Konga, Nigeria’s e-commerce firm aims to transform agriculture in Nigeria by making use of e-commerce to reach rural farmers so they can have better access to farm inputs at affordable rates.
To achieve this feat, Konga partnered with UKAid-funded Frontier Technology Livestreaming for easy access to rural farmers across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria.
The alliance with the UKAid Frontier Technology Livestreaming was formed in 2016, intended to help innovators make use of frontier technologies to the biggest development challenges.
The drive started in March 2019, as a result, Konga is regarded as the most trusted retail stakeholder in Nigeria. According to a statement by Frontier Technology Livestreaming, Konga is expected to deploy its diverse assets in analyzing the supply chain issues which has affected the productivity of rural smallholder farmers in Nigeria. These assets include deploying its time and access to market agricultural inputs as well as their pricing and quality of these goods.
Konga is expected to leverage its e-Commerce engine, its Central Bank of Nigeria approved payments system, KongaPay, huge technology backbone, advanced distribution capabilities, the wide network of branches across Nigeria via its logistics outfit.
The e-Commerce giant emerged as the technology partner for the project after an exhaustive selection process. The agricultural sector is the source of livelihood for around 70% of the rural populace. As a result, it is getting much-needed innovative technological support through Konga.
The Nigerian agricultural sector has long been faced with reduced yield due to inadequate use of modern inputs by farmers, poor delivery times, and insufficient information on prices and availability.
About 80% of rural farmers encounter this challenge, most of which are small-scale farmers who struggle with low productivity resulting in massive reductions in income.
Besides, these farmers are usually excluded from the formal sector making it difficult to access agricultural credits or facilities.
Therefore, to transform this market, Konga is bringing its arsenal of technological competencies to implement.
Specifically, Konga simplifies access to agricultural inputs for poor small-scale farmers to buy online to meet the demands government and other associated agencies could not satisfy.
Moreover, Konga simplifies its platform for easy listing and buying of agricultural goods and inputs by farmers in hard-to-reach, under-served, and far-flung locations in Nigeria. The logistics are offered through KXpress and leveraging on its secured payment through KongaPay within the ecosystem.
The Konga platform is open to rural farmers with low internet connectivity, allowing them to buy inputs from various agro-dealers and suppliers at fair prices with pre and post-pay options. With the initiative, Konga has attained a commendable feat recording more than 7000 website visits, onboarding 12 merchants, and delivered lots of orders.
In addition, farmers can leverage the e-commerce platform to reach a bigger audience of potential buyers of their products by setting up and listing their products on the platform.
Nick Imudia, Co-Chief Executive Officer at Konga Group, described his experience from the project: ‘‘Through this landmark partnership between Konga and Frontier Technology Livestreaming, we expect to play a central role in not only empowering but also positively changing the narrative for rural farmers across Nigeria. The world as a whole has been making progress towards improved food security and we cannot deny the crucial role that agriculture plays in the process of overall national development.”
He added that: “Rural farmers are key to the attainment of the feat. However, they are faced with many challenges that prevent them from scaling. Konga will provide the required assets for the achievement of the objectives while Frontier Technology Livestreaming will bring governance, essential innovation, and programme management expertise to execute the project. “
