Amsterdam-based social agribusiness SheFarms has launched a crowdfunding campaign to further its vision. The startup wants to raise funds to provide over 100 female farmers in Ghana with mobile devices and services. The agricultural startup aims to make it simpler to connect female farmers in Ghana’s central region to information and new markets.
SheFarms Launches 1% Club Crowdfunding Campaign
SheFarms’ online fundraising project is currently running on the 1% Club website. The startup is looking to raise €7,200. 1% Club is a crowdfunding platform that focuses on empowering ordinary people to make a change in their communities. Reaching the crowdfunding goal will allow SheFarms to equip female farmers in Mfoum, Ghana, with mobile devices and customized SIM cards. Each phone will cost around €60 and comes pre-loaded with software designed for smallholder farmers.
Funds will also be used to develop the SheFarms mobile app. Altogether, the SheFarms platform will help the women to share ideas and communicate more conveniently. The app will augment this with reliable farm management knowledge which can be accessed through the devices.
In addition, SheFarms’ app also connects small-scale farmers to important information. This includes sustainable farming techniques to help improve their productivity. Women make up the majority of smallholder farms globally and the project aims to provide them with equal opportunities. By using the new mobile connection, women farmers are empowered to improve their farm management and crop production. The startup’s platform also gives them access to new markets, including international business opportunities.
SheFarms Targets Gender Inequality in Farming
SheFarms is an Agribusiness startup whose goal is to empower small-scale female farmers in the developing world. Women account for up to 80% of smallholder farmers yet receive less than 5% of extension services. The agribusiness startup aims to reduce that gender gap in farming. Another issue SheFarms aims to tackle is the lack of sustainable farming practices in parts of the developing world. As a result, the startup hopes to achieve a reduction in the number of people going hungry around the globe.
Helping women in farming to achieve food security is a crucial part of the health and stability of many communities in the developing world. And SheFarms’ philanthropist approach to helping female farmers ties in nicely with 1% Club’s fundraising ethos. Consequently, SheFarms’ goal is to help farmers improve their productivity. The program also aims to introduce the women to new and profitable markets through a network of international buyers.
SheFarms sees mobile connection as the first step in helping farmers improve their knowledge and productivity. Better farming practices also help to increase female farmer’s income and general quality of life. By extension, these benefits will then be passed on to the wider community in general. The startups’ focus on improving food security through sustainable farming practices is also to be commended. The SheFarms crowdfunding campaign is currently on the 1% Club website and has reached just under €2000 so far.