GSMA fund to offer £220k grants to up to eight agritech solutions

The GSM Association (GSMA) is looking to offer up to eight grants of £220 000 each for agritech businesses.

GSMA says the grants — which will be administered through the GSMA Innovation Fund for Digitisation of Agricultural Value Chains — are aimed at startups with solutions that cater to the agricultural last mile and that improve smallholder farmers’ financial inclusion, livelihood and climate resilience.

The initiative is currently funded by the UK Department for International Development and is supported by the GSMA and its members.

Applications for the GSMA Innovation Fund for Digitisation of Agricultural Value Chains close on 31 July

The funding is available across two categories, namely mobile money driven category and data driven category.

Mobile money driven category

This category is open to mobile money providers in partnership with agritech vendors who are in the process of developing, implementing, launching and or scaling social enterprise services.

The services have to digitise the agricultural last mile procurement and communication with smallholders.

The GSMA states on its website that the proposed development or evolution of an enterprise service must include the following primary use-cases:

• Digitising procurement records and smallholder farmer profiles (static and dynamic information)
• Digitising payments to smallholder farmers via mobile money
• Digitising communication and providing advisory services for smallholder farmers

Data-driven category

This category is open to agritech ventures that have already scaled a last mile digitalisation service and have established a model for generating digital farmer record, as well as explored linking farmer records with financial service providers.

In addition, the proposed evolution of these services must include the following primary use-cases:

• Digitising procurement records and smallholder farmer profiles (static and dynamic information) at a scale of at least 50 000 farmers in the proposed market
• Using existing deployment data and digital records of smallholder farmers to provide financial inclusion services through partnerships with third-party organisations
• Digitising communication and providing advisory services for smallholder farmers

Entrepreneurs looking to tap the funding have to submit concept note applications by 31 July.

The concept note must outline the project objectives, list proposed partners, demonstrate the consortium’s capacity to deliver the project and explain how the project fits within the wider strategy of the business owner.

Shortlisted applicants whose concept notes meet the objectives and eligibility requirements of the fund will be invited to develop a business plan which will:

• Outline the strategy for implementing and scaling the service
• Provide a budget projection with an indication of how the grant is to be spent
• Provide a workplan for the 24-month implementation period

The GSMA said all eligible applicants at concept stage — irrespective of whether they ultimately receive a grant under the fund — will be invited to join the GSMA AgriTech Priority Learning Partners Initiative.

This initiative, the GSMA states, will provide access to a number of knowledge sharing resources and events, including webinars on enterprise solutions for the last mile.

In a statement on its website, the GSMA states that the fund prioritises enterprise services targeted at organisations that procure from smallholders, with the focus on those living on less than $2 per day.

In addition to the grants, the GSMA said it will also provide in-kind support and consultancy to assist the development of business plans, and service implementation through market research, user-centric design, business intelligence, as well as user-testing with agri-business staff and smallholders.

Featured image: EBAFOSA Kenya via Twitter