Designed to stimulate the African Agritech ecosystem, the program initiated by AgriEdge returns for another edition that targets regions with even more specific themes. Objective: to help establish a more profitable and sustainable agricultural strategy.
Faced with increasingly unpredictable and unstable climatic conditions, agritech represents a panacea, according to professionals in the sector. And as proof, the record level of investments on a global scale, particularly in agritech and foodtech.
Indeed, according to official figures, in 2020, these two niches raised 11.6 billion dollars which were raised in fundraising by startups operating in the field. In Morocco, although the approach is still timid, promising prospects are emerging on the horizon. Sector professionals agree that the potential represented by technological solutions in agriculture is very promising, especially for a country like Morocco whose economy is dependent on the agricultural sector.
To stimulate the ecosystem of startups, programs are set up. And “Filaha Innovation Program” is one of them. During its 2nd edition, which ended on June 30, a “Demo day” session was organized for the benefit of the finalist startups who presented their pitch to an international audience. Note that this initiative is held under the leadership of AgriEdge, a business unit of the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University.
Through the launch of this program, AgriEdge aims to boost the African Agritech ecosystem by offering young people with ideas training, support, mentoring and above all a springboard to expand their network and establish networking.
To this end, national and international agricultural and Agritech experts took part in this edition. The latter were able to discuss, during a panel, on the added value that Agritech can create for farmers, the right approaches to adopt to understand and win over this clientele not accustomed to technology as well as the means of circumventing the challenges of regionalization, marketing and financing.
A Kenyan startup at the head of the pack
However, 53 African startups were in the running. The first prize was awarded to “Shamba Assistant”, a Kenyan startup. She will thus have the privilege of participating in an international Agritech event, during which she will have the opportunity to present her project and broaden her horizons by meeting potential partners and investors.
His project consists of developing an integrated platform that uses the Internet of Things (IOT) and open data (Open source data) to provide farmers with diagnostics and personalized recommendations according to the types of soil on their farms, its characteristics and the environmental conditions of the region.
Advice from “Shamba Assistant” ranges from recommending which seed to plant and when, to using rotational seed to preserve the soil, to advice on fertilization, pest control and weather alerts.
On the other hand, among the startups that participated in the Demo day is “Beehave”, a Moroccan startup that is developing an IOT platform for monitoring beehives.
This program hailed by international entities does not intend to stop there. In fact, AgriEdge has announced the upcoming launch of new editions of the program targeting very specific regions and themes to create more value for the agricultural ecosystem by helping to make digital a strategic lever for a more sustainable and more sustainable African agriculture. profitable.
Maryam Ouazani / ECO Inspirations
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