A game changer app: eFama, an App that enables farmers to sell their fresh produce & meat directly to consumers and commercial buyers, is launching soon in South Africa.
“Africa is home to about 40 million farmers, 33 million of them are smallholder farmers while about 7 million are commercial farmers who dominate more than 80% of the markets. On the other hand the 33 million smallholder farmers lack access to market due to high barriers to entry, such as the cost of compliance to prove quality standards, also lacking direct access to local markets to sell their produce and not having proof of trade leaves them being financially included. Our vision is to have at least 100 000 farmers using our platform by 2030.”
Says Mr. Shadrack Kubyane the Cofounder of Coronet Blockchain and eFama App
What makes eFama App a game changer and an impactful solution is the focus on the 3 most important priorities for a farmer of any size:
Being able to achieve product quality assurance: cost effectively and quicker.
Being able to access the market without unnecessary middle men that eat into their margins.
Building a sustainable business that can be funded and grow into a legacy for their children.
Farmers currently, are part of the hungry masses i.e. during lean seasons, farmers are part of the 811 million people globally that go to bed hungry. A need exists, to evolve farmers from the informal economy into the mainstream economy, so that they are cushioned, from enduring this poverty. It is a mammoth task, however, if approached from various dimensions, by different industry role players alongside humanitarian efforts, we can prevent this poverty curse from plaguing the next generation of farmers.
A recent scenario here in South Africa, in January 2023: 10 million chickens were culled and thrown away, due to existing market bottlenecks, power cuts and economic power plays by big players. The poultry producing giants appear to not want to "flood the market" with inventory that would upset supply demand dynamics, when power cuts rendered their produce out of spec [too big] for their retailer clientele. Was there a way to get these goods to market, outside the known retail nodes?
An alternative and parallel way for produce to reach consumers is needed, well outside retail specifications. The Africa we see: is one where farmers run sustainable businesses, consumers access quality foods cheaper, humanitarian agencies are able to access foods that are about to be wasted [e.g. prior to expiry] is diverted to them for fulfilment of their charitable cause. All of these are being catered for, happening within our App!
Says Mrs. Pretty Kubyane who is the Cofounder and COO of the eFama App
Both Founders of the eFama App were raised by hard working subsistence farmers. They are now helping farmers to evolve beyond hand-to-mouth to running sustainable businesses.
Back in 2013 the founders of eFama evolved a beauty brand operating out of a handbag into 4 bricks & mortar branches. The brand started with only 500 dollars operated from a handbag, they grew the brand to reach 2 million USD revenue, within 36 months, employing a team of 40. More brands across Africa demanded the same success.
After realising that the majority of the brands that reached out had similar problems such as access to product quality compliance being prohibitive, lack of access to market, the need for agile business systems that are key to their sustainability and financial inclusion.
“We set out to find a solution that will solve these problems at scale, but most solutions we found were built for enterprise. So we decided to build it ourselves since we already had a demand for it”
said Mrs. Pretty Kubyane who is the Cofounder and COO of the eFama App
The Co-Founders of Coronet blockchain first built a blockchain based solution that focused mainly product quality assurance and are now evolving their focus towards deploying a mobile application. In order to enable smallholder farmers to sell their fresh produce and meat direct to consumers and commercial buyers without a need of unnecessary middle men, whilst achieving quality assurance and food traceability.
