Hot startup of the month: Cameroon's Agrix Tech

Climate change is fueling an upsurge of crop pests in Africa and if not well managed these insect pests could cut crop production by roughly half.

According to a study by the Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International, African farmers lose an estimated 49% of expected total crop yield per annum – the highest in the world.

Furthermore, researchers argue that global warming boosts population and insect appetite, and fastens the metabolic rate of insect pests, thereby causing them to consume more.

To help African farmers tackle crop pests and plant diseases from their source, as well as assist farmers in getting access to finance, Cameroonian-based startup Agrix Tech believes it has the solution.

"At Agrix Tech, we help farmers to get technical knowledge to assist them to implement a better crop disease control plan on their farms. Moreover, using its AI [artificial intelligence] capabilities, the app then assists farmers to get automated business plans that gets them access to finance," said Adamou Nchange Kouotou, Agrix Tech co-founder and CEO in an interview with Connecting Africa.

"We help small-scale farmers transition from subsistence farming to commercial farming and maximize their profit," Kouotou added.

Established in 2018, Agrix Tech's technology not only helps detect plant diseases and offers preventative measures, but the company also helps farmers get access to loans from different financial institutions.

Three-part strategy

Agrix Tech's business involves three elements – firstly, Cameroonian farmers can download the app and get educated on the important skill to adopt a better crop disease management strategy for their farm and therefore become more productive.

Using the app, farmers can scan unhealthy crops and with a recorded video automatically analyze them using machine learning techniques, and then farmers are given treatment recommendations.

Agrix Tech is working with 1,100 farmers, of which 40% are women. The company has helped finance 380 projects in Cameroon and has assisted 124,000 farmers get access to loans.(Source: Agrix Tech)

Secondly, the app helps farmers use their automated business plans to apply for finance from financial institutions in Cameroon.

Thirdly, the app bundles a number of services together to provide farmers with everything they need, from financing to farm inputs, advice, insurance and market access.

"Agrix Tech uses machine learning and satellite data to enable better credit decisions, and automated operations keep costs low and processes scalable," Kouotou continued.

Agrix Tech also provides a web platform, that allows farmers to sell their produce to processing companies as well as the public.

"The app provides both text and voice recognition technology in customized African local languages so that everyone using it can understand what is going on," he added.

Agrix Tech works with partners

The agritech startup has partnered with microfinance companies as well as processing companies to help farmers transition to commercial farming and maximize their profit.

"We help farmers and breeders to obtain agricultural microcredit from our financial partners. The purpose of this funding is to enable farmers in our community to grow their farms or to revive themselves in the event of bankruptcy," Kouotou said.

He added that the company help farmers and breeders to sell the products from their farms, thanks to partnerships Agrix Tech has forged with large buyers, which allow farmers in Cameroon to sell their productions at better prices.

"In addition, we help them avoid post-harvest losses by helping them sell their produce quickly before it rots in their hands," Kouotou explained.

"Microfinance institutions provide loans to farmers as well as processing companies like brewing companies. For instance, they purchase maize from farmers," the CEO added.

"Some processing companies also offer farming input loans, using our platform to manage their log income. For instance, when they provide a loan, they will want to know what the farm produces, they want the progress of the finances and so on," he continued.

According to its website, currently, Agrix Tech is working with 1,100 farmers, of whom 40% are women. The company has helped finance 380 projects in the country and has assisted 124,000 farmers get access to loans.

Expansion plans

Kouotou believes that for farmers to thrive in the African farming ecosystem they need to adopt technology.

Having created an app in Cameroon, Agrix Tech is planning on moving to other markets in Africa in 2024.

"We want to perfect the Cameroonian market first and offer farmers we work with the best service before we can move on to other markets on the continent," the CEO added.

Even though the regulatory framework in Cameroon is somewhat difficult, Kouotou believes that collaboration will overcome any such obstacles.

Agrix Tech's technology helps detect plant diseases and offers prevention measures for farmers.(Source: AgrixTech)

"We have to comply with the regulation so that we get the job done and it has not prevented us from doing our job," he continued.

In terms of technology, Agrix Tech has the competitive edge against other companies that are providing a similar service, the CEO claimed.

"However, there are companies that are working with us and offer services like measuring soil contents and things like that, but there isn't a company that I would say does what we do, from a technological point of view," Kouotou asserted.

There are other microfinance companies in Cameroon that are offering farmers loans, but those companies are totally different from how Agrix Tech does its business, he continued.

Agrix Tech funding pipeline

Kouotou said that even though the agritech startup is helping farmers in Cameroon, the company is still a business that needs to make money at the end of the day.

"For every client that the financial institution we work with accepts and grants a loan, based on the analysis we have conducted, we charge them a fee. So, for every business plan that the financial institution uses, they will pay us an average of US$60 per deal," he added.

The company also charges the processing companies they work with US$30 per hectare, to use their intel. Furthermore, the company takes a 5% cut on all the products that farmers sell through the Agrix Tech website.

There are other agritech startups that are digitizing farming like Agrix Tech in Africa.

Shamba Pride helps farmers access high-quality farm inputs, financing, insurance and access through an online-to-offline platform that provides tools and technology to retailers to train them to provide quality agricultural products, finance and insurance to their farmers.

Another one is Rwandan agritech startup Smart Ikigega, which aims to help farmers eliminate post-harvest loss by helping them gain access to finance and harvest insurance.

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*Top image is of Agrix Tech Co-Founder and CEO Adamou Nchange Kouotou. (Source: Agrix Tech).