Student founded app empowers farmers through market access & farming info

Ecosokoni

By George Munene

Founded by two engineering students in July 2020, ecoSokoni is a mobile marketplace app and resource center that seeks to bridge the gap between farmers and consumers as well as empowering farmers with information that helps improve their earnings.

For ecoSokoni's co-founder James Adera, a fifth-year University of Nairobi student the impetus behind the company's establishment was to enfranchise small-scale farmers by easing their access to markets and provide basic information that remains inaccessible to most of Kenya's over 4.5 million smallholder farmers.

"For most city dwellers the quantity of 20 bob worth of sukuma rarely changes, this is however not the case for the farmer. Despite the risks, middlemen often come out ahead by riding this market volatility," Adera said.

Through the app farmers and buyers are able to interact directly with no middlemen. Farmers also acquire valuable information on the best farming practices for various crops. EcoSokoni's farming magazine keeps up to date on what's abuzz in farming circles: what crops are fetching the best price for the season, emergent lucrative ventures in the agricultural space, etc.

The app also doubles as an online agrovet and shop for farm machinery.

EcoSokoni has also branched out to offering last-mile logistics by supplying hotels and eateries with bulk assorted produce and branded value pack food boxes to households. These consist of aggregated agri produce from farmers which are repackaged as value packs. "This can be a health pack that consists of an assortment of health forward food options such as ginger, lemon, turmeric; your everyday helping of foodstuff for a nine to five employee--some pishori rice, tomatoes, carrots, onions, capsicums, courgettes or even recipes for cooking fish for example accompanied by some tilapia and all the ingredients needed," said James.

ecoSokonii: +254 717 256565