AFEX hosts session at Africa Tech Summit, promoting the convergence of tech, finance & agriculture

AFEX, Nigeria’s leading commodities market player, hosted a side event during the 2022 Africa Tech Summit taking place in Nairobi, Kenya, to address the role and influence of technology on agricultural trade infrastructure.

The side-event, themed “Code Cash Crop: The Role of Technology in Disrupting Agriculture Trade Infrastructure”, focused on the influence technology has had on trade infrastructure, including how it has improved market opportunities for producers, facilitated participation in supply chain activities for various levels of players and increased transparency and security for investors on both ends of the market.

AFEX’s Chief Operating Officer, Akinyinka Akintunde, during the AFEX masterclass, said that to disrupt agriculture in Africa, there is a massive need to invest in infrastructure and platforms that lead to an organised marketplace that benefits all stages of the agricultural value chain.  He added that technology will be key in promoting platform models for agriculture trade that can focus on providing access to logistics and delivery, access to advisory services, access to inputs and access to the market, which are all key to the future of agriculture in Africa.

According to him, these efforts will help Africa better unlock and enjoy the benefit of intra-regional trade.

Akintunde also highlighted how the model that AFEX has been executing over the past 7 years of operations effectively harnesses the intersection of technology, finance and agriculture. Accordingly, Akintunde mentioned the return of AFEX’s industry event Code Cash Crop, which creates a convergence point for conversations that integrate the technology, finance and agriculture sectors.

According to Akintunde, the first Code Cash Crop event featured corporates and entrepreneurs from the banking, technology, and agriculture sectors, who contributed ideas to boost the country’s agriculture sector’s competitiveness. In its second year, the Code Cash Crop centered on providing payment alternatives for rural agrarian areas, allowing more rural residents to become financially integrated.

Now in its third year, AFEX’s Code Cash Crop looks to continue the conversations from the Africa Tech Summit workshop by inviting ideation and solutions around optimising trade infrastructure through the participation of the technology, finance and agriculture sectors. The industry event will, this year, include a hackathon component, where teams made up of technology, finance and agriculture practitioners and enthusiasts will develop solutions to optimize trade infrastructure in Africa. A timeline of March to May 2022 was given for the operationalization of the event.

Having created solutions that integrated these three sectors AFEX is well-positioned to roll out workable pathways to drive the convergence that will build prosperity alongside creating immense social value. Bolstered by an existing supply chain infrastructure of over 100 warehouses and digital trading platforms that link investors with producers and processors, the company’s commitment to the agricultural sector and deep industry knowledge will add crucial expertise behind this much-needed activity.

Since its launch in 2014, AFEX has committed to levelling-up Africa’s agri-tech sector; by helping the continent trade with itself and the world, while boosting food security and making food production more efficient.