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This member story was featured in the 2016 APC Annual Report, as part of our work on use and development.
After years of information and knowledge exchange, the Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) embarked on the incubation of enterprises that show potential for social impact. ALIN believes that young entrepreneurs need good organisational systems to grow to their full potential.
In the last three years, with the support of ALIN, Sokopepe Ltd has grown from an idea to a start-up currently supporting over 16,000 farmers to develop complete documentation of their farming activities and outcomes.
During the 2016 Connected Kenya Summit, Sokopepe won the Microsoft ICT Innovation Award under the Agriculture category. The award recognised Sokopepe as a start-up that meets Kenya’s blueprint vision to build a vibrant middle-income economy by the year 2030.
Sokopepe’s innovative Farm Records Management Information System (FARMIS) has enabled the development of a comprehensive digital record pathway among Meru County farmers.
The farmers are using the record-keeping data to know which crops are more profitable, and have improved their decision making on the basis of profit and loss statements. They are also able to track all their agribusiness enterprises, schedule different farm events, and track all their expenses, as well as gaining better access to markets. “The beauty of FARMIS is that financial institutions can review our records over a period of time to determine whether we are capable of managing credit,” said Mrs. Emery Kawira, a farmer in Meru County.
Image: Photo: Farmers tending to potatoes at one of Sokopepe’s demonstration farms at Kiolo village in Meru County @Bob Aston.
