Farmers will directly connect to the value chain of buyers, consumers, vendors, and exporters using Twiga, an online platform, to market their products fresh from the garden.
Speaking at the launch of the platform at Mestil Hotel on Monday, the Twiga chief executive officer, Yebeltal Getachew, explained that the company has commenced business operations in Uganda and consumers will be able to access fresh produce from the garden.
“Consumers will be able to access high-quality fresh products ranging from onions, and tomatoes directly from Twiga, for the farmers; the platform will provide an opportunity to export high-quality fresh produce like pineapples, watermelons among others,” he said.
According to Getachew, Twiga, a tech company with footprints from Kenya will bridge the gap in accessibility and infrastructure challenges faced by farmers in the informal sector.
He said that many stakeholders in the industry do not have the proper infrastructure to access information on farmers.
“The population and urbanisation are growing so fast and the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. The fragmented trade is not going anywhere but with technology, it is becoming easy for all,” he said.
Getachew said that Twiga, with over 1,000 employees in the region, has distributed over 700 products in two countries and does 12,000 deliveries every day.
In his remarks, Nkuutu Mubaraka, the director of business development at the Uganda Manufacturer’s Association and chief guest, said that the launch breeds many opportunities for the business fraternity and UMA will empower all the players with necessary programs.
“We seek to empower every player with programs, products, or partnerships that enable economic progress which can be measured on a national scale. We need companies like Twiga to demonstrate the international standards of service delivery and quality control mechanisms,” he said.
Nkuutu called upon other industrial players to embrace international partnerships to realise growth and sustainability across production chains in agriculture.
