Aisha Raheem is one of the two young Nigerian innovators nominated for the Africa Prize for the RoyalAcademy of Engineering 2020. She is a strategy consultant and CEO of Farmz2U. She developed software that assists farmers in preventing wastage of food. Her Enterprise Farmz2U aims at enhancing nutrition by deploying digital solutions. The young woman briefly tells her story in a reinvigorating interview with us at Engineers’ Forum.
What need spurred you to invent FarmZ2U?
My journey on Farmz2U started in 2014 following a health scare that significantly changed my relationship with food. Farmz2U has since grown from an idea that sought to improve the nutritional value of food in the kitchen, to a solution that directly targets the food creation process at the farm.
Tell us about your background and how it has built your person today?
Before my decision in December 2018 to work on Farmz2U full time, I built a thriving career in Asset Management. As an Economics graduate and CIMA Dip MA accountant, I have had the opportunity to work with the likes of Schroders Asset Management, Royal Bank of Scotland and BBC Worldwide. The skills and network I have built from these experiences support me in building Farmz2U as a leader in Agritech digital solutions.
What prized features make up the FarmZ2u venture?
Providing tailored agricultural insights, guaranteeing sales of farmers produce and supporting farmers throughout the entire value chain is our value proposition to users and the rationale to use Farmz2U instead of competitive or substitute products. We adopt existing technologies in innovative ways and developed a unique technical method for which a patent was filed in October 2019.
You were recently nominated for the African Prize RA Eng, what gives your business an edge over others?
The Royal Academy of Engineering recognizes solutions that are innovative and deliver social impact. Our recognition as one of 16 shortlisted businesses across the continent is a great acknowledgement of our business viability. Our edge over others is our use of technology in an easy and impactful way and our ability to positively change the lives of our users; farmers.
Apart from Farmz2u, have you created other inventions in the past?
Farmz2U is my first innovation to date. However, I have always been entrepreneurial. At the age of 9, I sold pets captured in our family garden to cousins and friends at school. And at University, I had a stock trading business.
How were you able to build your business from the concept stage to the current state?
I built the business slowly and conducted lots of concept and user tests. The costs in the early stage were funded with income from my full-time employment as I worked on Farmz2U on a part-time basis until December 2018. Concepts like the lean startup methodology also helped with providing structure on our business model development.
What major projects have Farmz2u carried out since it started?
We have worked with farmers across the South West region of Nigeria through a private beta testing of our prototype. Also, we have worked closely with the Lagos State’s FADAMA project with a view of supporting its’ farmers with our technology. We are currently preparing for a soft product launch in Q2 2020, which will incorporate feedback from our beta users.
Who are the FarmZ2u partners and is the business open to new partners and investors?
Some of our partners include Cambridge Consultants, a UK based software consulting company, that supports our product development. Having worked with the likes of Novartis and the US Government they provide invaluable experience. Also, Wandieville Media is an indigenous agricultural communications specialist we work with. We are also working with other stakeholders under strict NDAs. As a growing company, we value collaborative opportunities and are always open to new partners and investors.
How much recognition and support has your business received from the Nigerian government?
We recently received free workspace access for a year through the Lagos Innovates Workspace scheme which provides significant support to the team. We also recently presented at the ModiTech 2019 summit with dignitaries from the Nigerian Communications Committee (NCC) and National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) following our nomination as Nigeria’s Best Digital Solution – Green Category by the World Summit Awards. This increased our exposure and networking opportunities.
What are your Long term goals for Farmz2u?
Our long-term goal is to empower the next generation of farmers in Sub Saharan Africa with Nigeria as our pilot country. With 25% of the global population estimated to be in Africa by 2050, we must feed ourselves.
