Financing smart agriculture, with Allan Tollo
I know the voiceover says this is my 38th show, but a quick reshuffle means it is actually the 40th, still, my message remains the same - MyFugo is possibly the best representation I've seen to date of the benefit that credit can bring to previously underserved markets.
I’ve gotten excited about mortgages as a tool for wealth creation, Ivy League student loans as a route to well-paying international careers, and SME loans as a root to economic progress, but MyFugo’s wraparound service for smallholder dairy farmers stands to benefit so many sectors of the Kenyan economy.
Join me and Allan Tollo, founder and CEO, to find out how.
You can find MyFugo on their homepage here - http://myfugo.com/our-team/ - but also, as Allan mentioned, on many of the big social media platforms, including Facebook where they are most active - https://www.facebook.com/myfugoApp/
You can also learn more about ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores at https://confirmu.com/ or on episode 24 of this show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24
You can learn more about myself, Brendan le Grange, on my LinkedIn page (feel free to connect), while you can find my action-adventure novels on Amazon, some versions even for free.
If you have any feedback, questions, or if you would like to participate in the show, please feel free to reach out to me via the contact page on this site.
Regards,
Brendan
The full written transcript, with timestamps, is below:
Allan Tollo 0:00
Agriculture contributes 27% of our GDP, employs 70% of the rural people, and yet sees only 4% of mainstream finance. And so addressing that, was addressing the needs of 2 million smallholder dairy farmers, primarily traditional farmers.
They keep very traditional or local breeds, which produce very little milk. And so the irony is that a farmer would actually be keeping seven heads of cattle, all local breeds, and would only be producing around three litres of milk. And so we step in and reason that, why don't you keep only one or two cows, and each of them producing, say, eight litres of milk? And so the first thing was to introduce an enabling environment that these people could have a cultural shift from traditional dairy farming to commercial dairy farming, and get a return that can help you in your household needs, and the value of that cow will be repaid over a period of 12 months.
Brendan Le Grange 1:24
I am a city boy, to the extent that my wife still likes to laugh and tell a story about the time, while on a cross country drive, that I woke up alarmed by the sounds coming from outside our cottage. This was in rural South Africa, mind you, so in my mind at least, it could have been any number of wild beasts... except it was a herd of cows. I'd forgotten we had stopped at a cattle farm and it turns out that kids' books have greatly simplified the true situation: cows do not gently moo.
So perhaps I learned more than most in my conversation with Allan Tollo of MyFugo - much more than just a Kenyan agri-lender. But whether you know your farmyard animals better than I do or not, you can't help but be inspired by the business model. Welcome to How to Lend Money to Strangers with Brendan Le Grange.
This is now my 38th episode of the show. And in that time, I've gotten excited about mortgages as a tool for wealth creation, Ivy League student loans as a route to well-paying international careers and SME loans as a root to economic progress. But MyFugo is probably the best representation I've seen to date of the benefit that credit can bring to previously underserved markets - not content to lend money and collect, Allan and his team are helping subsistence dairy farmers to use that money to its full potential, modernising Kenya's agricultural sector as they do, one carefully-chosen well-looked-after and conveniently-funded cow at a time.
You would have heard them mentioned in Episode 24 one ConfirmU, now's our chance to deep dive.
Allan, it's a pleasure to have you on the show. We've obviously worked together a little bit, and we'll get into how in a minute, but before we do that, we maybe start with your background, who you are, and what has brought you to this point in your career.
Allan Tollo 3:40
Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to be here and considered to be part of this podcast, its a privilege that we don't take for granted. It's a nice opportunity to tell people about what we do and smart agriculture as a whole.
My name is Allan Tolo, I am the CEO of MyFugo. I have a background in IT and for the last 20 years I have worked in several companies - InsurTech, FMCG, in a financial aggregation company - and all through my past I have been able to support various domains and dimensions in terms of having enabling systems that help any type of work. If you talk about financial services, then you're talking about implementing systems that bring the money closer to the people, create convenience and easy to use applications. If you're talking about InsureTech, it's data to help address the insurance needs of the people. And of course, if you're talking about an FMCG, it's all about goods and products and how you use IT to market it, easy go to market channels.
