Esoko

Esoko was started as TradeNet in 2005 with the encouragement of the UN's FAO, and in partnership with FoodNet in Uganda. Esoko is an Agricultural Marketing services platform that provides current market data via SMS and the web to stakeholders within the agriculture and trade sectors in developing countries. This initiative is a response to the rapid expansion of cellular services in Africa presenting a new opportunity for linking low-income producers to better market opportunities through more transparent information. In 2005 TradeNet signed a three year agreement with USAID's MISTOWA program to adapt the product and make it available to their target beneficiaries (MISTOWA's mission was to increase regional trade in West Africa by 20%). It is a public/private partnership, with half the investment coming from private social entrpreneurs from the United States, and the remainder from public projects focussed on Development in African Agriculture Markets. Initial studies indicate that such interventions 'are connecting these farmers both to each other and to their agricultural extension officers, and this connectivity is enhancing productivity' . Esoko has been described as 'a simple sort of eBay for agricultural products across a dozen countries in west Africa'.

In April of 2009 TradeNet rebranded as Esoko. Currently active in 8 countries through different partnership agreements mostly with public sector agricultural projects. Esoko integrates national markets and leverages private businesses to participate and subsidize the cost for lower-income producers. Esoko's business model consists of different tiers of subscriptions for individuals, businesses and enterprise partners.
The Esoko service consists of Mobile Updates for farmers delivered by SMS that may include weather, market prices, offers to buy and sell. In addition it offers site-building tools for small export businesses, and polling technology enabling larger enterprises to efficiently track inventory, field activities and monitor and evaluate programs on the ground.

Recent Developments

First Annual Partner Conference held in Accra, March 2009 at the Forum for African Research in Agriculture
Trainings held in Jan/Feb in Mali, Burkina, Sudan, Cote D'Ivoire

Countries Available

Ghana	Mali	Burkina Faso
Nigeria	Mozambique	Madagascar
Afghanistan	Cote D'Ivoire	Sudan

• Prices-by-SMS Example
  Prices-by-SMS Example

Partners

IFDC	FAO	IFAD
Technoserve	USAID	Chemonics
Mercy Corps	MTN	Zain

Further Reading

FARA; Innovative Farmer Advisory Systems, 2009
Texting TradeNet: What's the price of Soya Beans? Daily Graphic Ghana Sept 9, 2008
Interview; International Trade Centre, UNCTAD
The Spread of Mobiles in Africa; Economist Jan 2007

Other Market Information Services

Market Lite: Growing Price/weather/news by SMS service in 2 Indian States
Manobi: Pioneering private SMS service from Senegal
e-Choupals: ITC's innovative village hub/acquisition strategy
KACE - Commodity Exchange with brokerage and price services
FoodNet: East African Prices and News information
RATIN
AgMarkNet: Indian Government Price etc. Service
Kalimati: Nepalese Marketing Board
Farmprices: Zambian National Farmers Union
ComomdAfrica