Introduction: The State of Nigerian Agriculture Nigeria’s agriculture sector plays a critical role in its economy, employing about 80% of the nation’s smallholder farmers. Despite the nation’s dependency on oil revenues, agriculture remains its largest employer. However, Nigerian farmers face numerous challenges, including conflict, limited access to finance, outdated farming techniques, and supply chain inefficiencies.
This was the context in which Riches Attai, a student at the University of Benin, along with Chichebem Jibunoh and Winners Attai, founded Attai’s Beans, a company focused on processing and repackaging beans for consumers. After running the business for a few years, the team encountered a significant problem: the high cost of buying beans, even though Nigeria was the largest global producer of the crop at the time.
Determined to address this issue, Riches Attai spent over two years in Kebbi State in northern Nigeria. His experience led to the creation of Winich Farms, a company designed to help smallholder farmers overcome these challenges by improving supply chain efficiency, increasing farmer earnings, and offering access to finance. Attai’s co-founders, Winners and Jibunoh, later joined him as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technology Officer, respectively.
Identifying Key Challenges in the Agricultural Supply Chain
During his time in Kebbi, Riches uncovered three core issues that affected both farmers and food processors:
- Middlemen Driving Up Costs: The presence of middlemen in the supply chain inflated prices for food processors but did not increase farmers’ earnings.
- Lack of Access to Credit: Most smallholder farmers lacked access to credit or even basic banking services.
- Visibility Issues: Food processors had little visibility into where products were sourced or how they moved through the supply chain.
Winich Farms’ Value Proposition: Addressing Farmers’ Key Challenges
Winich Farms was built to address these specific issues. The company connects smallholder farmers directly to food processors, eliminating middlemen and allowing farmers to receive better prices for their products. Simultaneously, it provides food processors with visibility into the origin and movement of the goods they purchase.
Moreover, Winich Farms plays a crucial role in financial inclusion for farmers by offering them digital wallets and recently piloting a debit card in partnership with Sterling Bank. By tracking data from sales and other transactions, Winich Farms helps farmers build credit histories, enabling them to access credit and insurance from financial partners.
Piloting Financial Solutions: A Focus on Female Farmers
In 2023, Winich Farms piloted a loan scheme for 500 female farmers, achieving a 100% repayment rate. This success demonstrates the company’s commitment to improving access to credit for underserved farmers, particularly women. The company’s financial solutions go beyond digital wallets, aiming to empower farmers and boost their financial resilience.
Attracting Investors: $3 Million Pre-Series A Funding
Winich Farms’ innovative approach has attracted significant interest from investors. The company recently announced a $3 million pre-Series A funding round, which included a mix of debt and equity. Investors such as Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF), Climate Resilient Africa Fund, Marula Square, Plug and Play, and Tekedia Capital contributed $2.5 million in equity, while Lagos-based Sahel Capital provided $590,000 in debt funding.
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Tamer El-Raghy, Managing Director of ARAF, highlighted Winich Farms’ potential, stating, “Smallholder farmers face multiple bottlenecks along the value chain, limiting their productivity and access to markets. Investing in Winich aligns with our goal of supporting local businesses that foster sustainable agricultural development and improve food security.”
Building Efficient Agricultural Supply Chains
One of Winich Farms’ key strengths lies in its ability to build efficient supply chains. With over 4,000 agents across 16 Nigerian states, the company ensures that farmers can easily sell their produce. Farmers, many of whom live in rural areas and primarily use feature phones, can access the company’s services through USSD short codes, enabling them to locate the closest agent, check real-time produce prices, and request callbacks when needed.
Winich Farms’ agents play a pivotal role in facilitating these transactions. Once a farmer arrives at an agent’s location, the agent verifies the quality of the products before logging the information into the company’s app using the farmer’s unique identifier. A truck driver is then assigned to transport the produce to the buyer, while the agent earns a commission and the driver receives payment from the delivery fee charged to the buyer.
In addition, farmers receive an SMS confirmation once their produce has been collected, ensuring transparency throughout the process. Off-takers can track the movement of products, providing further confidence in the supply chain. Initially, Winich Farms used WhatsApp’s live location feature for tracking but later built its own in-house solution after WhatsApp’s privacy policy changes limited access to its infrastructure.
Leveraging Partnerships for Growth
Rather than building its own agent network, Winich Farms partnered with two fintech companies to scale its operations. This approach has allowed the startup to focus on its core strengths while leveraging the expertise of fintech partners to enhance its services.
Looking Ahead: Future Growth and Challenges
Winich Farms has experienced impressive growth, closing 2023 with $30 million in gross merchandise value (GMV), a 3x increase from the previous year. With 139,000 farmers on its platform and 150,000 total users (including off-takers and truck drivers), the company has become a major player in Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
Despite its success, the company faces challenges, particularly in ensuring timely payments to farmers. Initially, Winich Farms relied on digital wallets accessible via USSD, but low mobile money penetration hindered adoption. Regulatory changes in Nigeria also reduced the amount of cash that can be withdrawn, making it difficult to pay unbanked farmers.
To address these issues, Winich Farms introduced debit cards, allowing for faster payments and helping farmers build credit histories. The company currently has 25,000 debit cards in circulation and plans to increase this number to 195,000 in the coming years.
Conclusion: A Path Toward Sustainable Agriculture
Winich Farms’ innovative approach to solving supply chain inefficiencies, improving financial inclusion, and empowering smallholder farmers has positioned it as a leader in Nigeria’s agricultural industry. With continued support from investors and a focus on scaling its services, the company is poised to play a critical role in transforming Nigeria’s agriculture sector and improving the livelihoods of the country’s smallholder farmers.
For more information, visit Winich Farms official website.
This article was created in partnership with the ETF Community, a network of engineers, founders, and industry professionals dedicated to fostering innovation, collaboration, and entrepreneurship in the tech space. For more information, visit www.etf.community.
