AgriTech

Accelerator

LessonsFromScaling

DigitalAgricultureServices

TM

TheGSMAisaglobalorganisationunifyingthemobile

ecosystemtodiscover,developanddeliverinnovation

foundationaltopositivebusinessenvironmentsand

societalchange.Ourvisionistounlockthefullpower

ofconnectivitysothatpeople,industry,andsociety

thrive.Representingmobileoperatorsandorganisationsacrossthemobileecosystemandadjacentindustries,theGSMAdeliversforitsmembersacrossthreebroadpillars:

ConnectivityforGood,IndustryServicesandSolutions,andOutreach.Thisactivityincludesadvancingpolicy,tackling

today’sbiggestsocietalchallenges,underpinningthe

technologyandinteroperabilitythatmakemobilework,andprovidingtheworld’slargestplatformtoconvenethemobileecosystemattheMWCandM360seriesofevents.

Weinviteyoutofindoutmoreat

TheGSMAAgriTechProgramme

TheGSMAAgriTechprogrammeworkstowardsequitableandsustainablefoodchainsthatempowerfarmersand

strengthenlocaleconomies.Withouractivities,weareclosingthegapbetweentheneedforsocialimpactandequitabilityinthefoodsupplychain,andthecommercialinterestsofstakeholdersintheagriculturesector.

Formoreinformation,visitourwebsiteat:

/agritech

Implementedby

Z

ermancooperation

DEUTSCHEZUSAMMENARBEIT

Authors

BhavikDoshi,LisaChassin

Acknowledgements

TheGSMAAgriTechprogrammewouldliketothankthe

foundersandteammembersfromtheAcceleratorcohortwhocontributedtheirtime,dataandinsightstothisreport:

JanWillemVanCasteran(eProd),PhilipAsiheneandGeorgeDarko(Esoko),PeterOkonmah(FarmSpeak),TheinSoeMinandYinYinPhyu(Greenovator),AmyNdeye(Jokalante),

AhmedAchballah(MooMe),SimonSchwallandFerdinand

Amenyah(OKO),BenjaminAsiedu(TDX),RichesAttai(WinichFarms)andWalidNasr(ZR3i).

Wearealsogratefultoourtechnicalassistancepartners:

AukeDouma(Bopinc),CalArchibaldandKaterinaKotenko(Beanstalk)andAlizéeBoutard,SarahMorhmann,Marie

Lesage-Moretti,ThibaultHardemare,JullieteRolleyand

BriacChevallier-Chantipie(AltaiConsulting)fortheir

valuablecontributionsthroughouttheAcceleratorandtheircontributionstothisreport.

Finally,wethankourGSMAcolleaguesfortheirthoughtfulreviewsandinputs:AhmedJaved,AshleyOlsonOnyango,DunstanAdongo,JamesKaranja,KatharinaZechner,KevinGenga,MattStrickland,PanosLoukos,JoyceKong,SorayaMontengoandJiPark.

?2025–GSMA

TheGSMAAgriTechAccelerator(the“Accelerator”),

commissionedbytheGermanFederalMinistryforEconomicCooperationandDevelopment(BMZ),ispartoftheFund

forthePromotionofInnovationinAgriculture(i4Ag)andis

beingcarriedoutbytheGSMAonbehalfoftheDeutsche

GesellschaftfürInternationaleZusammenarbeit(GIZ)GmbH.