And so two, three years ago I then decided to start MyFugo. This was merely by chance, because what happened is that I wanted to start a dairy farm and looked around for good IT solutions that would help in record keeping/ managing the farm. And I was not impressed by what I saw. And so instead, I decided to start my own company that would serve people in terms of an application that helps in record keeping and managing of the dairy cows.
Brendan Le Grange 5:31
The classic entrepreneur story, where you experienced the problem yourself and went out to solve it, and used that to build a business. You know, you were talking about FMCG, insurance, all the sort of things you associate with the big city, and now you're in agriculture. So I guess, how did you take that decision to move out of the corporate world at that time?
Allan Tollo 5:52
I looked around, and there are many solutions coming up in financial services, there are many in InsureTech, but agriculture, ironically, had very few people attempting to make a change, especially using IT to make it grow.
Our statistics show that agriculture contributes 27% of our GDP, employs 70% of the rural people and yet, only 4% of mainstream finance goes to the same agriculture. And so there was a clear need to address the lack of credit to agriculture, and also to address the need for technological solutions to help in accelerating productivity (and definitely profitability).
And finally, agriculture, by its own way, is based in the rural sectors. And so anyone solving or getting involved in any part of the value chain would have to work with the rural folk. And so we ended up identifying dairy as a primary needs, mainly because Kenya is actually the biggest dairy producer in Africa, of course, outside South Africa. So it's a big sub-sector. In fact, it's the biggest sub-sector inside the agricultural industry. And so addressing that was addressing the needs of very many people, who are actually 2 million smallholder dairy farmers in Kenya.
Brendan Le Grange 7:29
Oh, wow, I didn't realise the scale of that. Before we talk about how you're solving those - and in particular on the credit side - can we stay on the founding story a little bit? Because I'm quite interested, how did you pull the team together, because you've got a big team, they're working with you, what was involved in that in in building out the business?
Allan Tollo 7:48
So the first part was selling the vision to a few friends and people who I thought had some knowledge, especially in areas that we needed some expertise in order to make this work. And so I reached out to my technical co founder, Mr. Jackson Mwaniki, and actually sold to him the vision. At that time, I didn't tell him everything, I just told him, in part, what I was looking at, and reached out to several other tech people. And as luck would have it, Jackson came through interested in helping to develop the solution.
Then I reached out to a few friends with some financial skills, some with HR skills, and one also in digital skills. And within a short time, we had around four or five people who are part of the team. But interestingly enough, one of the people I reached out to Mr. Joseph, who is now our sales manager, I didn't know him at all. And around nine months into the company, I got his contact and sold him the vision and he liked it. I say this, because in Africa, it's not easy to get a seed funding, you must actually go through the ideation and start getting some results before the investor can be interested. And so with very little cash flow, you need to balance getting good skills, but people who are able to sacrifice the need for certain parks and salaries by selling to them your vision.
And so these five people join me in starting the company. They play their part to what we have as MyFugo. Nice to say that we are now 28 staff and two years ago, we were only five so quite a commendable feat.
Brendan Le Grange 9:46
Impressive growth, indeed. And I'm sure that your vision has helped because it's such an empowering vision for the people involved, but also for the country as a whole.
Now, you talk about "smart agriculture" - what does that mean? And how are you bringing that to the people?
Allan Tollo 10:02
So, as I said, in Kenya, and I think Africa, we are primarily smallholder farmers, someone who has between one and six dairy cows, she grazes it in say, a quarter of an acre or less. And so reaching out to this smallholder farmers, we realise that they are primarily traditional farmers, they keep very traditional or local breeds of cattle, which produce very little milk - maybe half a litre of milk, maybe one litre of milk per day. They use mainly traditional ways of AI and what they grow as feed, also is standard grass and basic basic feed, or dry for the for the animals. And so the first thing was to introduce an enabling environment, that this people could have a cultural shift from traditional dairy farming to commercial dairy farming, producing enough for you to be able to sell and get a return that can help you in your household needs can help you in school fees, nutritional needs, and the rest.
