00:15 This is Zoom Africa. My name is Ken Owino and in this episode, we are focusing on creating a business that thrives. In other words, how do you prioritize what is necessary to bring your innovation to the market?
00:37 Stephany Lawson is the co-founder and CEO of Agroseeders, a farm management service, allowing investors to simply purchase as many farm units of their preferred crops and receive the specific yield or return on investment after the farming period. Now, Stephany did not envision going into agribusiness. She's actually trained in telecommunications as an engineer.
01:04 I'm the type that ... I want to create opportunities for people all the time, with whatever tools or whatever skills that I have. I want to create innovations or businesses that can create opportunities for other people, as many people as possible.
01:24 This passion was complimented by an influence from her father.
01:28 My dad is an agronomist. My goal after school wasn't necessarily to start farming directly. I started working with a telecom firm and all of that, that. But the Agroseeders really started when my co-founder and I, we visited some villages. We came to the Volta region to his hometown and most of the rural folks, the smallholder farmers, they were complaining that they were not getting good yields. The wanted to quit farming, especially maize production in particular.
02:15 Wanting to know more, Stephany decided to explore why farmers was so disappointed by farming.
02:23 We had to ask questions, what was the problem? So we realized that the key issues they were having was information. They were not informed on high yielding seeds. And secondly too, was their states of poverty. Even when they knew that some varieties were high yielding, they didn't have the money to buy those variety. So they ended up using seeds from their last harvest.
02:55 And that is how Agroseeders started out, by applying better farming methods and involving just a few farmers.
03:03 We identified very good high yielding varieties. Then we took those seeds, we got fertilizer and everything that we needed for best practice, and then we engaged farmers. I think we began with about four farmers for using those seeds. And that's how Agroseeders began. So what happened was that why we use those varieties with the farmers and they told us the yield was more than 60% of what they used to get. It got them interested in farming again.
03:42 The business was now up and running, but it needed to grow. This is when Stephany brought onboard friends to invest in the business.
03:50 First, to expand the projects, we got some friends involved. The friends were also living in the urban areas with us, which is mostly Accra. And then they give us money to reach out to more farmers.
04:03 Now Agroseeders has managed to bring on board even more farmers and more people to invest in the agribusiness.
04:10 So at the end of the day, we are dealing with two sides. We are dealing with smallholder farmers and then middle to high-income earners. And by doing so the smallholder farmers get the irregular income because we pay them a salary, as compared to previously when they have to wait till the end of the season to get a harvest. So that's how Agroseeders is actually bridging the poverty gap and also leading to sustainable food production.
04:52 To further grow the business, Stephany as the CEO has to pay attention to key performance indicators to know how the business is progressing.
05:01 Before, we actually allow people to subscribe, we make our calculations. These are the amounts they are bringing in and the costs that would be covered over the season. So one of our key indicators is our yields. If our yields are good, everything goes well for everybody.
05:21 Another key indicator is the teams we work with, I mean the farmers (smallholder farmers), and their level of education. Now I don't mean formal education, but the training we give them on-farm practices and all that, that is also very key because that eventually translates into our productivity.
05:48 It is equally important to take advantage of the support that comes from strategic partners. This is so important, especially in the agribusiness.
05:58 The government is currently implementing a program called Planting for Food and Jobs. That also helped us to get subsidized fertilizer and other inputs for our farmers. We have a number of partners coming together, we also have AYA as a partner, and the 2SCALE [agri-business incubator in Africa] also helped in training my team and myself. So that really helped with this to structure our business properly.
06:33 Running a business in a male-dominated field comes with some challenges, even though Stephany sees these challenges more as an opportunity.
06:42 Sometimes you go out there and you'd have to push to be heard. You'd have to push for ... Mostly they are males and male farmers and they feel like you're this little girl, you are coming to tell them what to do. So you have to be strategic in how you communicate with them. It's also a good time for a woman to take advantage of these opportunities and resources that are out there to start such a venture.
07:19 Are you interested in venturing into agribusiness and more so as a woman, then Stephany has some advice for you.
07:28 In dealing with smallholder farmers, I would say that understand the culture of the people. Even if you want to bring something new on board, which opposes their culture or their way of doing things, find ways to work with the opinion leaders so that the information is assimilated to them in a way they can consume it. And then that way you can make progress.
07:58 You have been listening to Zoom Africa with me, Ken Owino. And we have been talking about creating a business that thrives. But how do you do that? Well, as we have heard from Stephany, you need to understand the needs and aspirations of your consumers before you develop a product or a service. Then you get to know the key performance indicators of your business, and this will help you to ascertain the health of your business. And in addition to that, you need to take advantage of all strategic partners that can help you grow.
08:39 That's all we had time for in this episode. Many thanks for listening. Let's link up again for another informative episode of Zoom Africa. But until then, keep on innovating. I'm Ken Owino
00:15 This is Zoom Africa. My name is Ken Owino and in this episode, we are focusing on creating a business that thrives. In other words, how do you prioritize what is necessary to bring your innovation to the market?