Contents

Executivesummary06

Introduction13

01OverviewoftheAcceleratorandcontext17

02PerformanceoftheAccelerator24

Marketengagementsupport25

UXresearchanddesign27

Investmentreadiness29

Insightsandcapacitybuilding31

MELandbusinessintelligencedata34

03Businessmodelsandlessonsfromscalingagritechservices35

User-centredproductdesign37

Accesstocapital42

Revenuegeneration46

Marketingandsales50

Partnershipsandecosystemintegration52

Internalandexternalenablersofscale54

04Impactofagritechservicesonsmallholderfarmers56

Frameworkandhigh-levelimpact58

Digitaladvisory62

Marketlinkages65

AgriDFS67

Digitalpayments67

Insurance70

Loans72

Conclusion74

Keytakeawaysforagritechs76

Recommendationsfordonors,investorsandtechnicalassistance

providers77

Annexes78

Definitions79

Developmentstagesframework81

Cohortmemberprofiles82

Figurelist

Figure1

Digitalagricultureusecasesandpotentialimpactsonsmallholderfarmers15

Figure2

GSMAAgriTechAcceleratorcohortmembersandimplementationcountries18

Figure3

GSMAAgriTechAcceleratorimpactframework19

Figure4

DevelopmentstagesoftheAccelerator’scohortmembers22

Figure5

TheAccelerator’stechnicalassistancepackage23

Figure6

KeyachievementsoftheAcceleratorundertheUXworkstream28

Figure7

InvestmentreadinesssupportprovidedbytheAccelerator29

Figure8

Genderinclusivityworkshop31

Figure9

Genderinclusivityworkshopoutcomes32

Figure10

MELandBIdatatechnicalassistance34

Figure11

Keypillarsofanagritech’sjourneytoscale36

Figure12

Iterativeproductdevelopment40

Figure13

Keystagesonanagritech’sinvestmentjourney44

Figure14

RevenuemodelsofAcceleratorcohortmembers46

Figure15

GSMAAgriTechAcceleratorTheoryofChange57

Figure16

Frameworkforassessingimpactoftheagritechservices58

Figure17

Numberofnewfarmerswhoaccessedagritechservices,perusecase59

Figure18

Digitalagricultureservicesandclimateresilience60

Figure19

Perceivedaggregatedimpactofcohortservicesonfarmers’climateresilience60

Figure20

Perceivedimpactofcohortmemberservicesonfarmerincomes61

Figure21

PerceivedbenefitsofaccessingdigitaladvisoryservicesinGhanaandSenegal62

Figure22

PerceivedbenefitsofaccessingmarketlinkageservicesinGhanaandNigeria65

Figure23

WinichFarmsdebitcardholders’usageandaccess67

Figure24

PerceivedbenefitsofdigitalpaymentsforfarmersinGhana,KenyaandNigeria68

LessonsFromScalingDigitalAgricultureServices04

LessonsFromScalingDigitalAgricultureServices05

Tablelist

Table1

Overviewofcohortmembers20

Table2

GSMAAgriTechAcceleratortechnicalassistancepartners23

Table3

Developmentstagesframeworkdefinitions81

Acronymsandabbreviations

APIApplicationprogramminginterface

BIBusinessintelligence

B2BBusiness-to-business

B2B2CBusiness-to-business-to-consumer

B2CBusiness-to-consumer

CACCustomeracquisitioncosts

DFSDigitalfinancialservices

EUDREuropeanUnionDeforestation-free

Regulation

FFSFieldfocussession

FGDFocusgroupdiscussion

FSPFinancialservicesprovider

GIWGenderinclusivityworkshop

ICSImpactcasestudy

IDIIn-depthinterview

IRInvestmentreadiness

IRLInvestmentreadinesslevel

IVR

LMIC

MEL

MEM

MFI

MNO

MVP

PIW

RFS

SaaS

SMS

TA

ToC

USSD

UX

UI

VC

Interactivevoiceresponse

Low-andmiddle-incomecountry

Monitoring,evaluationandlearningMarketengagementmanager

Microfinanceinstitution

Mobilenetworkoperator

Minimumviableproduct

ProductiterationworkshopRapidfeedbacksurvey

SoftwareasaserviceShortmessageserviceTechnicalassistance

Theoryofchange

UnstructuredsupplementaryservicedataUserexperience

Userinterface

Venturecapital

Executivesummary

LessonsFromScalingDigitalAgricultureServicesExecutivesummary07

TheGSMAAgriTechAccelerator(the“Accelerator”),whichranfrom

June2023toOctober2025,supportedthegrowthofinnovative,

revenue-generatingdigitalagriculturesolutionstoimprovefarmers’

livelihoods,financialinclusionandclimateresiliencethroughdigital

innovation.ThecohortofagritechsintheAcceleratorofferedservicesandsolutionsincludingdigitaladvisory,agridigitalfinancialservices(DFS),smartfarming,digitalprocurementandmarketlinkages.

Throughtailoredtechnicalassistance,theAcceleratorhelpedagritechsaddressthechallengestheyface

infindingtherightproduct-marketfit,streamlining

theuserexperienceandsecuringexternalfundingtosupporttheirgrowthobjectives.

Thisreportdrawsoninsightsanddatafromthe

Accelerator,examiningthekeyachievementsand

businessmodelsofcohortmembers,andprovidingstrategiesandrecommendationsforovercoming

commonchallengesfacedbyagritechstartupsontheirjourneystoscale.

