Blockchain technology empowers farmers across Africa

Madagascar rice farmers

Madagascar rice farmers

by TINTSWALO BALOYI
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) THE adoption of blockchain technology is uplifting smallholder farmers, expanding financial inclusion and empowering more people across the African continent.

This follows a partnership between a global beverage firm and the world’s prime non-cryptocurrency blockchain platform.

AB InBev Africa and BanQu Inc have partnered aimed at uplifting smallholder farmers in the former’s supply chain

It enables farmers to have line of sight of their barley, sorghum and cassava sales, and receive cash through a mobile money solution.

Since the second implementation was unveiled earlier this year in Uganda, 1 200 farmers have signed up on the platform.

These farmers now have access to full accounting information, such as sales price, volume sold and payment – with this information made available via SMS.

Farmers now have access to an immutable digital record of their financial transactions.

Sameer Jooma, AB InBev’s Solutions Africa Director of Innovation and Analytics, said BanQu, as the world’s first company to offer this solution, had taken this technology and expanded it beyond cryptocurrency.

“After all, what is being moved is information, because even money can be distilled down to data now,” Jooma added.

AB InBev and BanQu’s partnership dates back to August 2018, when they launched a pilot project in Zambia.

Successive roll outs have since taken place in Brazil, India and Uganda.

BanQu implementations have impacted on 4 000 farmers in four markets across the world.

Ashish Gadnis, BanQu co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, said almost 2,7 billion people across the globe did not have access to credit or other banking services, as they lack “economic identity.”

“BanQu seeks to solve this dilemma by providing auditable financial records, which are bankable, allowing more people to participate in the global economy,” Gadnis said.

A blockchain is a growing list of records, called blocks, that are linked using cryptography. The latter is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties.

– CAJ News

scroll to top