations in Tanzania, supplying ISO 22000  certification in Tanzania offerings. These bodies embody worldwide businesses with community workplaces and close by certification our  bodies approved thru relevant authorities. Some distinguished certification our  bodies encompass:
Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS): The countrywide requirements frame that gives certification and schooling offerings.
SGS Tanzania: A global chief in inspection, verification, trying out, and certification.
Bureau Veritas Tanzania: Specializing in attempting out, inspection, and certification.
DNV GL: Providing danger management and awesome guarantee offerings.
Challenges and Solutions
While pursuing ISO 22000  certification in Tanzania, agencies in Tanzania may additionally moreover furthermore come upon demanding situations which incorporates:
Resource Constraints: The economic and human assets required for certification can be super.
Solution: Seeking phased implementation or out of doors funding to manipulate charges.
Limited Expertise: A need for internal know-how approximately ISO 22000  certification in Tanzania necessities.
Solution: Hiring skilled specialists and imparting thorough education to employees.
Resistance to Change: Employees also can resist new techniques and practices.
Solution: Involving employees within the making plans and implementation levels to foster beauty and information.
Conclusion
ISO 22000 certification in Tanzania is an important step for businesses within the meals agency aiming to enhance food safety, enhance the marketplace, get proper entry to, and gather consumer self notion. As the worldwide emphasis on meals protection grows, Tanzanian organizations can benefit appreciably from adopting ISO 22000  certification in Tanzania necessities. By adhering to the certification gadget and overcoming annoying conditions, companies can ensure the protection and great in their meals merchandise, contributing to public health and financial boom in Tanzania.
Why Factocert for ISO 22000 Certification in Tanzania
We provide the best ISO consultants Who are knowledgeable and provide the best solution. And to know how to get ISO certification. Kindly reach us at [email protected]. work according to ISO standards and help organizations implement ISO certification in Tanzania with proper documentation.
For more information, visit ISO 22000 Certification in Tanzania.
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iconmagazinedigital · 7 months
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Krantz Mwantepele and Koncept Group: Redefining Boundaries of Creativity and Business
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Krantz Mwantepele and Koncept Group: Redefining Boundaries of Creativity and Business
KrantzMwantepele, the founder and CEO of Koncept Group, is a leading figure in the digital media and marketing industry in Africa. With a passion for pushing boundaries and achieving success, he has risen to become a prominent force in the East African region. As a self-made entrepreneur, Krantz has received multiple prestigious awards for his visionary entrepreneurship and dedication to sustainable business practices.
This article delves into KrantzMwantepele's background, educational journey, and professional achievements. It also highlights the diverse services offered by Koncept Group across various industries, showcasing their commitment to excellence and client-centric approach. Furthermore, we explore the importance of employee well-being in driving organizational performance and how Krantz continues to grow and develop as a leader. Finally, we discuss Koncept Group's future aspirations and their plans to achieve them.
KrantzMwantepele: An Inspiring Journey
KrantzMwantepele's educational background and professional journey are characterized by dedication, innovation, and a commitment to knowledge sharing. As the founder and CEO of Koncept Group, he has garnered significant recognition for his achievements in digital media and marketing. Krantz's vision and creativity have earned him prestigious awards such as "Start-up of the Year 2016" and acknowledgment as one of the "TOP 50 Most Influential Young Tanzanians 2017."
An accomplished blogger, Krantz shares valuable insights and experiences that resonate with aspiring entrepreneurs and creatives worldwide. Through his blog, he has become a reliable source of knowledge and inspiration for industry professionals aiming to make a lasting impact. Moreover, his role as the General Secretary at the Tanzania Bloggers Network showcases his dedication to education and knowledge sharing.
Sustainability and environmental responsibility are integral to Krantz's values. As a respected UPG Sustainability Leader, he actively promotes sustainable business practices and advocates for responsible environmental stewardship. Currently pursuing an MBA in Artificial Intelligence at the esteemed Robert Kennedy College (Swiss), Krantz possesses strategic acumen and marketing expertise, propelling Koncept Group's success in the dynamic digital landscape.
Koncept Group: Elevating Brands and Empowering Businesses
Koncept Group is a leading conglomerate of companies offering exceptional services across various industries, including media, PR & digital marketing, technology, insurance, real estate, aviation, energy, agribusiness, and consumer electronics. The company's comprehensive range of services empowers businesses and individuals to thrive in today's competitive market.
The Media, PR, and Digital Marketing division at Koncept Group leverages strategic communication and creativity to amplify brand visibility and engagement. From captivating content to impactful media campaigns and innovative digital marketing strategies, their expert team delivers outstanding results.
The Technology Solutions division provides cutting-edge IT services, software development, and data analytics, enabling businesses to stay ahead of the curve and drive innovation in their operations.
In the realm of Insurance Services, Koncept Group offers comprehensive coverage options and risk management solutions, safeguarding businesses, property, and investments and ensuring uninterrupted operations.
A Visionary Leader and His Aspirations
KrantzMwantepele's aspiration for Koncept Group is to become a leading conglomerate of companies in Africa, providing innovative and high-quality services across various industries. The company aims to achieve this by expanding service offerings, growing the team, investing in technology, and opening new offices in different countries.
To achieve these goals, Koncept Group focuses on providing high-quality services tailored to each client's needs. Building strong client relationships, marketing their services effectively, and promoting a culture of innovation are also crucial aspects of their growth strategy.
The Importance of Employee Well-Being in Performance
Krantz emphasizes the significance of well-being in driving employee performance and overall organizational success. By prioritizing mental and physical health, leaders can foster higher employee engagement, job satisfaction, and creativity. A supportive work environment reduces absenteeism and turnover, enhances team collaboration, and promotes effective communication.
Continuing Growth and Development as a Leader
As a leader, Krantz believes in setting goals, seeking feedback, taking on new challenges, and staying updated on leadership principles through reading and attending workshops. He advocates for humility, authenticity, compassion, and ethical decision-making as essential traits for effective leadership.
Conclusion
KrantzMwantepele's journey as a visionary entrepreneur and the growth of Koncept Group exemplify the limitless possibilities of creativity, entrepreneurship, and digital media. With a focus on innovation, sustainable practices, and a client-centric approach, Koncept Group aims to redefine the boundaries of business excellence in Africa. As they continue to pursue their aspirations, Krantz and Koncept Group strive to make a positive impact on their clients, their team, and the broader community.
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adalidda · 3 years
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Illustration Photo: Plantation and production of coffee in Lam Dong Province, Viet Nam (credits: © ILO/Nguyễn ViệtThanh / Flickr Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 IGO License)
Bio Enterprises - Financing & Investments for SMEs in Developing countries
For Algeria, Ethiopia, Angola, Niger, Benin, The Gambia, Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, Burundi, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Cabo Verde, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Somalia, Central African Republic, Kenya, Chad, South Sudan, Comoros, Lesotho, Tanzania, Congo, Liberia, Togo, Côte d'Ivoire, Madagascar, Tunisia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Uganda, Djibouti, Mali, West Bank, Egypt, Mauritania, Yemen, Zambia, Eritrea, Morocco, Zimbabwe, eSwatini, Mozambique, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, Timor-Leste, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Vietnam, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Lao PDR, The Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Haiti, Honduras
The mission of the Belgian Investment Company for Developing countries (BIO) is to support a strong private sector in developing and emerging countries, to enable them to gain access to growth and sustainable development within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals.