KeyachievementsoftheAccelerator

335,000+

newfarmersregisteredbycohortmembers

89%

100,000+

newfemalefarmershadbetteraccess

todigitalagriculturalservices

20+

productiterationworkshops(PIW)wereheld,leadingto:

3

7

STrategic

partnershipS

establishedbetweenagritechsandkeyecosystemplayers,

includingMNOs,banks,

microfinanceinstitutions(MFIs)andcooperatives

15

rapidfeedbacksurveys(RFS)and3impactcasestudies(ICS)guided

productrefinements

andassessedtheimpactofservices

$1,379,000

raisedby6cohort

membersasaresultofsupportfrom

theAccelerator

20+

knowledgeproductspublished,sharing

insightsondigital

innovationinagritech

4

fieldfocussessions(FFS)organised

acrossWestandEastAfrica

Majorimprovementsto

7existingservices,

optimisinguserregistration,platformdesignandfeatures

ofnewfarmershadbetteraccesstodigital

agriculturalservices

Thedevelopmentandlaunchof3newagritechsolutions

LessonsFromScalingDigitalAgricultureServicesExecutivesummary08

Keylessonson

businessmodels

Thisreportoutlinescommonchallengesfacedbygrowingagritech

startupsandshowcasesthestrategies,lessonsandbestpractices

thathaveenabledsomeagritechstoovercomethem.Thefindingsareorganisedaroundthefollowingcorepillarsofanagritech’sjourney

toscale:

User-centricproductdesign

Userexperience(UX)researchanddesignarekey

toachievingproduct-marketfit.AUXresearchand

designapproachenabledcohortmemberstobetter

understandtheirusers’needs,valuesandchallenges.Byuncoveringcriticalissuesinproductdesignand

customerjourneys,UXresearchanddesignultimatelyincreasedadoptionandengagement.

Simplicityandaccessibilitydriveadoption:Many

smallholderfarmershavelowlevelsofdigitalliteracyandlimitedinternetaccess.Simplifyingproduct

designandtheonboardingprocess,enablingofflinefunctionalityandreducingfeatureoverloadallhelpedmakesolutionsmoreaccessible.Locallanguagesandinclusivedesignarealsokeytodrivingadoption.

Aniterativeapproachhelpsbuildtrust:Itisimportanttofirstbuildtrustintheapp’scorefunctionsbefore

introducingadvancedfeatures,especiallyforless

tech-savvyusers.Focusingonaminimumviable

product(MVP)thataddressesusers’primaryneeds,andgraduallyaddingnewfeaturesbasedonresearchandfeedback,ensuresasmootherexperiencethat

doesnotoverwhelmusers.

Proactiveuserguidanceenhancesuserengagement:Agritechsneedtobe“friendlyhelpers”thatactively

assistuserswithonboarding,ratherthanexpectingthemtoexploresolutionsontheirown.Notificationscanbeaneffectivewaytoenhanceengagementandpromoteunderutilisedfeatures.

LessonsFromScalingDigitalAgricultureServicesExecutivesummary09

Accesstocapital

Agritechsstruggletoscaleduetolimitedfunding,

whichaffectshiring,productdevelopmentandmarketexpansion.Manyrelyonbootstrapping,whichlimits

theirgrowth.

Manyfoundersnotonlyunderestimatedtheeffort

involvedininvestorengagement,butalsolackeda

clearunderstandingofwhateffectivefundraising

entails.Acrossthecohort,thereweresignificantgapsinpreparationandknowledge,fromrobustfinancial

planningandwell-organiseddataroomstotargetedinvestoroutreach.Withouttheseessentialbuildingblocks,fundraisingeffortsoftenfellshort.

Agritechsthatweresuccessfulinfundraising

hadstrongfinancialmodelsthatshowedthe

commercialviabilityoftheirsolutionsandapathway

toprofitability.Theyspenttimebuildingastrong

network,engagingwithmentors,industryexpertsandsector-focusedinvestorstoenhancetheirfundraisingprospects.Theyalsoensuredtheirpitcheswere

tailoredtoinvestors’prioritiesandclearlyconveyedacompellingvalueproposition.

Revenuegeneration

Agritechsneedtobestrategicindeveloping

revenuemodelsthatallowthemtobebothfinanciallysustainableandaffordablefortheirtargetcustomers.Thisoftenmeansdiversifyingrevenuestreams

orblendingbusinessmodelstoreducecustomer

concentrationrisksandcreatemorestableincomesources.

Business-to-consumer(B2C)models:Earning

directrevenuefromfarmershasprovendifficultfor

thecohort,duetoalowwillingnesstopayandthe

limitedfinancialcapacityoffarmers,especiallywhencompetingwithfreeorsubsidisedservices.