00:37 Stephany Lawson is the co-founder and CEO of Agroseeders, a farm management service, allowing investors to simply purchase as many farm units of their preferred crops and receive the specific yield or return on investment after the farming period. Now, Stephany did not envision going into agribusiness. She's actually trained in telecommunications as an engineer.
01:04 I'm the type that ... I want to create opportunities for people all the time, with whatever tools or whatever skills that I have. I want to create innovations or businesses that can create opportunities for other people, as many people as possible.
01:24 This passion was complimented by an influence from her father.
01:28 My dad is an agronomist. My goal after school wasn't necessarily to start farming directly. I started working with a telecom firm and all of that, that. But the Agroseeders really started when my co-founder and I, we visited some villages. We came to the Volta region to his hometown and most of the rural folks, the smallholder farmers, they were complaining that they were not getting good yields. The wanted to quit farming, especially maize production in particular.
02:15 Wanting to know more, Stephany decided to explore why farmers was so disappointed by farming.
02:23 We had to ask questions, what was the problem? So we realized that the key issues they were having was information. They were not informed on high yielding seeds. And secondly too, was their states of poverty. Even when they knew that some varieties were high yielding, they didn't have the money to buy those variety. So they ended up using seeds from their last harvest.
02:55 And that is how Agroseeders started out, by applying better farming methods and involving just a few farmers.
03:03 We identified very good high yielding varieties. Then we took those seeds, we got fertilizer and everything that we needed for best practice, and then we engaged farmers. I think we began with about four farmers for using those seeds. And that's how Agroseeders began. So what happened was that why we use those varieties with the farmers and they told us the yield was more than 60% of what they used to get. It got them interested in farming again.
03:42 The business was now up and running, but it needed to grow. This is when Stephany brought onboard friends to invest in the business.
03:50 First, to expand the projects, we got some friends involved. The friends were also living in the urban areas with us, which is mostly Accra. And then they give us money to reach out to more farmers.
04:03 Now Agroseeders has managed to bring on board even more farmers and more people to invest in the agribusiness.
04:10 So at the end of the day, we are dealing with two sides. We are dealing with smallholder farmers and then middle to high-income earners. And by doing so the smallholder farmers get the irregular income because we pay them a salary, as compared to previously when they have to wait till the end of the season to get a harvest. So that's how Agroseeders is actually bridging the poverty gap and also leading to sustainable food production.
04:52 To further grow the business, Stephany as the CEO has to pay attention to key performance indicators to know how the business is progressing.
05:01 Before, we actually allow people to subscribe, we make our calculations. These are the amounts they are bringing in and the costs that would be covered over the season. So one of our key indicators is our yields. If our yields are good, everything goes well for everybody.
05:21 Another key indicator is the teams we work with, I mean the farmers (smallholder farmers), and their level of education. Now I don't mean formal education, but the training we give them on-farm practices and all that, that is also very key because that eventually translates into our productivity.
05:48 It is equally important to take advantage of the support that comes from strategic partners. This is so important, especially in the agribusiness.
05:58 The government is currently implementing a program called Planting for Food and Jobs. That also helped us to get subsidized fertilizer and other inputs for our farmers. We have a number of partners coming together, we also have AYA as a partner, and the 2SCALE [agri-business incubator in Africa] also helped in training my team and myself. So that really helped with this to structure our business properly.
06:33 Running a business in a male-dominated field comes with some challenges, even though Stephany sees these challenges more as an opportunity.
06:42 Sometimes you go out there and you'd have to push to be heard. You'd have to push for ... Mostly they are males and male farmers and they feel like you're this little girl, you are coming to tell them what to do. So you have to be strategic in how you communicate with them. It's also a good time for a woman to take advantage of these opportunities and resources that are out there to start such a venture.
07:19 Are you interested in venturing into agribusiness and more so as a woman, then Stephany has some advice for you.
07:28 In dealing with smallholder farmers, I would say that understand the culture of the people. Even if you want to bring something new on board, which opposes their culture or their way of doing things, find ways to work with the opinion leaders so that the information is assimilated to them in a way they can consume it. And then that way you can make progress.
07:58 You have been listening to Zoom Africa with me, Ken Owino. And we have been talking about creating a business that thrives. But how do you do that? Well, as we have heard from Stephany, you need to understand the needs and aspirations of your consumers before you develop a product or a service. Then you get to know the key performance indicators of your business, and this will help you to ascertain the health of your business. And in addition to that, you need to take advantage of all strategic partners that can help you grow.
08:39 That's all we had time for in this episode. Many thanks for listening. Let's link up again for another informative episode of Zoom Africa. But until then, keep on innovating. I'm Ken Owino
It is an exciting time for Inclusive Innovation. As international awareness grows on the need to include low-income communities and underserved groups in the development of products and services, new business opportunities arise for entrepreneurs that want to combine profit with making a social impact.
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