SMEs are of the utmost importance for economic growth in developing countries. Because they create jobs, they are key actors in the fight against poverty. They are also instrumental in disseminating expertise and strengthening social cohesion by developing local value chains and by increasing government income.
BIO provides medium- to long-term financing and technical assistance that builds management capacity and accelerates the transfer of know-how. This is done with a strong emphasis on responsible development, ethical and transparent governance, and a strict commitment to social and environmental standards.
Amount: 1 million Euro - 15 million Euro
Focus
Existing enterprises in Agribusiness, Industry, Services to the population (i.e. health & education), Energy efficiency
Procedures to submit your funding request
BIO helps businesses flourish while at the same time introducing environmental, social and governance standards that attract additional sources of investment.
This is done with a variety of financial instruments, including equity, quasi-equity, loans and guarantees.
Investments can be made in local currency, which eliminates the risks related to foreign exchange fluctuations for client companies.
Any application must be accompanied by a business plan that includes:
A description of the business concept A presentation of products, clients, competitors, suppliers and the management team An investment plan and preliminary financing plan Profitability forecasts For existing companies, the financial history for a minimum of three years
Application Deadline: No deadline. You can apply any time.
Check more https://adalidda.com/posts/9eXNSuCLHCHSfhknp/bio-enterprises-financing-and-investments-for-smes-in
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newscheckz · 4 years
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25 young African agripreneurs advance to ‘boot camp’
New Post has been published on https://newscheckz.com/25-young-african-agripreneurs-advance-to-boot-camp/
25 young African agripreneurs advance to ‘boot camp’
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The final round offers young entrepreneurs in Africa’s agricultural sector the opportunity to pitch their agribusiness proposals online to a panel of experts and investors who will select the winners.
Twenty-five young African agripreneurs have advanced to the “boot camp” final round of the African Development Bank’s AgriPitch competition, stepping closer to a share of $120,000 in seed funding prizes, training and other benefits.
The final round offers young entrepreneurs in Africa’s agricultural sector the opportunity to pitch their agribusiness proposals online to a panel of experts and investors who will select the winners.
AgriPitch organizers received more than 2,500 applications and evaluated 605 proposals from 30 countries. The finalists, from 12 African nations, submitted promising proposals that best embraced the 2020 theme of “Driving Sustainable Nutrition and Gender Inclusivity in Africa’s Agri-Food Systems: Youth Agripreneurs Seize the Decade.”
Finalists, all aged under 35, were selected under the competition’s “Start Up,” “Mature Business” and “Women-Empowered Business” categories.
“It is encouraging to see that almost 62% of all AgriPitch 2020 applicants self-described as being women-led businesses or having women make up at least 50% of their management,” said Wambui Gichuri, the Bank’s Acting Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development.
“Word is spreading that AgriPitch is the competition where all qualified agripreneurs can get the training and support to grow their businesses,” she added.
AgriPitch is part of the African Development Bank’s fourth African Youth Agripreneurs Forum (AYAF), one of the continent’s most exciting platforms for African youth in the agriculture start-up scene – which kicked off online on 3 November and runs through to the AgriPitch winners’ ceremony on 17 November.
The finalists are now enrolled in the AYAF/AgriPitch online training platform, according to Edson Mpyisi, Coordinator of the Bank’s Enable Youth Program responsible for the event.
“In this two-week-long business development boot camp, AgriPitch competitors can attend virtual sessions on product development, revenue channel identification, logistics, marketing, business management, investment readiness, financing and other issues, led by trainers and coaches,” Mpyisi said. “The cash prizes may be the most ever awarded at AgriPitch, and the skills offered to all the finalists are invaluable,” he added.
In collaboration with partners, including UN Women, the African Leaders for Nutrition and the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa initiative, this year’s AYAF and AgriPitch competition selected finalists from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria, Benin, Tanzania, Cameroon, Mozambique, Guinea, Malawi, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
The finalists get automatic access to the AYAF webinar series. The general public can also register for the webinars, which feature speakers with expertise from across the development, nutrition, gender and agriculture sectors.
The first session on 3 November addressed Policies for sustainable nutrition and gender inclusivity. Remaining webinars are scheduled for:
10 November: Empowering youth and women in agricultural value chains to address nutrition
17 November: Strategic partnerships for equity in agriculture: Financing women, youth and nutrition.
The AgriPitch finals and winners’ ceremony will be held on 16 and 17 November. In addition to receiving seed funding prizes and post-competition mentoring, AgriPitch winners will be invited for the AYAF online DealRoom, which connects expansion-ready, youth-led African businesses with global investors. Companies selected for the AgriPitch Competition shortlist, but who didn’t make it to the competition, also qualify to join the AYAF/AgriPitch online DealRoom.
See who made the list of AgriPitch 2020 finalists: https://bit.ly/32yy8KH
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csrgood · 4 years
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Small Farms, Big Impact: How We're Building Thriving Communities Around the World Together
This past week, during the 75th (and first-ever virtual) UN General Assembly, AB InBev joined conversations around the world’s most pressing problems. In collaboration with industry, government and civil society leaders, we look for solutions and opportunities to address the economic impact of the pandemic, climate change’s increasing pressure on the global food system, and advocate for collaboration to accelerate progress.
Here at AB InBev, our beers are made from high quality, natural ingredients grown by more than 20,000 farms across 13 countries. Of these, nearly 2/3 are smallholder farmers in developing markets, where in many geographies means they would farm less than one hectare (or 2.47 acres) of land. These farms historically were only able to work enough land to meet their basic needs. However, with greater access to technology, resources, agricultural support and formal markets, their farms are now more productive and becoming more profitable.
“This is about more than just beer,” said AB InBev Chief Sustainability and Procurement Officer Tony Milikin. “AB InBev is committed to helping our farmers gain new skills, become better connected and gain financial empowerment, because it’s good for their families and the economic health of our shared communities, while securing the long-term viability of our local supply chains. Together we’re building a better, more resilient global food system – and company – for the future.”
Supporting smallholder farmers is just one commitment AB InBev has made as part of our ambitious 2025 Sustainability Goals and in support of the larger United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
While we know there is still work to do, this year, we are proud to have been featured in Fortune’s Change the World 2020 rankings for our work supporting farmers in our global supply chain through collaboration and innovation to deliver economic and environmental impact. This is the 6th year Fortune has published the Change the World List to celebrate companies and leaders that embrace corporate purpose and recognize how it can add value to business and society. Last year, AB InBev was featured for our innovative work in agriculture with BanQu.
“Along with our valued partners, we will continue to invest in and work with smallholder farmers to improve their livelihoods while ensuring the availability of high-quality local ingredients,” said Katie Hoard, AB InBev global director of agricultural innovation and sustainability. “Our partners’ expertise, shared values and resources allow us to jointly develop better solutions with more immediate impact.”
“If farming develops, our well-being will develop”
One of these like-minded organizations is TechnoServe, an international development nonprofit that connects small-scale farmers and entrepreneurs with private sector partners. Through the global partnership – and especially in response to COVID-19 - we've strengthened our support of smallholder farmers across the globe.
When the pandemic prevented our Ugandan barley farmers from accessing their usual village drying centers, our team on the ground worked with TechnoServe to bring portable dryers closer to farming communities to alleviate the need for travel while also maintaining the quality of the crop. Meanwhile, we continue to use SMS and radio communications to reach more farmers remotely with updates on weather patterns and guidance for the growing and harvest seasons.