Donor-fundedmodels:Whiledonorfundingprovidescriticalearly-stagesupport,long-termsustainabilitycanbeachallengeifusersareunwillingorunabletopayafteritends.

Business-to-business(B2B)modelsoffermorestablerevenuepotential.Whilecommercialagribusinesses

mayhavegreaterabilitytopayfordigitalagriculturesolutionsthansmallholderfarmers,pricingmustbecarefullystructuredfordifferentbusinesssizes.

Whethersellingtofarmersoragribusinesses,

demonstratingastrongvaluepropositionand

addressinguserneedsareessentialtoconvert

themintopayingcustomers.SomeofthestrategiesexploredbytheAcceleratorcohortinclude:

—Freemiummodelsinwhichagritechsprovidebasicservicesforfreeandchargeforpremiumfeatures.

—Subsidisingservicesinearlystages,with

agritechscoveringcoststodriveadoptionand

createstickinessbeforemonetisingserviceslater.

—Introducingatier-basedapproachorinstalmentstomakeservicesaccessible.

LessonsFromScalingDigitalAgricultureServicesExecutivesummary10

Marketingandsales

Agritechsstruggletoacquirecustomersdueto

lowawareness,limitedmarketingbudgetsandhigh

customeracquisitioncosts(CAC).Customerretentionhasalsobeenanissueacrossthecohort,driven

byfactorssuchaslowdigitalliteracy,inconsistentinternetaccessandtheperceivedrelevanceoftheserviceoffering.

Agent-ledmodelshaveproveneffectivein

onboarding,educatingandbuildingtrustwith

smallholderfarmers.However,sustainingagent

networksiscostlyandoptimisingtheirperformance

remainsachallenge.Strategiessuchascommission-basedincentivesandmultifunctionalagentroleshavehelpedimprovetheefficiencyoftheseagent-led

models.

Whilesomeagritechsrelyonin-personagent

networks,othersareturningtodigitalmarketing

todriveawarenessandadoption.Despitebudget

constraints,strategicinvestmentsinsocialmediaandtargetedcampaignshavehelpedagritechsrefinetheiroutreachandengagementstrategies.

Partnershipsandecosystemintegration

ForagritechsintheAccelerator,strategic

partnershipshaveplayedacrucialroleingainingaccesstofarmers,includingwomenfarmers,

whilealsohelpingtoestablishtheirbrandand

servicesintheirrespectivemarkets.Insomecases,collaborationshavealsoenabledcohortmemberstoexpandtheirserviceofferings,strengthentheirvaluepropositionandunlocknewrevenuestreams.

However,buildingpartnershipsasanearly-stageagritechischallenging,astheirlimitedtraction

oftenmakethemunattractivepartnersforlargeorganisations,includinggovernment.

Experiencefromthecohortshowsthatbuildinga

successfulpartnershipinvolvesfindingawin-win

businesscaseand/orleveragingwarmintroductionsfromtheirnetworktoestablishcredibility.

Internalandexternalenablersofscale

Strongleadership:Behindeverysuccessfulagritechisastrongleadershipteamthatdrivesprogress

andensuresitsjourneytoscaleisontrack.This

teammustexceloperationallywhiledemonstratingresilienceandadaptability.

Technologicalexpertise:Beingsurroundedwiththe

righttalent,includingastrongtechandproductteam,iscrucialforproductdevelopmentandgrowth.

Theecosysteminwhichanagritechoperateshasa

majorinfluenceonitsabilitytoscale.Factorssuch

asmarketpotential–includingmarketsize,digital

readinessandcompetitiveness–aswellasenabling

regulatoryandlegislativeframeworksandthebroadermacroeconomicandpolicycontext,allplayacrucial

roleinanagritech’sabilitytoscale.

LessonsFromScalingDigitalAgricultureServicesExecutivesummary11

Impactofagritechservicesonsmallholderfarmers

Thisreportassessestheimpactofagritechservicesonfarmers,

examininghowdigitaladvisory,marketlinkagesandagriDFS

(includingdigitalpayments,insuranceandloans)haveinfluencedtheirlivelihoods.TheassessmentfocusesonfiveareasfromtheAcceleratorTheoryofChange(ToC):access,climateresilience,financialinclusion,productivityandincomeandlivelihoods.ItdrawsontheRFSandICS

conductedthroughouttheAccelerator.

Digitaladvisory

Access

96%offarmerssurveyedperceivedthatusing

digitaladvisoryservicesthroughchannelssuch

asIVR,SMSandcallcentreshaveenabledhigher

quality,cost-effective,timelyandsafeaccessto

information,improvingtheiragriculturalknowledgeandpractices.

