Kenyan tech startup Akirachix has received a 35,000 US dollars grant from infoDev, a World Bank financing program. Akirachix is a society of ladies in technology that won the infoDev grant for mobile social networking activities in the mLab in Nairobi.
The four organisations emerged as beneficiaries of the first Creating Sustainable Businesses in the Knowledge Economy program. The program aims at encouraging SME led innovation in the information and communication technology ((ICT) and agribusiness sectors.
Akirachix is a tech start up that has developed an information service dubbed M-Farm that enables farmers to receive real time information on market prices via their mobile phones. The company hopes to empower farmers to negotiate better prices for their produce through this application.
Akirachix was founded the following members: Judith Owigar, Rose Karanja, Linda Kamau, Linnet Kwamboka, Jamila Abass, Susan Oguya, Angela Oduor, Catherine Kiguru, Jessica Colaco, Lilian Nduati and Marie Githinji.
M-Farm was founded by Bachelor of Business Information Technology fourth year students and members of Akirachix, Lilian Nduati and Linda Kwamboka, as well as Alumni, Jamila Abass and Susan Oguya, all from Strathmore University in Kenya.
Lilian Nduati told Africa Report that the company has so far started training farmers on how to use the mobile application.
“We developed this application after speaking to farmers. They told us their biggest challenges were finding out the prices of commodities and monitoring weather patterns. The M-Farm service will fill the information gap and protect them from further exploitation by middlemen.” says Nduati.
The interactive service will provide farmers with weather alerts and connect them with experts, as well as give them information on the nearest farm stores.
The Creating Sustainable Businesses in the Knowledge Economy program is run by infoDev in partnership with the Government of Finland and mobile phone supplier Nokia. The program kicked off in 2010 and will run until 2012.
Image: African by africa on www.freedigitalphotos.net
Africa Report Team
February 25, 2011
Hi Edmond
This is the website of Akirachix http://akirachix.com/ where you can contact them via email.
Good luck
Africa Report Team
Africa Report Team
February 25, 2011
Hi Nelson
Here is the infoDev website http://www.infodev.org/en/Index.html where you can find out how to apply for funding and how to submit a project to their programme. This is their email address info@infodev.org so you can contact them directly. We advise you to do research on their website and then contact them further.
Africa Report Team