Hello Tractor, a Kenyan firm and Nigerian’s ColdHubs have won a US $1.5million grant to fund expansion plans in a bid to provide services to smallholder farmers.
The two firms were declared winners of the inaugural Agriculture, Youth and Technology (AYuTe) Africa Challenge by Heifer International picked. Hello Tractor was feted for creative solutions to Africa’s farm machinery challenges. The company is known in Africa as the “Uber of tractors.”
ColdHubs provides solar-powered, walk-in coolers for smallholder vegetable farmers to keep their produce fresh. Hello Tractor founder and CEO Jehiel Oliver and ColdHubs founder and CEO Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu who are winners of the 2021 AYuTe Africa champions were chosen from young agritech innovators from across the continent, during the ongoing 2021 African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) Summit.
Deploying tech innovations
“Across Africa today, young, creative professionals are deploying tech innovations that are reimagining farming and food production,” said Adesuwa Ifedi, senior vice president of Africa Programs at Heifer International.
“We want to do our part to help companies like Hello Tractor and ColdHubs as they provide Africa’s smallholder farmers with much-needed products and services to develop sustainable, profitable business,” he added.
The companies will also receive support from a team of expert advisers and accomplished business veterans, to help them translate their funding into an aggressive expansion strategy. This is part of Heifer International’s efforts to support young entrepreneurs to develop affordable tech innovations.
Hello Tractor provides technology that allows farmers to connect with local tractor owners on the Hello Tractor marketplace and book a machine for as long as they need it. ColdHubs owns and operates dozens of compact, walk-in, solar-powered coolers at rural produce markets in central Nigeria. The transportable, stand-alone units help farmers keep beans, pepper and tomatoes fresh for long to reduce waste.