And so smart agriculture means using technology as an enabler in agriculture in order to increase the dairy production. And this enabler can be anything from record keeping using an application so that you know when your production is going down, or when your production is increasing, or using a smart cow colour, so that you get data insights when your cow is having, say, a high body temperature, or your cow has not been moving. Or it could be even using sensors, if you go towards crops, where you get to know the fertility level or salinity levels of the soil so as to know what you can grow and what can progress. Well, Smart Agriculture means a combination of data, sensors, enabling tools, that when put together in an ecosystem of a daily value chain, the farmer then can say 'I have had a 50% increase in my milk productivity', or 'I have had a reduction in my calving period of the cow from, let's say, 500 days to 200 days'. Simply put, is how do we use technology to make the farmer realise more productivity,
Brendan Le Grange 12:45
One of the hurdles to that would obviously be the cost - and that's where your cow loans come in. So if we start talking about loans, again, you help farmers to finance purchases of more productive cattle breeds and that sort of things through your cow loan.
So can you maybe talk to us a little bit about what a cow loan is, and I guess, rural settings, small clients spread across great distances where logistics are tricky, so how do you bring those cow loans to market?
Allan Tollo 13:15
A cow loan, first and foremost, means that you're not giving the money per se, but you're giving a cow, and the value of that cow will be repaid over a period of 12 months. This was necessitated by us interacting with the farmers and doing a survey, and around 60% of them still keep local breeds. And I said before, that this local breeds only produce say, one litre of milk per day. And so the irony is that a farmer would actually be keeping five or seven heads of cattle, all local breeds, and combined total of these would only be producing around three litres of milk. And so we step in and reason that, why don't you keep only one or two cows, and each of them producing say eight litres of milk and you have a combined total of around 16 litres of milk - you're able to sell this milk to the dairy co-operative or to the informal markets and get something like $5 that helps you towards your household needs.
But the second problem was this farmers do not have a credit history. These farmers do not have any form of security that a mainstream financial institution would take as collateral and advanced to them the loan. If at all they do it, only give them the money, not help them in the selection of the breed an actual cow that fits their needs, especially looking at environmental relations between where you buy the cow and where it's going to be domiciled. And so MyFugo steps in to, first and foremost, identify your dairy experience: are you a new farmer? do you have five years of experience? is it experience in taking care of a local breed of cow - which is very different from an exotic breed of cow in terms of nutritional needs and care? After assessing that, then, we know the best fit or type type of cow - say a crossbreed - would be good for you in your first stage, which would maybe produce 8 to 10 litres of milk.
And then is to identify this cow. So we go out and identify the right cow for you. We have a veterinary doctor who inspects this cow to make sure that it's healthy, to make sure that its history is good, or to make sure that both health and reproductive traits of this cow would actually be beneficial on the long term, and you're actually getting the right cow... and we deliver this cow to your homestead.
And so our brand has been built not only as a financing arm of the dairy loan, but as a brand that takes care of all these nitty gritty issues which are very important in a farmer taking care of his cow.
We also make sure that you have enough feed, so you must be growing some feed in your area, or be able to afford commercial feeds because buying feeds is very expensive for them. It takes up around 40 to 50%. But if you growing some of these feeds, then it reduces the cost to around 30%.
And then we offer training and capacity building sessions every month to make sure that there is our knowledge dissemination, knowledge transfer, peer to peer exchange, and farmer experiences they can share with your fellow farmers, they can ask a veterinary doctor any questions. For example, when a cow is nearly calving, then our veterinary doctor will help them to do what's necessary so that they can have successful calving, because between 10 and 20% of all cows usually lead to calf mortality just because of farmer ignorance and lack of knowledge. And so we support them through their entire journey.
