AgriDuka is a digital platform that connects farmers to agri-inputs, and services. Offering farmers opportunity to buy from different retailers/agrovets to access inputs and services for both crop and animal farmers, beginning with Kenya in East Africa. With a plan to expand to the rest of the region. AgriDuka is a multi-vendor ecommerce platform. Basically, multiple vendors can each create their own semi-autonomous online store within AgriDuka and sell their products directly to customers. This means that buyers understand that they are buying products from the vendor directly and not from AgriDuka. What AgriDuka provides is the ecommerce platform, general marketing of the products on the site, and oversight role to ensure both the vendors and buyers are protected. AgriDuka also provides a comprehensive product catalogue of most approved agri-input products in Kenya from which vendors can select a product, append a price to it, and sell.

What Was the Problem?

Agriduka sought to create a one-of-a-kind multivendor ecommerce platform tailored for agricultural products. With this platform, Agriduka could help farmers in Kenya get farm inputs and additionally, sell their produce, more effectively. With the ecommerce platform, Agriduka sought to help farmers use technology to their benefit, by eliminating the hassle associated with physical shopping which is time consuming. While there are plenty of ecommerce platforms already established within Kenya and the region, dealing with mostly household items, there is none suitably tailored for agricultural products. Therefore, Agriduka seeks to provide such a platform to support Kenyan farmers. With the ecommerce platform, Agriduka can assist farmers get access to vast catalogues of products from an assortment of sellers online, who give competitive pricing and also make it easier to receive the products through home deliveries.

Additionally, Agriduka sought to create a well-versed and established online presence, where its audiences could efficiently reach the management team and get swift assistance. With a high global adoption of social media, Agriduka needed a well-managed social media presence where the organization could have a first-hand interaction with its audience.

How Did We Resolve It?

We set up a multivendor ecommerce platform to satisfy Agriduka’s needs. In this platform, agri-input and agri-produce vendors can create a semi-autonomous online store within Agriduka, and here they can reach wide audiences and sell their products to customers across the country. The platform gives vendors the freedom to transact with customers without interference, although Agriduka oversees all processes, ensuring that both vendors and buyers within the platform are well protected against exploitation. Additionally, the platform has a pre-established product catalogue of all approved agri-input products from all manufacturers within Kenya, which makes it easier for vendors to select those which they have stocked, after which they can append their retail prices.  The ecommerce platform also has a feature requiring vendors to indicate their geographical location, making it easier for buyers to connect with vendors closest to them.

We also created social media accounts on popular platforms Facebook and Instagram, where Agriduka gives snippets of information to its audience regarding operations, further increasing the number of visitors expected on Agriduka’s website. More visitors guarantee a higher conversion rate, helping popularize Agriduka’s platform. We also added a blog section on Agriduka’s website, where visitors can gain more agricultural knowledge regarding essential agricultural practices, as well as revolutionary practices for the future.

What Were the Outcomes?

Since our partnership, Agriduka has grown steadily, with multiple vendors registering on the platform daily and with significant increases in successful transactions. Additionally, Agriduka has been inundated with positive customer feedback regarding the convenience offered by the platform, boosting morale for exponential growth. Agriduka has also had an increased audience, with a greater conversion rate since streamlining the website. With the addition of the blog section to the website, Agriduka has reported more visitors to the website within the past quarter, with more visitors showing interest in acquiring the agricultural knowledge presented on the blog section. Additionally, the blogs have shown promise of helping convert the audience into potential customers for the ecommerce platform.

What’s Next?

Agriduka seeks to record exponential growth in the future, establishing itself as the default ecommerce platform for all agricultural needs. Additionally, Agriduka seeks to continue imparting agricultural knowledge on its audience, helping farmers in Kenya and the greater East Africa region. Further, with increasing interaction with farmers within the region, Agriduka seeks to expand its services within the greater East Africa region and eventually establish itself as the leader in Africa. Agriduka also looks forward to enhancing its reach and relevance within social circles, helping influence farmers into more sustainable farming techniques for better food security in future. Agriduka also hopes to retain high quality customer service, further encouraging more vendors and customers to transact on the platform.