The Ugandan farmers then sell their crops via safe, socially-distant digital payments through BanQu, world’s first non-cryptocurrency blockchain platform. A member of our 100+ Accelerator’s inaugural cohort, BanQu gives smallholder farmers an economic identity and a voice in global supply chains. 
Our Zambian Breweries team also uses BanQu to financially empower farmers producing cassava, a tuberous root used to brew local beers like Eagle Lager. With BanQu, we are able to ensure that farmers receive the right price for their crop and are paid securely through digital payments made almost immediately upon delivery of their crop. Additionally, to boost the quality of cassava grown in the region, our teams work with the government agricultural research institute to develop new, more disease resistant plant varieties to improve yields and income for not only the farmers we work with but the broader cassava industry in Zambia.
Another crop we commonly source from smallholder farmers is sorghum, a cereal grain that can also be used to brew beer in places where more traditional beer ingredients, like barley, do not grow well.  In Tanzania, for example, our Tanzania Breweries Limited team has established a pilot program and local partnership with the World Food Program and Farm to Market Alliance to increase production of sorghum while providing a more reliable source of income for 1,400 farmers. The program provides farmers with access to input credit, sorghum seeds, crop insurance, technical training and –most important – assures that their crops will be purchased at the end of the growing season.
“Access to reliable markets is one of the many barriers holding back smallholder farmers from breaking out of subsistence farming,” said WFP Tanzania Country Representative, Michael Dunford in an interview with Africa Agribusiness.
“While we are working with sorghum farmers to invest in increased production beyond household use, we also need to ensure commercial buyers such as Tanzania Breweries Limited are there to purchase the surplus, boosting the livelihood of farmers.”
Across the Atlantic Ocean, our farmers are helping boost the economy in northeastern Brazil, where unemployment numbers are high. Together with local governments, our AmBev team launched a project to create and distribute new products made from locally grown cassava. Three new beers were developed - Legitima, Nossa and Magnifica - each distinct to a northeastern state, using cassava sourced from 545 family farms in 36 towns across the three states. To date, over 5,000 farmworkers have found employment through the expansion of the cassava market and more than $1 million has been injected into the communities of Maranhão, Pernambuco and Ceará.
Our company purpose is to bring people together for a better world, and that starts with our farming communities. While we leverage our scale and local approach to strengthen markets opportunities for farmers and to help improve crop production, we know that we alone cannot solve the challenges facing smallholder agriculture. Now more than ever, we are committed to developing collaborative solutions that put farmers at the center. Our planet and our beer depend on it.
source: https://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/45846-Small-Farms-Big-Impact-How-We-re-Building-Thriving-Communities-Around-the-World-Together?tracking_source=rss
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panafricandaily · 7 years
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AFRICA BUSINESS INSIDER BRIEF
By Laurat Titilola Ogunjobi
As an African, or a descendant thereof, it is imperative to keep an eye on the latest developments, opportunities and means to build and develop prosperity in the continent. Although we are a diverse set of people, probably the most diverse, with a wide range of different languages, customs and regions, the continent of Africa is still the land of the “blacks.” That being said, there is no greater land that we can call home, or that we can feel the sense of ownership and belonging to. This is why as a child of Africa in the diaspora and on the soil, it’s important to stay updated an in tune with current developments.
There are quite a few portals and channels of information every child of Africa should be connected to. There you will find valuable information on locations, governments, institutions, and of course opportunities that are linked to the continents success. A few of those resources are provided later on in the article.
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According to the Africa Wealth Report by a South African firm, there are a little over 160,000 millionaires in the continent of Africa. Many of those millionaires are from countries that are north of the Sahara and are under the MENA category, but still we have quite a few in the East, West and South. Nigeria, Angola, Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa are amongst the few on the list of countries with growing millionaires.Following the trends and investment patterns of millionaires in these countries is pivotal to knowing how to tune in and become a part of that wealth growing process.
Data and research findings provided by the Africa Wealth Report stated that between the years of 2000 to 2013 the number of millionaires throughout the continent grew by more than 145%. The better news is, numbers are expected to increase. In this article I will provide you with some of the industries that are a part of Africa’s prosperity index. To encourage further independent development, I’m only going to name a few. The first on my list is;
Solar Power
As we all know, solar energy is one of Africa’s natural resources. Most countries on the continent bask in more than 300 days of solar energy in a year. Even with that, the electricity infrastructure in many parts of sub Saharan Africa is underdeveloped, making investment in solar power an exciting and lucrative venture. Off the Grid Electric and M-KOPA are two examples of solar power providers that are raking in millions.
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Agribusiness
Agriculture is the foundation to wealth building. According to the a World Bank report, Africa’s agribusiness industry is set to be worth 1 trillion USD by the year 2030. Kenya is leading in the dairy industry, supplying over 80% in the market of raw milk. Ghana and Senegal are also major importers of rice. As a whole, rice importation to Africa is valued 3.5 billion USD per year. Amongst these importers are business moguls from the content of Africa. For a list of Ghanaian importers, you may access that information here.
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FinTech
FinTech is when financial service markets merge with technology. The technology sector has continuously been a factor of exponential growth in the developed world. Mixing that up with financial services is sure to be lucrative. With financial technology platforms and mobile apps that are developed to fill in the gaps of staggering infrastructures, companies like Paystack in Nigeria, Snapscan and TopCheck in South Africa are examples on how the FinTech sector in Africa is a gold mine.
Entertainment
The movies and films industry has taken the continent of Africa by storm, and is speculated to continuing growing. Nollywood, Africa’s leading film industry, and Nigeria’s version of Hollywood has consistently broken local box office records for the last three years. For an example, “The Wedding Party” is the highest grossing African movie of our time. It produced over 400 million Naira (approximately 1 million USD) in less than 60 days after its release. Iroko has positioned itself as the Netflix of Africa, serving around 35 markets throughout the continent, and Filmhouse has opened Nigeria’s first IMAX theatre with locations through the country. Although the entertainment industry is underserved and underdeveloped throughout most African regions, this is exactly what savvy investors and inquiring business minds need to hear.
In closing, the list of African business opportunities continues to grow and is vast. There is something for everyone. From the telecommunications industry, to arts, entertainment and metal manufacturing, there are quite a few sectors to consider while seeking opportunities to build wealth in Africa. Keep in mind, underdevelopment is a watchword for wealth building. Underdevelopment coupled with open policies and emerging free trade zones are great stepping - stones. As these free trade zones and relationships to foster business opportunities continue to develop, we’re bound to see the Africa’s millionaire list grow. For a list of the ten top countries to start a business in Africa, you may go here. 
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For a comprehensive report on a list of business opportunities in Africa compiled by “The Economist,” you may also go here. Resources like, “Made In Africa Project” and “African Business Communities” which also runs the Africa Data portal are excellent sources for business data and information. You may also request a customized report suitable for your small to mid sized project or business idea, by contacting African owned Cush Consulting Group, an international marketing communications firm that engages in market research projects in the EMEA region. Additional information may be found on their web site or emailing them at [email protected] 
By Laurat Titilola Ogunjobi
Laurat Titilola Ogunjobi is a Barcelona based Consultant and business owner that runs a consultancy firm that works on educational, philanthropic and cultural initiatives.