And this we cannot do alone. And so we introduce different partners to this farmers are for example, vaccination programmes, for example, an East Coast Fever vaccination would be something like $18. And we go out to talk to these people who can give at a discounted price. We introduce feed companies to them aggravates who whenever they are having some discounts can help. And that's how we address the holistic value chain.
Brendan Le Grange 18:07
Yes, so a complete 360 support and it's great to hear. Obviously, that helps protect the security as it were in your loan, but also just really underlines that credit for good message - where it's building up these income streams, these better ways of doing business, really wraparound care for for the marketplace, to release these funds into the economy, into these people's pockets, which is a fantastic message to hear.
One thing I do want to touch on, because as I said in the in the intro, we've done some work together through ConfirmU, I know you also do micro loans of a more traditional sort - you do still do some credit checks, you still need to look at the risk of consumers. And as you said, typically these are consumers with very little credit footprint when they come to you for the first time. So can you maybe talk about how you do look for risk, how you evaluate a loan, how you decide maybe on affordability as well, before issuing credit to one of your borrowers?
Allan Tollo 19:07
Okay, our credit assessment includes looking at, of course, as I said, the primary income of this farmer, what does he do? Is he only a dairy farmer? Does he do mixed farming? What is his daily income? What is his monthly income? How does he receive his payment - per day, or is it a payment that comes on weekly basis? Or is it on a monthly basis?
Interesting enough, in a survey that we conducted - more of a KYC - we realised that there is no exclusive farmer in Kenya, especially amongst the smallholder farmers. And so a dairy farmer would also be, say, a shopkeeper. A dairy farmer would also be having ten cows and he's also a teacher. And a dairy farmer would have three cows and is selling cereals in the local market. And so when we introduced the micro loans, it was primarily to support these farmers in their daily needs. And the daily needs here means that in case the cow was sick, and this is more of an incidental or emergency, and they don't have money, they would get this micro loan from from us and pay for the veterinary doctor services. And so that's how we introduce the micro loans to address the just in time dairy needs of the farmer.
However, we also realised because this farmer has a secondary, or you'd call it primary, income activity, say, selling cereals in the market, they would sometimes take this money and divert it as working capital to buy their stock for the market. And so by diverting this money, then it was compromising the venture the dairy venture, so you're not able to actually purchase what you are intended for the dairy cow. And so we introduced the microloan not only for the dairy needs, but also for supplemental working capital needs for whichever other income activity this farmer is involved in, so that they can actually be able to support both ventures.
And what we realise is that some of the challenges our smallholder farmers have are very cultural, one needs to understand how does the the smallholder farmer think, is he going to receive a $20 loan and take it to the dairy need, or his cereal business? Or is he going to go to the local pub and drink half of it?
And so understanding the farmer was going to help us address his need better. And so we were very lucky to partner with ConfirmU, which helps us in the psychometric credit rating of a farmer. And in ConfirmU it was not only doing the mainstream assessment, which of course we do, traditionally, but was looking deeper into the behavioural traits of this farmer, and how it relates to a possible financial risk, whether he's likely to default on his loan.
And this is especially ingenious of ConfirmU, because it is the psychological mind of the farmer that we have, or we continue to have, challenges in understanding. And such a model combined with our standard credit assessment, has seen us able to understand the farmers much better and to reduce the risk when we are lending. And of course, then help us to expand our operations to other regions, because we have a tool that can help us understand the farmer even before we start lending to him.
Brendan Le Grange 23:11
Allan, it's great to hear, and you talked about expanding to other regions, how are you spreading through the larger Kenyan market?
Allan Tollo 23:19
So twelve months ago, we were in four counties. In the last 12 months, we have expanded into another four counties. And by mid 2023, we would like to be in 15 counties, definitely there has been slow down because of COVID and we also have macro economic issues - high unemployment rates, high inflation - but we are very, very positive that now, more than ever, with very high unemployment rates, especially amongst our youth and of course, also with more people looking at other alternative ways of getting income for their family, we are positive that we'll be able to manage this growth and achieve it.