Climateresilience

92%offarmersreportedthatdigitaladvisoryhada

positiveimpactontheirabilitytoanticipateandadapttoclimateevents.Theseservicesenabledfarmersto

effectivelyapplyadviceonagriculturalpracticesandweatherforecaststoplan,respondtoandadjustto

changingclimateconditions.

Productivityandincome

93%offarmersreportedthatdigitaladvisoryhelpedimprovecropproductivity.Thefrequencyandtimingofmessagesplayacrucialroleinfarmers’abilityto

implementguidance,althoughaffordabilityandskill

gapsarepersistentbarriers.87%offarmersbelieve

theirincomeshaveimprovedduetobetteragriculturalknowledgeanddecision-making.

Livelihoods

Digitaladvisoryservicesenabledfarmerstoenhancetheirlivelihoods,with87%ofsurveyedfarmers,

manyofwhomweresubsistencefarmers,reportingimprovedfoodsecurity.

LessonsFromScalingDigitalAgricultureServicesExecutivesummary12

Marketlinkages

Access

Solutionsthatprovidedmarketlinkagesimproved

marketaccessfor80%ofsurveyedfarmers.Farmersratedconsistentbuyersandtheabilitytosellmore

cropssafelyasthegreatestbenefits.

Productivityandincome

Marketlinkageservicesimprovedaccesstobuyersandstoragefor90%ofsurveyedfarmers.This,in

turn,improvedproductivitybysignificantlyreducing

croplosses.Consistentbuyersanddigitalweighing

systemsmeant88%offarmersperceivedtheyhad

betterprices,greaterfinancialstabilityand,therefore,

higherincomes.

Livelihoods

Theabilitytoearnmoreincomethroughbettermarketaccessenabledfarmerstoimprovetheirlivelihoods,

includingthroughgreaterfoodsecurity,theability

tofundtheirchildren’seducation,betteraccessto

healthservicesandexpandingtheirfarmingactivities.

AgriDFS

Access

Digitalpaymentsthroughmobilemoneyanddebit

cardsprovidedseveralbenefitsfor89%offarmers,includingfasterandsaferpayments,arecordof

sales/transactionhistoryandlowertransportcosts.

81%offarmersusingdigitalweatherindexinsurance

reportedthatinsurancewouldotherwisehavebeenunaffordable.

Loansbundledwithinsurancereducebarriersto

collateral,empoweringfarmers,especiallywomen,tomanagetheirfinancesandinvestinfarmproductivity.

Climateresilience

Insuranceenabledfarmerstoabsorbclimateshocksandrecovereffectively.82%offarmersperceived

thatinsurancemitigatedtheiragriculturallosses.

Long-termstrategies,includingaffordablefinancingandclimate-resilientinputs,arealsocrucialfor

strengtheningresilience.

Financialinclusion

Digitalpaymentshaveledtobettermoney

managementpracticesand,insomecases,increasedsavingsforfarmers.

Insuranceservices,althoughcomplex,providea

crucialfinancialsafetynet,especiallywhenprovidedwithflexiblepremiumpaymentstoenhanceadoption.

Loansbundledwithinsurancereducebarriersto

collateral,empoweringfarmers,especiallywomen,tomanagefinancesandinvestinfarmproductivity.

Productivityandincome

Loanssupportfarmersbyprovidingaccessto

productiveinputs.85%offarmersperceivedaboostintheirincome.

Livelihoods

Insurancemitigatesrisk.Althoughithadlessdirectimpactonfarmers’incomes,ithelpedincreasefoodsecurityfor48%ofinsuredfarmers.

Introduction

LessonsFromScalingDigitalAgricultureServicesIntroduction14

Resilientandefficientfoodsystemsarekeytoaddressingglobalfoodinsecurity.Withtheworld’spopulationprojectedtoincreasebynearlyabillionoverthenexttwodecades,andwithrisingincomesdriving

higherfoodconsumption,totalfooddemandisexpectedtoincrease

bymorethan50%,potentiallyreaching70%by2050.1Meanwhile,

approximately10%oftheglobalpopulation(783millionpeople)

experiencedhungerin2023.2Withoutamoreefficientandsustainablefoodsystem,risingdemandcouldexacerbatefoodinsecurity,

particularlyamongvulnerablepopulations.

Climatechangemakesfoodsecurityanevenmorecomplexchallenge,particularlyinlow-andmiddle-in