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Cellulant has today announced the launch of the first edition of their white paper The Agrikore Risk Review which aims to stir conversations on how Africa can scale Agriculture through technology.

“Millions of Africans especially small-scale farmers and children from poor families can ill-afford the additional disruptions that COVID-19 may inflict on their livelihoods. Said Solomon Abiakkalam, Chief Risk & Compliance Officer, Cellulant. In Cellulant, we believe scaling Agriculture through Agritech is Africa’s best fighting chance to stand on its feet as concerns continue to mount on how long Africa’s Agricultural sector can stay above the devastating impacts of the pandemic”.

The Review will be a quarterly publication targeted at critical Agri-tech stakeholders such as innovators, investors, private sector farmers, financial institutions, agricultural research organizations, governmental agriculture departments, NGOs and donor organizations. It aims to stimulate solutions that work among those who make an integral part of the agriculture industry.

As governments continue to put measures in place to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are mounting concerns as to how long the Agricultural sector can withstand the devastating impacts as a result of sweeping restrictions on commercial and social activity. The global food system is being tested in countless ways that are putting a strain on all the primary actors in the complex food supply web that involves; producers (mostly small scale farmers), input suppliers, transport and logistics companies. That there is also a locust outbreak affecting East Africa which, according to the UN, is destroying food for 35,000 people in a single day is a clear indication that a food crisis is on the horizon.

The Review proposes ways in which governments in partnership with private sector stakeholders can mitigate a potential food crisis. These include instigating welfare policies, supporting delivery of fresh food using digital tools, special grants to local farmers to ensure steady demand for agricultural products, reducing trade-related costs among other measures.

Cellulant is a leading Pan-African financial technology company that organizes Africa’s marketplaces by connecting buyers, sellers and other critical stakeholders with an underlying payments solution that enables them to make and receive payments. Cellulant has two core products, Tingg & Agrikore.

Agrikore is an online marketplace (e-marketplace) solution creating value for smallholder farmers, agricultural input and produce traders. It was developed by Cellulant for Nigeria in 2012 but has since grown to other African markets. At its core, Agrikore is a blockchain-based smart contracting platform that provides the tools for the creation of a structured agribusiness economy (agritech) in Africa linking all the players in agriculture at the input level (farmers, agro-dealers, financial institutions, governments, development partners ) and at produce level ( FMCGs, produce aggregators).

Tingg is a Pan-African digital commerce platform that connects consumers and business to payments and financial services. Tingg provides an easy, cashless and convenient payment solution for businesses and their users, facilitating payments across multiple channels. With just a single contract and a single integration to Tingg’s payment gateway, local and global merchants will now have a more enhanced and seamless experience of accepting key local mobile and online payments that grow their business across the continent.