myAgro is a social business based in Bamako, Mali that uses text messaging to drive its layaway platform for small-scale farmers. This allows them to increase production of their crops and thus, their profits, making their livelihood production perhaps less precarious and volatile, as the farming industry is known for because of uncontrollable measures such as the weather and others, perhaps sometimes controllable in terms of impact, like so-called natural disasters. myAgro's Anushka Ratnayake was awarded a to be a 2012 Echoing Green Fellow after working for Kiva.org and creating the Kiva Fellows Program.
Take a look at the featured video in order to see a more in-depth demo of how it all works.
Contact Information
myAgro website
myAgro on Facebook
myAgro on Twitter
myAgro on YouTube
SMS-Based Layaway Platforms
'myAgro' is a Tool for Farmers in Mali Aimed at Increasing Production
Trend Themes
1. Sms-based Layaway Platforms - Opportunities for disruptive innovation include developing similar layaway platforms for other industries that experience cash flow issues, such as retail or hospitality.
2. Text Message-driven Agricultural Production - There is an opportunity to expand on this trend to include other countries and crops, possibly using new technologies such as blockchain to facilitate transactions.
3. Social Business for Small-scale Farmers - There is potential for disruption in the agricultural market by developing more social businesses that help small-scale farmers with financing, education, and other resources.
Industry Implications
1. Agriculture - myAgro's SMS-based layaway platform demonstrates how technology can disrupt traditional agricultural financing and production methods.
2. Finance - The layaway model utilized by myAgro can be adapted by other financial institutions to provide cash flow assistance to customers in other industries.
3. Mobile Technology - The use of text messaging to facilitate transactions can be utilized in other industries where mobile devices are prevalent, such as retail or transportation.