Brendan Le Grange 24:11
Yeah, that sounds perfectly designed for that, because there must be people that are sitting there, you know, would like the secondary income, but maybe a little bit nervous. And now you've got that that full service where they can go to someone they trust, they can get some financing to get the right cattle, some help to actually source the cow itself, some support in the veterinary care and working the farm. It just makes it far more possible for people to move into into that direction.
With your purpose-driven approach, have you got some good stories of how you've been able to make a positive impact?
Allan Tollo 24:48
Well, yes, we've got very many stories. We've got a woman who is physically challenged and is unable to move around and she started a small food business. And for one reason or another was never never able to get credit from a bank or any other financial institution - because they deem her as a high risk. And we stepped in to support her with a micro loan. And now she's grown her business 300% Very, very powerful testimony, which is on video, and a very excited woman.
Indeed, we have several people just to mention, one lady also had a cow, and was giving her 1 litre of milk, and we convinced her to sell it. And she topped up that money for us to finance and get her cow. And now she enjoys 17 litres of milk every day. Now, the beauty of this is immediately after the cow calved down, it was again pregnant within two months. And so I think in the next three months, she would again be enjoying a second calf from the original cow that we helped her to get.
We've also seen someone who, when he started with us, he had only 5 cows, and he's grown his dairy venture. And now it has around 14 cows. So some pretty good and beautiful success stories. The biggest, of course, being that in one group, we are able to, in one day finance around 40 dairy cows that were distributed to various group members.
And again, not forgetting that MyFugo directly answers to several SDG goals: reduction of poverty, decent working, increasing and improving on inequality amongst women, because actually 65% of all our customers are women, 20% are youth.
Brendan Le Grange 27:00
Yeah, Allen, sometimes credit gets a bad name, and there's over lending and predatory lending, but I think the stories are just a fantastic example of how credit should work and how it can bring about positive change. So it's really awesome to hear the impact and the way that you support that not just from day one and alone, but throughout the journey.
I'm sure people listening today are going to hear that and also be inspired. If people want to learn more about MyFugo, or people maybe want to contact you, where's the best place for them to find out more about you, maybe to get into contact?
Allan Tollo 27:36
So of course the best place is always to follow us on our social media channels. We are always updating and so you can find us basically MyFugo, you can find us on Facebook, on Twitter, and on LinkedIn. Facebook, of course being the most active because we engage with our farmers a lot and it's a platform that they love. Or we have our website www.myfugo.com And definitely an email info@myfugo.com
We are always happy to work with partners, and looking forward to also expanding to more regions to work with more farmers, farmer cooperatives, input suppliers, even technology specialists all into an aggregated and holistic technology based value chain in order to support the dairy farmer.
Brendan Le Grange 28:36
And I wish you great success with that. Allan, it has been an absolute pleasure having you on so thank you very much again, especially keeping you so late on your weekend.
Allan Tollo 28:45
Thank you so much, Brendan, thank you.
Brendan Le Grange 28:46
And thank you all for listening. If you enjoyed that, please do rate and review on your preferred podcast platform and share widely including on LinkedIn. And while you're there, send me a connection request. The show is written and recorded by myself Brendan le Grange in Brighton England and edited with assistance by Kane Hunter, show music is by Iam_wake and you can find full written transcripts now in several languages, show notes and more at www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show
I'll see you again next Thursday.
Allan Tollo 0:00
Kilimo kinachangia 27% ya pato la taifa, na kuajiri 70% ya watu wa kijiini, lakini inapokea 4% tu ya fedha kuu. Na hivyo kutatua jambo hili, inamaanisha kutimiza mahitaji ya wakulima wadogo milioni 2, haswa wakulima wa jadi.