This article made possible by:
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letscreateafricaorg · 5 years
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New post in LET'S CREATE AFRICA (L.C.A.): SCHOLARSHIPS/FELLOWSHIPS: [4/21, 11:38] Nelson Komba: RECEIVING APPLICATIONS FOR OUR FELLOWSHIP COSEF Fellowship program provides placement for undergraduates and graduates in East Africa in our portfolio companies to learn practical skills and hence become confident, reliable team players sought after by employers. The program is addressing the problem of critical skills gap in East Africa by equipping youth with life and work readiness skills needed in the job market. Eligibility The program is currently accepting applications from undergraduates or graduates who have pursued or are pursuing Diploma, Bachelors or Masters in Business Management, preferably Agribusiness Management, to work with our portfolio agro-processing company. Candidates should be based in Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania or Rwanda. Candidates should be proficient in English, both written and spoken. Interested? Submit in your covering letter and resume to [email protected]. The letter should answer the questions below; What skills and qualities will you bring to the company? What do you hope to gain from the company? For how long can you work with the company? (minimum 2 months) When are you available to start work? We shall then follow up with you once selected for an interview. Deadline for receiving applications is 5:00pm on 23rd April 2019. [4/21, 11:50] Nelson Komba: http://bit.ly/2XIj4VA [4/24, 21:19] Nelson Komba: http://bit.ly/2GDUIH8 [4/24, 21:19] Nelson Komba: Japanese Scholarship above [4/24, 21:20] Nelson Komba: Application begins by applying to the Embassy of Japan in Kenya [4/24, 21:27] Nelson Komba: http://bit.ly/2XE7zyH [4/24, 22:33] +254 715 750982: Are you a filmmaker from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania or Uganda who makes films for social change? Docubox, in partnership with our friends at Comic Relief: Red Nose Day is looking for ten fantasticfilmmakers to join us in authoring ten powerful short documentary films in their own unique voices. Each successful filmmaker will be given £10,000 of funding and be part of a week-long workshopdesigned to help you think through your ideas and set you off to a super-charged start. The films are to be based on any of these 4 issues; Mental Health Early Childhood Development Gender Justice Rights to safe and secure shelter and settlement To apply, go to our application portal here mydocubox.org/semastori [4/26, 18:42] Nelson Komba: http://bit.ly/2VwFNqg http://bit.ly/2L4s7in
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un-enfant-immature · 6 years
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IBM Africa and Hello Tractor pilot AI/blockchain agtech platform
Jake Bright Contributor
Jake Bright is a writer and author in New York City. He is co-author of The Next Africa.
More posts by this contributor
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IBM Research and agtech startup Hello Tractor have developed an AI and blockchain-driven platform for Africa’s farmers. The two companies will pilot the product in 2019 through an ongoing partnership co-financed by IBM.
Dubbed Digital Wallet in beta, the cloud-based service aims to support Hello Tractor’s business of connecting small-scale farmers to equipment and data analytics for better crop production.
“Agriculture is a complex industry that can have so many different variables. We���re bringing a decision tool to the Hello Tractor ecosystem powered by AI and blockchain,” Hello Tractor CEO Jehiel Oliver told TechCrunch.
The startup joined IBM Research to demo the new service at Startup Battlefield Africa in Lagos.
Available to Hello Tractor clients, the online platform will use a digital ledger and machine learning to capture, track, and share data, while “creating end-to-end trust and transparency across the agribusiness value chain,” according to an IBM release.
Digital Wallet will draw on remote and IoT-based weather-sensing methods and AI to help farmers determine crops and inputs, choose when to plant and optimize and predict crop yields.
The cloud-based dashboard also employs a blockchain ledger to improve multiple points of Hello Tractor’s business.
“We’re an agricultural technology company. Our platform connects farmers who need tractor services to tractor owners who own these assets as a business. We create that marketplace to bring supply and demand together,” said Oliver.
The demand stems from the 80 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s crops harvested without tractors or machinery and the 50 percent of the continent’s farmers who suffer post-harvest losses annually, according to IBM and the Food and Agricultural Organization.
IBM and Hello Tractor’s Digital Wallet will also loop in data from fleet owners regarding tractor use, track and predict repairs and servicing and build credit profiles to open bank financing for farmers.
Hello Tractor is a connecting service — neither the startup nor its farming clients own tractors. Founded in 2014, the venture began operations in Nigeria and has expanded into Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania and Bangladesh within the last year, according to its CEO. A for-profit entity, Hello Tractor has raised funding from private investors, DFI grants and a seed round.
The company currently generates revenue by selling the tractor-monitoring devices and software subscriptions for its app, according to Oliver. Hello Tractor doesn’t yet charge transactional fees for connecting tractors to farmers, “but we’ll be testing that next year,” he said.
The startup also plans to create broader revenue opportunities from data analytics.
“At this phase we focus primarily on mechanization, but coupling the insights being generated through that device with the IBM platform solutions specifically for agriculture can extend the value we offer our customers and…be monetized,” said Oliver.
He estimates the business of connecting small-scale farmers to tractors as a “multi-billion market” globally and pointed to Nigeria as the African nation with “the largest inventory of arable-uncultivated farmland,” 37 percent of the country, according to World Bank data.
IBM Research’s co-financing to build Digital Wallet does not include any equity stake in Hello Tractor, IBM confirmed.
The collaboration aligns with IBM’s global agricultural strategy, embedded largely in its Watson AI business platform and global agtech partnerships. As TechCrunch covered, IBM partnered with Kenyan agtech startup Twiga earlier this year to introduce to Twiga’s network of vendors a blockchain-enabled working capital platform.
IBM Research views the partnership “as scientific research collaboration,” according to VP Solomon Assefa.
“Through all its touch points — farmers, machinery, dealers, crop yields, data inputs — Hello Tractor is convening the whole agricultural ecosystem,” he said.
As discussed at Startup Battlefield Africa, Africa is shaping its own blockchain-focused startups and use cases — characterized more by utility than speculation. On the crypto-side, there were several 2018 ICOs, including remittance startup SurRemit’s $7 million token launch, payments venture Wala’s $1 million offering and one by South African solar energy startup Sun Exchange.
IBM Research and Hello Tractor teams will continue to build out the blockchain-enabled Digital Wallet on a lab, engineer and business level throughout 2019.
“We’re cultivating the partnership… including the executive and go-to-market side. You also have to focus on how you scale,” said Assefa.
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eximparadise · 1 year
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We are engaged in supplying cashews, beans, lentils, seeds, tea, coffee, Animal feed and timber all under-one-roof. Our policy is to get complete satisfaction of customers and not merely make profits in import and export business in Africa.
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Mark Lynas’ Inaccurate, Deceptive Promotions for Cornell Alliance for Science
Mark Lynas is a former journalist turned promotional advocate for genetically engineered foods and pesticides who makes inaccurate claims about those products from his perch at the Gates Foundation-funded Cornell Alliance for Science. Housed at Cornell University since 2014, the Cornell Alliance for Science is a public relations campaign that trains spokespeople and creates networks of influence, particularly in African countries, to promote acceptance of GMOs and agrichemicals.
