Content Partners
Agrorite leading the fight against food insecurity using Agtech
Agrorite is a digital agricultural platform that improves the livelihood of smallholder farmers.
The importance of smallholder farmers in society cannot be overstressed. Smallholder farmers put in so much work in order for us to eat quality and nutritious food, but at the end of the day have little or nothing to show. Smallholder farmers account for over 70% of the food produced in Africa, which emphasizes their relevance in fighting food insecurity in Africa.
Agrorite is a premiere digital agricultural platform that improves the livelihood of smallholder farmers by connecting them with Finance, Smart farming solutions, and Premium markets. Our mantra is to provide positive outcomes for farmers in order to tackle the challenge of food insecurity in Africa and our vision is to inspire the production of sustainable food for Africa.
agrorite.com kicked off for the purpose of finding lasting solution to the needs of the average smallholder farmer in Africa stating with Mr. Ule, a rice farmer in Benue state, Nigeria. Ule, as most smallholder farmers sold his harvested produce at ridiculously low prices due to the involvement of middlemen and also experienced about 30-40% postharvest losses due to lack of access to premium market. Another major challenge Ule faced was a lack of finance to scale food production due to the fact that he was not creditworthy. Ule is a hard worker and most times put in 18 hours of work per day, 6 days a week so as to get the required quantity and quality at harvest. It is, however disheartening to know that he has little or nothing to show for his effort. We are creating shared value for sustainable growth for smallholder farmers and key stakeholders such as Financiers, Premium Off takers, Insurance companies, Input suppliers, and telecoms. This has proven to be formidable in improving the livelihood of smallholder farmers. This was the idea behind setting up Agrorite. So far, we have been able to increase smallholder farmer’s revenue by 15% and generate real value for their time and energy.
Lack of access to quality, nutritious agricultural commodities by premium processing companies was another major gap we spotted in the sector, which we are tackling by enabling smallholder farmers to meet up with the growing demands by these processing companies. We have also opened agricultural participation for all through partnerships with Cooperate and Institutional Funders. Individuals are not left behind as they can sponsor farming activities via crowdfunding to earn decent profits.
Not only are we well received in Nigeria, but our service is also acknowledged in the investment and agricultural sector. Consequently, we seat on over 8200 farmers network that spans across Nigeria, cultivated on 5,830 hectares of farmland, and produce well over 86340 metrics tones of crop production for local consumption and export. Commodities such as Peanut, Sesame, Cashew, Shea Butter, etc are some of the commodities we trade on.
Innovation and Technology is an essential component of Agrorite. With our in house developed farm management system (Agrorite Bookie), farmers will now be better equipped to efficiently and smartly manage their farms, get real-time updates on crop performance, and make a projection on the farm inputs required to successfully deliver on the expected output by off-takers.
Our value addition, over the last year, has earned us award recognition from the Federal Republic of Nigeria, The UK Government, GIZ, and UAE. We are currently in partnership with AirBus, GoGlobal Africa, and most recently won the African Most Innovative Digital Agricultural Platform 2020 by the African Brands Award.
More so, aligning with our vision in fighting the global food crisis, we have identified the importance of agricultural product processing and storage hence our cause for embarking on setting up a processing plant that will enable ready food production in Nigeria which in turn creates decent job opportunities in the agricultural value chain. We believe Processing adds value to the Agric produce and creates room for commercial agriculture, thereby promoting agricultural activities.
Onboarding farmers and convincing them to do things in a modern and organized manner is usually challenging, hence, our constant training and workshops in measuring their Progress. Likewise, funding – which can help improve volumes of both production and trade. Through a partnership with government and other cooperate bodies we can achieve even more in closing these gaps, that’s why we are open to collaboration.
When partnering with Agrorite be best assured of a decent return on investment. Another interesting thing about Agrorite is our readily available off-takers both locally and internationally to buy off produce at harvest. The security of investment is guaranteed as we provide extensive insurance coverage on all our farms and commodity on transit. It will interest you to know that Investors are not left in the dark; they are carried along the investment or farming circle with regular updates on progress made and we are easily accessible through our 24/7 customer support service.
Our partnership with you will largely improve the livelihood of smallholder farmers as well as beat food insecurity in Nigeria and beyond.
Content Partners
Leadway Pensure PFA bags Customer Service Excellence award at Africa Brands Awards 2021
Leadway Pensure’s award reaffirms its commitment over the years to giving its clients amazing experiences beyond the call of duty.
Leadway Pensure PFA Limited, Nigeria’s foremost pension funds administrator, has been recognized as the most admired pension brand in Nigeria following its emergence as the winner of the Customer Excellence Award at the 2021 edition of the Africa Brands Awards.
The prestigious African Brands Awards was created over a decade ago to promote innovation and creativity amongst African brands across different industries. The emergence of Leadway Pensure as the winner of the Customer Service Excellence award in the pension category reaffirms the brand’s customer-centricity and its commitment over the years to giving its clients amazing experiences beyond the call of duty. The recognition comes at a crucial period in the pensions industry with the opening of the transfer window which allows customers move their retirement savings account from their existing PFA to another.