Wanatunza mifugo ya kienyeji sana, mifugo ambayo inatoa kiasi kidogo cha maziwa. Kitu cha ajabu ni kwamba mkulima utakuta anafuga ng’ombe saba, wote wakiwa ni wa kienyeji, lakini anazalisha kama lita tatu tu za maziwa. Hivyo tunakuja na kupendekeza kwamba, ni kwanini usifuge ng’ombe wawili au watatu tu, na kila mmoja wao akitoa maziwa ya kama lita nane? Kwa hiyo hatua ya kwanza ni kuweka mazingira wezeshi ambayo yatawezesha watu hawa kubadilisha tamaduni zao kutoka kufuga ng’ombe wa kienyeji na kufanya ufugaji wa kibiashara, na kupata matokeo yatakayokusaidia wewe na mahitaji ya nyumbani kwako, na pia thamani ya ng’ombe itaweza kulipwa ndani ya kipindi cha miezi 12.
Brendan Le Grange 1:24
Mimi ni kijana wa mjini, kiasi kwamba mke wangu bado huwa anapenda kunicheka na kusimulia hadithi, wakati tuliposafiri mkoani, nilishitushwa na kuamshwa na sauti zilizotoka nje ya nyumba yetu ndogo. Kumbuka, hii ilikuwa ni Afrika Kusini kijijini, kwa hiyo akilini kwangu, niliwaza anaweza kuwa ni mnyama wa aina yoyote… lakini ilikuwa ni kundi la ng’ombe. Nilisahau kwamba tulisimama katika shamba la ng’ombe na kumbe vitabu vya watoto huwa vinarahisisha hali halisi: ng’ombe wanatoa sauti kubwa sana.
Nilijifunza mengi sana katika mazungumzo yangu na Allan Tollo wa MyFugo – ambaye ni zaidi ya mkopeshaji wa kilimo wa Kenya. Lakini haijalishi kama unafahamu mifugo yako vizuri kuliko mimi au la, lazima utashawishiwa na mpango huu wa biashara. Karibu katika Namna ya Kukopa Pesa kwa Watu Usiowafahamu na Brendan Le Grange.
Hiki sasa ni kipindi change cha 38 cha shoo hii. Na kwa muda huo, nimevutiwa na jinsi mikopo ya mortgage inaweza kutumika kutengeneza utajiri, mikopo ya Ivy League kama njia ya kazi za kimataifa zenye malipo mazuri na mikopo ya SME kama mzizi wa maendeleo ya kiuchumi. Lakini MyFugo ni mwakilishi bora ambaye nimepata kuona leo anayeonyesha faida ambayo mkopo katika masoko yasiyostahili inaweza kuileta – hawaishii kukopesha na kukusanya hela, Allan na timu yake wanasaidia kuwafundisha wafugaji wa ng’ombe kutumia pesa hiyo kwa ufanisi mkubwa, na kufanya sekta ya kilimo Kenya kuwa ya kisasa, inayotazamwa na kufadhiliwa vizuri.
Utakuwa uliwasikia wakisema katika Episode ya 24, sasa ni muda wetu kuchunguza zaidi.
Allan, ni furaha kuwa na wewe katika kipindi. Tumefanya kazi pamoja kidogo, na tutaangalia hilo muda sio mrefu, lakini kabla ya kufanya hivyo, tuanze kwanza na historia yako, wewe ni nani, na nini kimekuleta mpaka hapa ulipo katika kazi yako.
Allan Tollo 3:40
Asante sana. Nimefurahia kuwa hapa na kuwa sehemu ya podcast hii, ni fursa ambayo hatuichukulii kawaida tu. Ni nafasi nzuri ya kuwaambia watu juu ya mambo tunayoyafanya na kuhusu kilimo kidogo kwa ujumla.