Scientists, food experts say Lynas is wrong on science
Scientists and food policy experts have criticized Lynas for making inaccurate and unscientific statements in his efforts to promote agribusiness interests. As one example, academics panned a July 2020 article Lynas wrote for Cornell Alliance for Science claiming agroecology “risks harming the poor.” Critics described Lynas’ article as a “demagogic and non-scientific interpretation of a scientific paper” and a “really flawed analysis” that “erroneously conflates conservation ag with agroecology and then makes wild conclusions.” The agronomist Marc Corbeels, whose paper Lynas purported to describe in the article, said Lynas made “sweeping generalizations.” Marcus Taylor, a political ecologist at Queen’s University, called for a retraction; “the right thing to do would be to withdraw your very flawed piece that confuses basic elements of agricultural strategies,” Taylor tweeted to Lynas. He described the article as “pure ideology” and “an embarrassment for someone who wants to claim to be ‘scientific’.” More critiques from scientists and policy experts about Lynas’ work (emphases ours):
“I can unequivocally state that there is no scientific consensus about GMO safety and that most of (Lynas’) statements are false,” wrote David Schubert, PhD, Head, Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory & Professor at The Salk Institute, in a letter to the San Diego Union Tribune.
“Here are some of the incorrect or misleading points that Lynas makes about the science or development of GE,” wrote Doug Gurian-Sherman, PhD, former senior scientist, Union of Concerned Scientists. “Instead of debating or discussing the actual science, Lynas casts aspersions and resorts to relying on authority rather than data or research.”
Lynas’ claims about the certainty of GMO safety are “unscientific, illogical and absurd,” according to Belinda Martineau, PhD, a genetic engineer who helped develop the first GMO food (see letter to NYT and Biotech Salon).
In a review of Lynas’ book Seeds of Science, the anthropologist Glenn Davis Stone described the book as an “amateurish rehash of common industry talking points.” 
“The laundry list of what Mark Lynas got wrong about both GMOs and science is extensive, and has been refuted point by point by some of the world’s leading agroecologists and biologists,” wrote Eric Holt-Giménez, PhD, former director Food First, in the Huffington Post.
Mark Lynas has “made a career out of … demonization,” wrote Timothy A. Wise, former director of research at the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University.
“Lynas’ narrative is demonstrably false,” according to a 2018 press release from the African Centre for Biodiversity, a South-Africa based group.
“Mark Lynas’ claims display deep scientific ignorance, or an active effort to manufacture doubt. You should ignore him,” tweeted Pete Myers, PhD, chief scientist at Environmental Health Sciences, publisher of EHN.org.
‘Manipulative, misleading and unethical’ tactics
Africa-based groups say Lynas has repeatedly misrepresented facts to promote a political agenda. According to a December 2018 report by the African Center for Biodiversity, Lynas and the Cornell Alliance for Science used the images of African farmers without their knowledge and consent, exploiting the images in misleading ways to claim farmers need GMOs.
Lynas used this image of a Tanzanian farmer, Mrs. R, out of context and without her permission.
As one example, Lynas posted this image of a Tanzanian farmer, Mrs. R, without permission and out of context, suggesting she is a victim of “global injustice.” Mrs. R is in fact a successful farmer who champions agroecological practices and makes a good living, according to the ACBio report. She asked Lynas to remove her image, but it remains on his twitter feed. ACBio said in its report that Lynas’ tactics “crossed an ethical red line and must cease.” The food sovereignty group also said in a press release that Lynas has a “history of mischief-making in Tanzania” for the agricultural biotech industry lobby. “His visits to the country are well organized by the lobby, using platforms such as the regular meetings of the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (OFAB), where the media are in attendance to report on his talks. His attacks have principally been directed at the country’s biosafety regulations, particularly its precautionary approach and strict liability provisions.” The Alliance for Food Sovereignty (AFSA), a coalition representing 35 farmer and consumer groups across Africa, has also accused Lynas of promoting “false promises, misrepresentation, and alternative facts.” In a 2018 article, they described Lynas as a “fly-in pundit” whose “contempt for African people, custom and tradition is unmistakable.”
Pesticide messaging based on industry talking points, not science
Another example of inaccurate reporting by Lynas is his 2017 article for the Cornell Alliance for Science attacking the World Health Organization’s cancer agency for reporting glyphosate is a probable human carcinogen. Lynas claimed the expert panel report was a “witch hunt” and an “obvious perversion of both science and natural justice,” orchestrated by people overcome with “hysteria and emotion.” He claimed glyphosate is the “most benign chemical in world farming.” A fact check by U.S. Right to Know found that Lynas made the same misleading and erroneous arguments and relied on the same two flawed sources as a blog posted a month earlier by the American Council on Science and Health, a group Monsanto was paying to help defend glyphosate and other agrichemical products. In pushing his case that “activist groups abused science and sidelined evidence-based policy in the glyphosate saga,” Lynas not only relied on industry arguments and sources, but also ignored substantial evidence, widely reported in the media, that Monsanto manipulated the science and regulatory reviews on glyphosate for decades using covert tactics including ghostwriting studies and articles, killing studies, pushing dubious science, attacking scientists and strong-arming regulatory agencies in order to protect its profits from glyphosate-based products.
Promoted by, tied to pesticide industry propaganda network
Agrichemical companies and their public relations operatives frequently promote Mark Lynas and his work. See for example Monsanto’s website, many promotional tweets by pesticide industry trade groups, lobby groups, pro-industry academics and writers, and various Monsanto employees, and the dozens of Lynas’ articles promoted by Genetic Literacy Project, a propaganda group that partners with Monsanto. Lynas and Cornell Alliance for Science also collaborate with other key players in the agrichemical industry’s lobbying and propaganda network.
Advises Monsanto partner group Sense About Science
A confidential Monsanto PR plan dated February 2015 suggested Sense About Science as a group that could help lead the industry’s response in the media to discredit the WHO cancer report about glyphosate. Lynas serves on the advisory council of Sense About Science. The Intercept has reported in 2016 that “Sense About Science does not always disclose when its sources on controversial matters are scientists with ties to the industries under examination,” and “is known to take positions that buck scientific consensus or dismiss emerging evidence of harm.” Sense About Science partners with the Cornell Alliance for Science to offer “statistical consultation for journalists” via the group’s director Trevor Butterworth, who has been described by journalists as a “chemical industry public relations writer.” Related: Monsanto relied on these “partners” to attack top cancer scientists
Aligned with climate science skeptic to launch pro-fracking, pro-nuke, GMO “movement”
Lynas calls himself a co-founder of the “movement” of “ecomodernism,” a corporate-aligned strain of “environmentalism” that the British writer George Monbiot describes as “take no political action to protect the natural world.” The eco-modernists promote fracking, nuclear power and agrichemical products as ecological solutions. According to eco-modernist leaders Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger of the Breakthrough Institute, energy technologies favored by the oil billionaire Koch brothers “are doing far more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions than the ones favored by the climate-apocalyptic Left.” At a failed launch event for ecomodernism in September 2015, Lynas aligned himself with Owen Paterson, a prominent climate science denialist in the UK who slashed funding for efforts to prepare the country for global warming when he was the environment secretary. The same month, Paterson spoke at Cornell Alliance for Science, where he promoted GMOs in a hyperbolic speech filled with unsupportable claims, and accused environmentalists of allowing children to die in Africa. “Billion dollar green campaigns kill poor children,” touted a headline reporting on Paterson’s Cornell speech from the  American Council on Science and Health, a front group Monsanto was paying to defend its products.
