Hiveonline

Providing access to digital wallets and identity for African farmers.

Past and Current Partners

Techstars Berlin, Cartier Women's Initiative, Mastercard Lighthouse MASSIV, F-Lane Accelerator (Yunus/Vodafone), MIT Solve, GSR (Blockchain), Vodafone Americas Foundation (Innovation for Women), PJ McGovern Foundation (AI for Humanity), W4 (Digital Inclusion).

Active Countries
Zambia, Uganda, Mozambique
Thematic area(s)
Inclusive Growth
Technology
SaaS, White Label, Blockchain
Organisation Name
hiveonline
READ MORE ON THEIR WEBSITE

The Problem

Most African smallholder farmers lack digital records or access to digital savings. This makes it difficult to to get access to credit or efficient markets. Many lack connectivity so they don't own phones - especially women. Community groups such as cooperatives, farmers' associations and savings groups help farmers build financial resilience and aggregate crops, but their records are paper-based, may lack internal credibility with the group, and create barriers to entry for new groups who lack the needed level of literacy and numeracy.

The Solution

Hiveonline provides various decentralized finance solutions for overcoming the digital divide and allowing African farmers to access digital wallets, identity, and history. These solutions include: 1. myCoop.online is the first Decentralised Finance platform for African farmers, helping them grow better crops, aggregate and increase revenues, with access to credit, markets, farming inputs, and simple accounting. 2. e-Vouchers - blockchain based no-touch vouchers facilitate efficient, secure, low-cost distribution of agricultural inputs, emergency aid and much more. They’re fully traceable and self-auditing, slashing administration costs and increasing donor confidence. 3. vsla.online digitises community savings groups such as Village and Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA), SILCs, ROSCAs, Tontines and more.Built with blockchain technology, for better record-keeping, transparency and security.

How it works?

  • Step 1: Working with local partners, NGOs, or agricultural value chain actors to identify smallholder farmers in their communities who would benefit from digitization.
  • Step 2: Training partners' field officers to train groups of beneficiaries.
  • Step 3: Community leaders, merchants, or mobile banking agents onboard smallholder farmers onto their groups.
  • Step 4: Farmers submit crop forecasts to the groups.
  • Step 5: Farmers deliver harvests and receive payments (they can also take out internal loans).
  • Step 6: Groups can be eligible for external loans from financial institutions or buyers ( originated and managed via the loan portfolio manager).
  • Step 7: The no-touch, self-auditing digital vouchers distribute agricultural inputs without any risks of dealing with cash.
Digital X Solution Hiveonline

Bridging the digital divide

The hiveonline platform works with social structures to give people a digital wallet, identity, and digital history without needing their own phone. Beneficiaries can validate transactions on the community device (a minimum of one needed per group). The app works on any device with a browser and allows offline access.

Impact and highlights

3,000 smallholder farmers in Mozambique are collating their crop forecasts and deliveries, building digital records for access to credit and improving crop price per kilo by 12%.Rolled out a biological control for Aflatoxin with its no-touch digital vouchers to 100 farmers so they can grow better crops. 2,000 smallholder farmers in Zambia and Uganda are building digital records, increasing trust in savings groups and getting more access to credit.NGO partners in Zambia have reduced their spending on resources and travel by 30%

Plans for expansion

Currently expanding new rollouts to Kenya and Ghana.