Esoko Networks Limited (often Esoko ; from e - electronic and Swahili soko - market) is an African company provider of the same name mobile platform providing information and communication tools for farmers of the black continent [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [ 6] [7] .
| Esoko Networks Limited | |
|---|---|
| Type of | Private company |
| Base | 2004 |
| Former names | TradeNet |
| Founders | Mark Davies |
| Site | esoko.com |
The company aims to increase the income of African farmers, especially in rural areas with undeveloped infrastructure, by providing them with accurate information about the current market conditions, as well as additional necessary services.
Content
Organization
The company was founded in 2004, which moved to Ghana in 2000 by the British dotcom creator Mark Davies under the name TradeNet ( trading network ) [3] [4] [6] .
In 2005, Mark Davis created a prototype of the system by spending $ 600,000 of his own funds and 200 thousand of borrowed funds [3] [4] .
In 2009, having created a fully functional and debugged system, the company changed its name to Esoko Networks Limited [6] .
The headquarters of the company is located in the capital of Ghana, Accra [6] .
Among the investors and sponsors of the company are Acumen , the International Finance Corporation , the Soros Fund and other major social investors [2] [8] .
Activities
Esoko Networks Limited uses two business models to generate revenue.
Firstly, the Esoko mobile platform provides automated personified information and consulting services for agro-projects, enterprises and individuals [3] [6] [7] . In particular, upon request, farmers can receive by SMS information on current prices, supply and demand for their products, weather in selected regions, access to a knowledge base, establish the necessary contacts [3] [6] . The platform implements the principles of the trading system - you can submit applications for the sale and purchase of agricultural products [3] [6] . Services are available in many languages spoken in Africa.
Farmers who connect to the service receive an average of five SMS per week - two with weather forecasts, two more with agricultural recommendations and one with market prices [9] .
Initially, the organizers of the service planned to provide information for free, to receive funds from advertising [3] . Later, a paid content distribution model was chosen. The cost of access to the package starts at about $ 1 per month [1] .
Secondly, the company provides research organizations with the opportunity to conduct surveys and studies of the agricultural market in Africa [7] . The cost of a contract, for example, to fill out one questionnaire starts at an average of $ 3 per person [1] .
Among additional services Esoko Networks Limited consultations and trainings for clients.
The company receives pricing information from open sources and through a network of information collectors in the field [9] .
In 2014, the company provided its services in several African countries: Burkina Faso , Ghana , Zambia , Cameroon , Kenya , Cote d'Ivoire , Madagascar , Malawi , Mali , Mozambique , Nigeria , Ethiopia [9] .
Although Esoko Networks Limited was initially set up to make a profit and provides only paid services, a significant portion of operating expenses is subsidized by investor contributions and donations.
Ratings
According to an independent study conducted in 2011 by the French National Institute for Agricultural Research ( French Institut national de la recherche agronomique ), small farmers in northern Ghana estimate an increase in income from the use of Esoko at a rate of 10% [10] .
According to the World Bank, farmers profit from using the system is 30-40 %% [2] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Esoko Networks: facilitating agriculture through technology . United Nations Development Program (2010). Date of treatment May 26, 2015.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Esoko Networks Ltd. (eng.) . International Finance Corporation . Date of treatment May 26, 2015.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Buy, cell, hold . The Economist (January 25, 2007). Date of treatment May 26, 2015.
- ↑ 1 2 3 JACQUES MATANDY. Esoko, un logiciel au service des agriculturaleurs (French) . Forbes (avril 2014). Date of treatment May 26, 2015.
- ↑ M OBILE APPLICATION RE SEARCH AND RECORD - CASE STUDY CHECKLIST . World Bank (September 16, 2011). Date of treatment May 26, 2015.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Company Overview of Esoko Networks Limited . Bloomberg. Date of treatment May 26, 2015.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Raghav Narsalay, Ryan T. Coffey, J. Adetunji Adegbesan and Femi Giwa. Esoko: Empowering low-income farmers with real-time market data . Accenture (2012). Date of treatment May 26, 2015.
- ↑ Esoko . Acumen (2014). Date of treatment May 26, 2015.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Sandra Chao. Tech startup woos youths to farming with SMS service . Business Daily (April 23, 2014). Date of treatment May 26, 2015.
- ↑ Julie Subervie. Evaluation of the impact of a Ghanaian mobile-mased MIS on the first few users using a quasi-experimental design . Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA) (December 2, 2011). Date of treatment May 26, 2015.
Links
Official Resources
- Official website: esoko.com
- Facebook: EsokoNews .
- Twitter: esoko .
- LinkdeIn: esoko .
- YouTube: esokonetworks .
- Mark Davis Personal Website: markdavies.net
Directories
- CrunchBase: esoko .
Publications
- Texting TradeNet: What's the price of soya beans?
- In African agriculture, information is power .
- ICTworks Profile of Esoko: Bringing the Market to Africa's Fingertips .
- Esoko (Ghana): a social business connected with farmers .