Like Safaricom’s wildly successful M-Pesa, a mobile payment system aimed at small traders and Kenyans without bank accounts, Digifarm charges a small per-transaction percentage fee. IMPROVED HARVESTS Digifarm farmers receive 10,500 shillings of credit per acre of maize, which they repay with 15 per cent interest once the crop is sold. Once the maize is collected, Digifarm arranges a buyer who pays 33.3 shillings per kg of maize - 3.3 shillings more than traditional brokers. Farmers in the area said they could not afford to buy quality seeds and other supplies before Digifarm unlocked financing. “I...followed all the training lessons,” Kibet said, standing outside a Digifarm maize collection centre, where farmers brought sacks of maize on donkeys and motor-bikes.

Source: Standard Digital June 15, 2020 12:56 UTC