Esoko: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 07:39, 12 April 2009
| File:Esoko09.png | |
| Type of business | Private |
|---|---|
Type of site | agricultural marketing service |
| Available in | English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, |
| Founded | Accra, Ghana (February 14, 2006) |
| Headquarters | Accra |
| Key people | Mark Davies, Founder; Laura Drewett, Partner Director; Jim Forster, Investor |
| Employees | 30 (April 2009) |
| URL | esoko.com |
| Registration | optional |
| Launched | January 2007 |
Esoko was started as TradeNet in 2005 with the encouragement of the UN's FAO[1], and in partnership with FoodNet[2] 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[3] 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 focused 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' [4]. Esoko has been described as 'a simple sort of eBay for agricultural products across a dozen countries in west Africa'[5].
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.
Countries available
Partners
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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
External links
- Market Lite: Growing Price/weather/news by SMS service in 2 Indian States
- FoodNet: East African Prices and News information
References
- ^ FAO agmarket
- ^ FoodNet
- ^ MISTOWAUSAID's MISTOWA program
- ^ Texting TradeNet Edward Kutsuati, Associate Professor of Economics at Tufts University, USA
- ^ Economist The Spread of Mobiles in Africa, 25th Jan 2007