Mark Lynas background
Lynas authored several books on climate change (one of which was recognized by the Royal Society) before he attracted worldwide attention with his “conversion” from an anti-GMO activist to a promoter of the technology with a widely-promoted 2013 speech at Oxford that critics have described as misleading. Later that year Lynas became a fellow at Cornell University Office of International Programs at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and began working for the Cornell Alliance for Science, a communications campaign developed in 2014 to promote GMOs with funding from the Gates Foundation. See: Why is Cornell University hosting a GMO propaganda campaign? Lynas identified himself as the “political director” for Cornell Alliance for Science in a 2015 New York Times op-ed. The Cornell Alliance for Science does not explain what its political agenda is, but the group’s messaging and goals closely track the agrichemical industry’s commercial agenda: to increase acceptance of genetically engineered crops and pesticides around the world, particularly in Africa.
Mysterious Lynas PR push, and leaked EuropaBio memo
The massive media coverage of Lynas’ pro-GMO conversion in 2013 raised suspicions that an industry PR campaign was helping to elevate him behind the scenes. A leaked 2011 memo from an industry PR firm – describing plans to recruit high profile “ambassadors” to lobby for GMO acceptance – heightened suspicions of industry backing because the document specifically named Lynas. He has said the group never approached him. According to a Guardian report, EuropaBio, a trade group whose members include Monsanto and Bayer, planned to recruit PR ambassadors to help decision makers “rethink Europe’s position on GM crops.” The ambassadors would not be paid directly but would receive travel expenses and “dedicated communications support” from industry funding. The PR firm’s operative rep claimed to “have interest from” Lynas, among others, in the ambassador role. Lynas denied having any contact with them. “I have not been asked to be an ambassador, nor would I accept such a request if asked,” he told the Guardian.
Gates Foundation, GMOs & Monsanto
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the principal funder for the Cornell Alliance for Science with $12 million in grants, has been criticized for its agricultural development funding strategies that favor corporate agribusiness agendas. A 2014 analysis from the research group GRAIN found that the Gates Foundation spent most of its agricultural development funds “to feed the poor in Africa” — nearly $3 billion spent over a decade — to fund scientists and researchers in wealthy nations. The money also helps buy political influence across Africa, GRAIN reported. A 2016 report by the advocacy group Global Justice Now concluded that the Gates Foundation’s agricultural development strategies are “exacerbating global inequality and entrenching corporate power globally.” The Gates Foundation massively expanded its funding for agricultural projects about a decade ago when Rob Horsch, Monsanto’s former head of international development joined the foundation’s agricultural development leadership team. Lynas’ new book “Seeds of Science” spends a chapter (“The True History of Monsanto”) trying to explain some of the corporation’s past sins and lauding Rob Horsch at length. It spends another chapter (“Africa: Let Them Eat Organic Baby Corn”) arguing that Africans need agrichemical industry products to feed themselves.
Criticisms of the Gates Foundation’s colonialist approach to Africa
Seeds of Neo-Colonialism: Why the GMO Promoters Get it So Wrong About Africa, statement by the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa, 5/7/2018
Are Gates and Rockefeller using their influence to set agenda in poor states?“Study identifies Bill and Melinda Gates and Rockefeller foundations among rich donors that are close to government and may be skewing priorities,” by John Vidal, The Guardian, 1/15/2016
Philanthropic Power and Development. Who shapes the agenda? by Jens Martens and Karolin Seitz, 2015 report (page 48).
Philanthrocapitalism: The Gates Foundation’s African programmes are not charity, by Philip L Bereano, Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington, Third World Resurgence, 2017
How Bill Gates is Helping KFC Take Over Africa, by Alex Park, Mother Jones, 1/10/2014
Gates Foundation’s Seed Agenda in Africa ‘Another Form of Colonialism,’ Warns Protesters, by Lauren McCauley, Common Dreams, 3/23/2015
Gates Foundation is spearheading neoliberal plunder of African agriculture, by Colin Todhunter, The Ecologist, 1/21/2016
How does the Gates Foundation spend its money to feed the world?GRAIN report, 2014
Bill Gates is on a mission to sell GMOs to Africa, but he’s not telling the whole truth, by Stacy Malkan, Alternet, 3/24/2016
The post Mark Lynas’ Inaccurate, Deceptive Promotions for Cornell Alliance for Science appeared first on U.S. Right to Know.
https://www.forlawfirmsonly.com/mark-lynas-inaccurate-deceptive-promotions-for-cornell-alliance-for-science/
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eabc1234-blog · 5 years
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Top Investment Opportunities in Tanzania 2020
Tanzania is a thriving hub of East African markets and its rapidly joining the ranks of its neighbors, such as Kenya, in revitalizing its economy.  This growth has resulted in a rush as many investment opportunities emerge in the country. If you are looking for an investment opening in Tanzania, the following are some of the opportunities you can exploit;
Logistics and Warehousing
Tanzania lags behind in its road, railway, and airway infrastructure. However, the government has been working to uplift this situation with increased investments in the sector. This is done by engaging international companies to create state of the art road networks which are strategically linked to railways lines. The networks support both the sea and dry ports. Through company registration in Tanzania you can provide legal logistics and warehousing in the country. Transportation of cargo in Tanzania is lucrative due to the active port and the need to supply landlocked countries such as Uganda and Rwanda.  An investment in the coordination of logistics and warehousing is a promising venture in Tanzania in 2020.
Agribusiness
Another good investment is agribusiness in Tanzania. The country has thriving agriculture that is split between food crops and cash crops. However, marketing these crops has been a challenge for many farmers. Therefore, closing this barrier is an opportunity that can be exploited successfully. The market for many products in Tanzania is available locally, where it is sold in urban areas. You can also supply the international market through exports, which are well regulated in Tanzania.  Lucrative opportunities exist in chicken, dairy and beef cattle, cashew nuts, cloves, coffee, and fruits.
Rental Services
Tanzania thrives with a very communal culture that is still reliving the famous ujamaa or socialist system. Remnants of this culture are seen in the close association of people in ceremonies, music concerts, religious and political gatherings, and even sports. This can be exploited by setting up rental services focused on events management and facilities supplies. These include public address systems, events, tents and chairs, MCs, among others. Company registration in Tanzania provides you with a license to organize for events which will allow access to the thriving market.
Tourism and Travel
Tanzania is a tourism hub in East Africa, especially supplied by unique attractions. You can provide traveling services for tourists to these centers and reap the associated services such as accommodation, promotion, and booking services. The tourism sites include the Serengeti National Park, Mt Kilimanjaro, and the Ngorongoro Conservatory, among others. Tourism is well established in the country, thus presenting numerous niches that you can invest in 2020. Meeting the needs of tourists, both local and international is a viable investment in Tanzania that can be easily tapped by providing quality travel, accommodation, and reliable booking services in the country.
Clean Water Services
Another lucrative investment in Tanzania is providing clean drinking water in the country's residential areas. Tanzania is grappling with the lack of clean drinking water, which means that its growing urban population is undersupplied. The drainage systems in the country have rendered many sources unhygienic due to contamination. Therefore, if you organize on how water can be economically ferried from clean sources, purified and supplied to residents, you are in for a profit. Water is a basic need that is consumed in huge amounts daily. The residents pay for transport, purification, and storage, which can be done economically in huge amounts. As the governments close in on the purification of public supplies, 2020 may be just your year in providing clean water in Tanzania.