Still on the recognition, the Managing Director, Leadway Pensure PFA Limited, Mrs. Ronke Adedeji, stated that receiving the award was a testament to how the brand had treated its clients and the positive perception it had been able to create in the larger society. According to her, “Our clients are at the center of everything we do, hence, we are constantly innovating and finding new ways to better their experiences with us. We continue to blaze the trail in the industry by finding simple and smarter channels to deliver our services; and optimizing our processes. We are a firm believer that if truly we must assist our clients to get more out of life, we must also continuously explore effective and efficient ways of delivering pension services.”
Mrs. Adedeji hinted that the company invested heavily in digital channels aimed at easing tracking, reporting, and communicating with its clients. “In addition to our long-standing heritage of excellence and competitive returns on investments, we prioritize accessibility for our clients by launching online channels to connect with them. Some of the online channels include our Online Enrolment Portal that allows users to remotely open a Retirement Savings Account (RSA) and get their RSA PIN instantly, our Mobile App, Interactive SMS, Pensure Online (p-Online), SureCal (Pensure Calculator), amongst others. We are unwavering in our promise to all existing and potential clients to continuously offer pension plans and experiences that surpass their expectations,” Mrs. Adedeji said.
It is important to note that the company also recently received the ISO 27001 certification, a globally coveted standards certification that recognizes commitment to the highest standards of information data security management.
Leadway Pensure has, over the years, shown itself as one of the leading PFA’s in Nigeria. It continues to advance the PFA industry by devising unique ways to service the ecosystem and deliver value to all stakeholders. Leadway Pensure is one of the most capitalized PFA’s in Nigeria with an authorized share capital of N2.0 Billion. Our shareholder’s fund is in excess of N7.0 Billion, unimpaired by losses.
Content Partners
ITA partners NEPC to launch first E-Lab Innova training for agribusinesses in Nigeria
The E-Lab Innova is an educational training program for the agri-food sector in Nigeria.
As part of its commitment to boost trade relationships with Nigeria, the Italian Trade Agency, a governmental agency that supports the business development, partnerships and collaborations between Italian companies and their local counterparts, has launched the first E-Lab Innova in Nigeria. The E-Lab Innova is an educational training program for the agri-food sector in Nigeria which will be implemented in collaboration with the Nigerian Export Promotion Commission (NEPC) alongside other Italian partners, such as MACFRUT, a leading exhibition for the agribusiness industry.
The training is aimed at increasing the technical and managerial skills of Nigerian agri-food companies in order to support their access to EU markets and foster business partnerships with Italian companies. Participants which were selected with the support of NEPC are CEOs of high-potential companies active in the production of foods such as mango, pineapple, shea nuts and groundnuts. The programme is scheduled to hold for the duration of five weeks and will be implemented in three phases: a preliminary assessment to analyze the technical and management training requirements, company potential and profile design; 2-week webinar training classes focused on key internalization topics and a 5-days study tour in Italy, which will include Macfrut exhibition.
Giving his opening remark at the event held to flag off the training, the Italian Trade Agency Director for West Africa, Dr. Alessandro Gerbino said, “Nigeria remains a strategic point for engagement between the agency and other countries across West Africa. The E-Lab Innova holds prospects for Nigerian companies to be imparted on the knowledge and technicalities of their counterparts abroad whilst also paving the way for collaborations between Italian and Nigerian agribusinesses.”
“It is a pleasure to see the collaboration between the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), to develop the capacity of agribusinesses and aid their integration into the value chain of European Union markets. We remain committed to supporting the government’s plan to create more jobs through the agrofood industry and ensure that these businesses have the right skillset to grow, sustain their operations and contribute to the growth of Nigeria’s economy,” Dr. Gerbino added.
In her keynote address, Uduak Etokowoh, Deputy Director, International Export Offices, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), said, “the council constantly seeks out collaborations like this to strengthen trade relations across the world. The European Union (EU) is one of the largest markets for agribusiness, however, challenges such as logistics and inability to meet market needs pose a threat to growth opportunities. In adjusting to the new normal of virtual engagements, we are extremely delighted to partner the ITA to deliver this virtual training in support of wealth creation for the economy and to enhance seamless penetration to the EU markets for Nigerian agribusinesses”.
13 agribusinesses across Nigeria took part in the first training session including United Agro Cooperative Society Limited, Cobrend Trading and more; the programme will involve nearly 40 Nigerian companies in total. Since the launch of Lab Innova in Africa, over 140 companies across Ghana, Angola, Mozambique, Uganda and Ethiopia have successfully gone through the training programme, with study tours and exhibitions held in Italy.
About the Italian Trade Agency in Nigeria
ITA – Italian Trade Agency is the Governmental agency that supports the business development of Italian companies abroad and promotes the attraction of foreign investment in Italy. With a motivated and modern organization and a widespread network of overseas offices, ITA provides information, assistance, consulting, promotion and training to Italian small and medium-sized businesses.
The agency is committed to establishing strong contact with Nigeria with a major focus on industrial technologies that address the growth pattern Nigeria has adopted in several areas, so to add value to local natural resources and raw materials.
Using the most modern multi-channel promotion and communication tools, it acts to assert the excellence of Made in Italy in the world. ITA operates in 70 countries under the Italian Embassy.
