Zamokuhle Thwala was struggling as a smallholder farmer when he got a brilliant idea to start a fintech company to empower farmers like him.
His company AgriCool, which was founded in 2019, is a digital crowdfunding platform that allows for individuals to empower smallholder farmers who are deprived access to finance through conventional banks by investing in their agribusinesses.
"I experienced a lot of problems with access to markets myself, so I decided to start my own company to help smallholder farmers get access to markets," he said.
The 29-year-old is now one of the owners of ten start-up companies that managed to land a highly lucrative space after beating hundreds of other applicants for the Alpha Code incubation programme which is valued at R500,000 each. The companies also get R150,000 in funding.
He started off with a bang, but the level five lockdown which prevented informal traders from selling produce on the streets put his company in a temporary grave.
"It is an untapped market with huge potential, but when Covid-19 came we had a lot of challenges. We lost over R1m. We couldn't sell in the market because the market also got flooded. Commercial farmers who couldn't sell their produce abroad flooded the market and it was very tough and it was difficult to compete with them on the price, quality and quantity," he said.
But he was able to revive his business after landing a life-saving deal with Boxer supermarkets and later Green Fresh and Save Hyper.
Now the smallholder farmers Thwala works with in KZN towns and villages are able to enter the formal space while they recover from financial loss.
Thwala, who has a background in engineering, has four employees that help him run the business.
"Farming was the only sector that made sense to me. I want more people to join the space and see farming as cool. I think agriculture is the backbone of the economy and the most relevant industry," he said.
Thwala said since starting the Alpha Code programme in January, he has been able to identify the mistakes he has done during his entrepreneurial journey.
"I'm hoping to continue getting insight, it's very practical and I would say it's like a mini MBA," he said.
In future, the young businessman would like to continue expanding and empower more smallholder farmers.
Other startups that have been incubated are: Bento, OysterPay, MatchKit.co, Varibill, Chama Money, and DentX, Imfuyo Technologies, Mapha and Melon.
ledwabak@sowetan.co.za
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