Jina langu ni Allan Tolo, mimi ni CEO wa MyFugo. Nina uzoefu na mambo ya IT na katika miaka 20 iliyopita nimefanya kazi katika makampuni kadhaa - InsurTech, FMCG, katika kampuni ya kukusanya fedha – na katika muda wote huo uliopita nimeweza kusaidia maeneo kadhaa yanayohusu kuwezesha mifumo inayosaidia aina yoyote ya kazi. Ukizungumzia kuhusu huduma za fedha, basi unazungumzia kuhusu kufunga mifumo ambayo inasogeza pesa karibu zaidi na watu, kutengeneza application rahisi kutumia. Unapozungumzia InsureTech, ni taarifa za kusaidia kutumika katika mahitaji ya bima za watu. Na pia, unapozungumzia FMCG, inahusiana na vitu na bidhaa na jinsi ya kutumia IT kuzitangaza katika njia rahisi za masoko.
Na kwa hiyo miaka miwili, mitatu iliyopita niliamua kuanzisha MyFugo. Hii ilikuwa ni kwa bahati tu, kwa sababu kilichotokea ni kwamba nilitaka kuanzisha shamba la ng’ombe wa maziwa na nikatazama kupata suluhisho zuri la IT ambalo lingenisaidia kutunza / kusimamia shamba. Na sikuridhishwa na kila nilichokiona. Kwa hiyo badala yake, niliamua kuanzisha kampuni yangu mwenyewe ambayo itasaidia watu katika kutunza kumbukumbu zao na kusimamia ng’ombe wa maziwa.
Brendan Le Grange 5:31
Ni hadithi ya kila mjasiriamali, ambapo unakutana na tatizo mwenyewe na kulitatua, kisha kutumia kutengeneza biashara. Unajua, ulikuwa ukizungumzia FMCG, bima, na vitu vingine vinavyohusiana na miji mikubwa, lakini sasa upo katika kilimo. Ilikuwaje ukachukua uamuzi wa kuhama kutoka katika ulimwengu wa mashirika muda huo?
Allan Tollo 5:53
Nilitazama wanaonizunguka, kuna masuluhisho mengi sana katika huduma za kifedha, kuna mengi katika InsureTech, lakini katika kilimo, jambo la kushangaza, kuna watu wachache sana wanaojaribu kufanya mabadiliko, haswa kwa kutumia IT ili kukuza sekta hiyo.
Takwimu zetu zinaonyesha kwamba kilimo kinachangia 27% ya pato la taifa, kinaajiri 70% ya watu wa vijijini, lakini ni 4% tu ya fedha kuu zinaenda katika kilimo hicho. Kwa hiyo kuna hitaji lililo wazi la kutatua ukosefu utambulisho katika kilimo, na pia kutatua uhitaji wa masuluhisho ya kiteknolojia ili kusaidia kukuza uzalishaji (na faida pia).
Na mwisho, kilimo, peke yake, kinategemea sekta za vijijini. Kwa hiyo mtu yoyote anayeleta suluhisho au kujihusisha kwa namna yoyote na mnyoror huu wa thamani ni lazima afanye kazi na watu wa vijijini. Kwa hiyo tukaishia kuyatambua mahitaji ya msingi ya wafugaji wa ng’ombe wa maziwa, kwa sababu Kenya ni wazalishaji wakubwa wa maziwa Afrika, ukitoa Afrika Kusini. Kwa hiyo hii ni sekta kubwa sana. Tena ni sekta kubwa kuliko zote ndani ya kilimo. Kwa hiyo kutatua hili itamaanisha kutatua matatizo ya watu wengi sana, ambao ni takribani wakulima wadogo milioni 2 wanaofuga ng’ombe wa maziwa Kenya.
Brendan Le Grange 7:29
Oh, wow, sikutambua ukubwa huo. Kabla ya kuzungumza namna unavyotatua hayo mambo – haswa katika upande wa mikopo – tunaweza kubakia katika sehemu hiyo ya uanzilishi tafadhali? Kwa sababu nimevutiwa sana, je uliwezaje kupata timu yako pamoja, kwa sababu una timu kubwa sana, inayofanya kazi na wewe, mambo gani yalihusika katika kutengeneza biashara hii?