Food Processing
The thriving agricultural industry is complemented by food processing. In Tanzania, processed food is taking hold in urban centers due to costs and storage. Many people do not shy away from mildly processed food hence creating a lucrative market. Processing food makes it easy to break bulk, package, and price. Your customers will mostly be retail and wholesale business and sometimes individual customers if you open a retail center. This opportunity allows you to reap high margins from buying raw food from the farms and transforming it into the consumer market. Most farmers lack the technical know-how or capital to dub in processing. Many businesses will gladly outsource this service to focus on their core business.
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cryptswahili · 6 years
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IBM Africa and Hello Tractor pilot AI/blockchain agtech platform
Jake Bright Contributor
Jake Bright is a writer and author in New York City. He is co-author of The Next Africa.
More posts by this contributor
Africa Roundup: Terragon’s Asia acquisition, Twiga Foods’ $10M raise, SimbaPay’s China payment service
Nigerian logistics startup Kobo360 raises $6M, expands in Africa
IBM Research and agtech startup Hello Tractor have developed an AI and blockchain-driven platform for Africa’s farmers. The two companies will pilot the product in 2019 through an ongoing partnership co-financed by IBM.
Dubbed Digital Wallet in beta, the cloud-based service aims to support Hello Tractor’s business of connecting small-scale farmers to equipment and data analytics for better crop production.
“Agriculture is a complex industry that can have so many different variables. We’re bringing a decision tool to the Hello Tractor ecosystem powered by AI and blockchain,” Hello Tractor CEO Jehiel Oliver told TechCrunch.
The startup joined IBM Research to demo the new service at Startup Battlefield Africa in Lagos.
Available to Hello Tractor clients, the online platform will use a digital ledger and machine learning to capture, track, and share data, while “creating end-to-end trust and transparency across the agribusiness value chain,” according to an IBM release.
Digital Wallet will draw on remote and IoT-based weather-sensing methods and AI to help farmers determine crops and inputs, choose when to plant and optimize and predict crop yields.
The cloud-based dashboard also employs a blockchain ledger to improve multiple points of Hello Tractor’s business.
“We’re an agricultural technology company. Our platform connects farmers who need tractor services to tractor owners who own these assets as a business. We create that marketplace to bring supply and demand together,” said Oliver.
The demand stems from the 80 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s crops harvested without tractors or machinery and the 50 percent of the continent’s farmers who suffer post-harvest losses annually, according to IBM and the Food and Agricultural Organization.
IBM and Hello Tractor’s Digital Wallet will also loop in data from fleet owners regarding tractor use, track and predict repairs and servicing and build credit profiles to open bank financing for farmers.
Hello Tractor is a connecting service — neither the startup nor its farming clients own tractors. Founded in 2014, the venture began operations in Nigeria and has expanded into Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania and Bangladesh within the last year, according to its CEO. A for-profit entity, Hello Tractor has raised funding from private investors, DFI grants and a seed round.
The company currently generates revenue by selling the tractor-monitoring devices and software subscriptions for its app, according to Oliver. Hello Tractor doesn’t yet charge transactional fees for connecting tractors to farmers, “but we’ll be testing that next year,” he said.
The startup also plans to create broader revenue opportunities from data analytics.
“At this phase we focus primarily on mechanization, but coupling the insights being generated through that device with the IBM platform solutions specifically for agriculture can extend the value we offer our customers and…be monetized,” said Oliver.
He estimates the business of connecting small-scale farmers to tractors as a “multi-billion market” globally and pointed to Nigeria as the African nation with “the largest inventory of arable-uncultivated farmland,” 37 percent of the country, according to World Bank data.
IBM Research’s co-financing to build Digital Wallet does not include any equity stake in Hello Tractor, IBM confirmed.
The collaboration aligns with IBM’s global agricultural strategy, embedded largely in its Watson AI business platform and global agtech partnerships. As TechCrunch covered, IBM partnered with Kenyan agtech startup Twiga earlier this year to introduce to Twiga’s network of vendors a blockchain-enabled working capital platform.
IBM Research views the partnership “as scientific research collaboration,” according to VP Solomon Assefa.
“Through all its touch points — farmers, machinery, dealers, crop yields, data inputs — Hello Tractor is convening the whole agricultural ecosystem,” he said.
As discussed at Startup Battlefield Africa, Africa is shaping its own blockchain-focused startups and use cases — characterized more by utility than speculation. On the crypto-side, there were several 2018 ICOs, including remittance startup SurRemit’s $7 million token launch, payments venture Wala’s $1 million offering and one by South African solar energy startup Sun Exchange.
IBM Research and Hello Tractor teams will continue to build out the blockchain-enabled Digital Wallet on a lab, engineer and business level throughout 2019.
“We’re cultivating the partnership… including the executive and go-to-market side. You also have to focus on how you scale,” said Assefa.
[Telegram Channel | Original Article ]
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adalidda · 3 years
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Illustration Photo: A worker operates a seed dressing machine at Aminata Quality Seeds and Consultancy warehouse in Kwedizinga, Tanzania (credits: CIMMYT/Kipenz Films / Flickr Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0))
Pitch AgriHack 2021 for Young African Innovators in the Agriculture sector
This seventh edition of Pitch AgriHack invites African businesses to pitch their approach to driving technological innovation in the agriculture sector. Generation Africa, a thematic platform of the AGRF will host the competition, which is sponsored by global development organization Heifer International.
The competition provides cash prizes to innovators driving increased use of technology and job creation across the agricultural sector in Africa.
The open competition portion of Pitch AgriHack 2021 will support companies that are driving innovation in agriculture across three categories with prizes totaling US$45,000:
Early-stage, Mature/Growth-stage, Women-led agribusiness
A fourth invite-only category, known as the AYuTe Africa Challenge, sponsored by Heifer International, will award up to US$1.5 million in grants to scalable ventures that are already generating measurable impact for Africa’s smallholder farmers.
Six winners will be selected from the open-application categories and two winners from the invite-only AYuTe Africa Challenge category. The winners will be announced at the AGRF Summit which takes place September 6-10 in Nairobi.
Top contestants will receive a one-day boot camp in preparation for their final pitches, with winners receiving continued support as they develop and grow their enterprises.
Application Deadline: August 16, 2021
Check more https://adalidda.com/posts/7dHv2Tz3KgoXA4AEi/pitch-agrihack-2021-for-young-african-innovators-in-the
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fmservers · 6 years
Text
IBM Africa and Hello Tractor pilot AI/blockchain agtech platform
Jake Bright Contributor
Jake Bright is a writer and author in New York City. He is co-author of The Next Africa.
More posts by this contributor
Africa Roundup: Terragon’s Asia acquisition, Twiga Foods’ $10M raise, SimbaPay’s China payment service
Nigerian logistics startup Kobo360 raises $6M, expands in Africa
IBM Research and agtech startup Hello Tractor have developed an AI and blockchain-driven platform for Africa’s farmers. The two companies will pilot the product in 2019 through an ongoing partnership co-financed by IBM.
Dubbed Digital Wallet in beta, the cloud-based service aims to support Hello Tractor’s business of connecting small-scale farmers to equipment and data analytics for better crop production.
“Agriculture is a complex industry that can have so many different variables. We’re bringing a decision tool to the Hello Tractor ecosystem powered by AI and blockchain,” Hello Tractor CEO Jehiel Oliver told TechCrunch.
The startup joined IBM Research to demo the new service at Startup Battlefield Africa in Lagos.
Available to Hello Tractor clients, the online platform will use a digital ledger and machine learning to capture, track, and share data, while “creating end-to-end trust and transparency across the agribusiness value chain,” according to an IBM release.
