A Kenya-based fintech-agritech firm called Hello Tractor has emerged as the winner of the fifth edition of Catapult: Inclusion Africa, a week-long financial inclusion bootcamp that is part of an accelerator programme developed by the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology.
Hello Tractor offers an app that brings tractor-owners and farmers together. For farmers, it offers access to an affordable mechanisation service, while tractor owners can also access innovative finance on a pay-as-you-go basis. The service also is part of the World Food Programme’s innovation programme.
The company currently serves some 250.000 local farmers, mostly in Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria, and some 1.5 million acres of land. Some 3000 tractors are currently registered on the Hello Tractor platform , one hundred of which are financed directly by the firm, according to James Goode, chief commercial officer. Goode said that here is a potential to serve half a billion farmers in Africa once the tractor shortage can be dealt with.
The firm was one of a dozen African fintechs that travelled to Luxembourg last week to take part in a weeklong programme that included workshops, trainings and a pitching contest. The bootcamp was organised by the Lhoft Foundation and supported by Luxembourg’s foreign ministry, alongside partners from the finance and microfinance industry.
“Out of an incredibly capable field, it is an honour to win this prestigious award,” said Goode. “The combination of peer-to-peer learning through the Catapult cohort, world class mentors and guest speakers, has equipped Hello Tractor with a newfound view.”
Improving financial inclusion
Catapult: Inclusion Africa has accelerated more than 60 companies from over 20 countries since its launch, Lhoft said. This year, there were a total of 426 applications from which 15 fintechs from ten countries were selected for the one-week programme. This edition featured 24 sessions and the involvement of 22 experts and 27 mentors.
Building on local expertise and aligned with the sustainability goals of Luxembourg’s finance centre, the programme aims to help fintech companies with the goal of improving financial inclusion across the African continent. Critically, the programme serves to build bridges for business between Africa and Europe, Lhoft said.
“The programme brought together 12 incredible and impressive entrepreneurs all committed to deliver real impact,” said Nasir Zubairi, the CEO of Lhoft. “Their solutions are excellent, and I am sure many will go on to achieve great things; hopefully the Catapult: Inclusion Africa will be a memorable contributor to their success.”
Fintech in Africa
The others fintech firms that took part in the Luxembourg programme were Africred, a blockchain firm from Mali; Cameroon’s Agrixtech, which helps small-scale farmers transition to commercial farming; Uganda-based ChapChap Africa, which provides digital financial service tools to small and medium-sized companies; Zambia’s fintech bank ComGrow; Denmark’s Dan Aid, which provides micro-health insurance in Africa; Rwanda-based mobile financial services firm Kayko; Nkwa, a digital piggybank in Cameroon; Senegal’s Proxalys, which digitises informal credit sales transactions; Radava Mercantile, a agricultural commodity exchange from Kenya; Luxembourg’s blockchain financial services company Servichain; and Egypt’s Yalla Solutions, a digital financial services platform that democratises access to financial services through an app.
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