Digital Wallet will draw on remote and IoT-based weather-sensing methods and AI to help farmers determine crops and inputs, choose when to plant and optimize and predict crop yields.
The cloud-based dashboard also employs a blockchain ledger to improve multiple points of Hello Tractor’s business.
“We’re an agricultural technology company. Our platform connects farmers who need tractor services to tractor owners who own these assets as a business. We create that marketplace to bring supply and demand together,” said Oliver.
The demand stems from the 80 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s crops harvested without tractors or machinery and the 50 percent of the continent’s farmers who suffer post-harvest losses annually, according to IBM and the Food and Agricultural Organization.
IBM and Hello Tractor’s Digital Wallet will also loop in data from fleet owners regarding tractor use, track and predict repairs and servicing and build credit profiles to open bank financing for farmers.
Hello Tractor is a connecting service — neither the startup nor its farming clients own tractors. Founded in 2014, the venture began operations in Nigeria and has expanded into Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania and Bangladesh within the last year, according to its CEO. A for-profit entity, Hello Tractor has raised funding from private investors, DFI grants and a seed round.
The company currently generates revenue by selling the tractor-monitoring devices and software subscriptions for its app, according to Oliver. Hello Tractor doesn’t yet charge transactional fees for connecting tractors to farmers, “but we’ll be testing that next year,” he said.
The startup also plans to create broader revenue opportunities from data analytics.
“At this phase we focus primarily on mechanization, but coupling the insights being generated through that device with the IBM platform solutions specifically for agriculture can extend the value we offer our customers and…be monetized,” said Oliver.
He estimates the business of connecting small-scale farmers to tractors as a “multi-billion market” globally and pointed to Nigeria as the African nation with “the largest inventory of arable-uncultivated farmland,” 37 percent of the country, according to World Bank data.
IBM Research’s co-financing to build Digital Wallet does not include any equity stake in Hello Tractor, IBM confirmed.
The collaboration aligns with IBM’s global agricultural strategy, embedded largely in its Watson AI business platform and global agtech partnerships. As TechCrunch covered, IBM partnered with Kenyan agtech startup Twiga earlier this year to introduce to Twiga’s network of vendors a blockchain-enabled working capital platform.
IBM Research views the partnership “as scientific research collaboration,” according to VP Solomon Assefa.
“Through all its touch points — farmers, machinery, dealers, crop yields, data inputs — Hello Tractor is convening the whole agricultural ecosystem,” he said.
As discussed at Startup Battlefield Africa, Africa is shaping its own blockchain-focused startups and use cases — characterized more by utility than speculation. On the crypto-side, there were several 2018 ICOs, including remittance startup SurRemit’s $7 million token launch, payments venture Wala’s $1 million offering and one by South African solar energy startup Sun Exchange.
IBM Research and Hello Tractor teams will continue to build out the blockchain-enabled Digital Wallet on a lab, engineer and business level throughout 2019.
“We’re cultivating the partnership… including the executive and go-to-market side. You also have to focus on how you scale,” said Assefa.
Via David Riggs https://techcrunch.com
0 notes
williamsjoan · 6 years
Text
IBM Africa and Hello Tractor pilot AI/blockchain agtech platform
Jake Bright Contributor
Jake Bright is a writer and author in New York City. He is co-author of The Next Africa.
More posts by this contributor
Africa Roundup: Terragon’s Asia acquisition, Twiga Foods’ $10M raise, SimbaPay’s China payment service
Nigerian logistics startup Kobo360 raises $6M, expands in Africa
IBM Research and agtech startup Hello Tractor have developed an AI and blockchain-driven platform for Africa’s farmers. The two companies will pilot the product in 2019 through an ongoing partnership co-financed by IBM.
Dubbed Digital Wallet in beta, the cloud-based service aims to support Hello Tractor’s business of connecting small-scale farmers to equipment and data analytics for better crop production.
“Agriculture is a complex industry that can have so many different variables. We’re bringing a decision tool to the Hello Tractor ecosystem powered by AI and blockchain,” Hello Tractor CEO Jehiel Oliver told TechCrunch.
The startup joined IBM Research to demo the new service at Startup Battlefield Africa in Lagos.
Available to Hello Tractor clients, the online platform will use a digital ledger and machine learning to capture, track, and share data, while “creating end-to-end trust and transparency across the agribusiness value chain,” according to an IBM release.
Digital Wallet will draw on remote and IoT-based weather-sensing methods and AI to help farmers determine crops and inputs, choose when to plant and optimize and predict crop yields.
The cloud-based dashboard also employs a blockchain ledger to improve multiple points of Hello Tractor’s business.
“We’re an agricultural technology company. Our platform connects farmers who need tractor services to tractor owners who own these assets as a business. We create that marketplace to bring supply and demand together,” said Oliver.
The demand stems from the 80 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s crops harvested without tractors or machinery and the 50 percent of the continent’s farmers who suffer post-harvest losses annually, according to IBM and the Food and Agricultural Organization.
IBM and Hello Tractor’s Digital Wallet will also loop in data from fleet owners regarding tractor use, track and predict repairs and servicing and build credit profiles to open bank financing for farmers.
Hello Tractor is a connecting service — neither the startup nor its farming clients own tractors. Founded in 2014, the venture began operations in Nigeria and has expanded into Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania and Bangladesh within the last year, according to its CEO. A for-profit entity, Hello Tractor has raised funding from private investors, DFI grants and a seed round.
The company currently generates revenue by selling the tractor-monitoring devices and software subscriptions for its app, according to Oliver. Hello Tractor doesn’t yet charge transactional fees for connecting tractors to farmers, “but we’ll be testing that next year,” he said.
The startup also plans to create broader revenue opportunities from data analytics.
“At this phase we focus primarily on mechanization, but coupling the insights being generated through that device with the IBM platform solutions specifically for agriculture can extend the value we offer our customers and…be monetized,” said Oliver.
He estimates the business of connecting small-scale farmers to tractors as a “multi-billion market” globally and pointed to Nigeria as the African nation with “the largest inventory of arable-uncultivated farmland,” 37 percent of the country, according to World Bank data.
IBM Research’s co-financing to build Digital Wallet does not include any equity stake in Hello Tractor, IBM confirmed.
The collaboration aligns with IBM’s global agricultural strategy, embedded largely in its Watson AI business platform and global agtech partnerships. As TechCrunch covered, IBM partnered with Kenyan agtech startup Twiga earlier this year to introduce to Twiga’s network of vendors a blockchain-enabled working capital platform.
IBM Research views the partnership “as scientific research collaboration,” according to VP Solomon Assefa.
“Through all its touch points — farmers, machinery, dealers, crop yields, data inputs — Hello Tractor is convening the whole agricultural ecosystem,” he said.
As discussed at Startup Battlefield Africa, Africa is shaping its own blockchain-focused startups and use cases — characterized more by utility than speculation. On the crypto-side, there were several 2018 ICOs, including remittance startup SurRemit’s $7 million token launch, payments venture Wala’s $1 million offering and one by South African solar energy startup Sun Exchange.
IBM Research and Hello Tractor teams will continue to build out the blockchain-enabled Digital Wallet on a lab, engineer and business level throughout 2019.
“We’re cultivating the partnership… including the executive and go-to-market side. You also have to focus on how you scale,” said Assefa.
IBM Africa and Hello Tractor pilot AI/blockchain agtech platform published first on https://timloewe.tumblr.com/
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