Allan Tollo 7:48
Sehemu ya kwanza ilikuwa ni kushawishi baadhi ya marafiki juu ya maono haya ambao walikuwa na maarifa, haswa katika maeneo ambayo yalihitaji utaalamu ili kuyaweza. Kwa hiyo niliwasiliana na mwanzilishi mwenzangu, Bw. Jackson Mwaniki, na kumshawishi. Wakati huo, sikumwambia kila kitu, nilimwambia tu, kidogo, nilichokuwa nakiona, na kisha nikawasiliana na watu wengine wa teknolojia. Na kwa bahati nzuri, Jackson alivutiwa kusaidia katika kutengeneza suluhisho.
Kisha niliwasiliana na baadhi ya marafiki wenye ujuzi wa mambo ya fedha, baadhi wenye ujuzi wa mambo ya HR, na wengine wenye ujuzi wa kidigitali. Na ndani ya muda mfupi, tulikuwa na watu kama wanne au watano katika timu. Lakini jambo la ajabu ni kwamba, moja ya watu ambao Mr. Joseph aliwasiliana nao, ambaye sasa ni meneja wa mauzo, nilikuwa simjui kabisa. Na baada ya miezi kama tisa katika kampuni, nilipata mawasiliano yake na kumshawishi juu ya maono hayo na akayapenda. Huwa ninasema hivi, kwasababu ni Afrika, sio rahisi kupata ufadhili wa kuanzia, ni lazima upitie hatua ya wazo na kuanza kupata matokeo Fulani kabla ya wafadhili kuanza kuvutiwa. Kwa hiyo kwa kutumia pesa ndogo uliyonayo, unahitaji kuweka usawa katika kupata ujuzi mzuri, lakini watu ambao wanaweza kujitolea na kutopata mishahara kwa kuwashawishi juu ya maono yako.
Kwa hiyo watu hawa watano waliungana na mimi kuanzisha kampuni. Wanafanya kazi zao kujenga MyFugo. Niseme kwamba sasa tuna wafanyakazi 28 na miaka miwili iliyopita, tulikuwa watu watano tu kwa hiyo ni mafanikio makubwa.
Brendan Le Grange 9:46
Ukuaji wa kasi sana. Nina uhakika maono yako yamesaidia kwa sababu ni maono ya kuwezesha sana kwa watu wanaohusika, lakini pia kwa nchi kwa ujumla.
Sasa, umezungumza kuhusu “smart agriculture” – hii inamaanisha nini? Na unaletaji hilo kwa watu?
Allan Tollo 10:02
Kwa hiyo, kama nilivyosema, ndani ya Kenya, nadhani ni Afrika, kimsingi sisi ni wakulima wadogo wadogo, mtu mwenye ng’ombe wa maziwa kati ya mmoja mpaka sita, anawachunga nje, labda katika eneo la nusu eka. Kwa hiyo kuwafikia wakulima hawa wadogo, tunagundua kwamba kwa kiasi fulani ni wakulima wa kienyeji, wanafuga ng’ombe wa kienyeji au wa kiasili, wanaozalisha maziwa kidogo sana – kama nusu lita tu ya maziwa, au labda lita moja ya maziwa kwa siku. Kawaida wanatumia njia za kiasili kuwalisha, pia kwa kutumia majani tu ya kawaida, au yaliyokauka. Kwa hiyo jambo la kwanza ilikuwa ni kutambulisha mazingira wezeshi, kwamba watu hawa wanaweza kubadilika na kuachana na ufugaji wa kiasili na kufuga kibiashara, na kuzalisha kwa wingi ili kuweza kuuza na kupata faida inayoweza kukusaidia katika mahitaji ya nyumba yako kama ada ya shule, chakula na mengine.
Kwa hiyo ‘smart agriculture’ inamaanisha kutumia teknolojia kuwezesha kilimo ili kuongeza uzalishaji wa maziwa. Chochote kinaweza kusaidia kuwezesha kuanzia kutunza kumbukumbu kwa kutumia application ili uweze kufahamu pale uzalishaji wako unapopungua, au uzalishaji unapoongezeka, au kwa kutumia ‘smart cow color’, ili kupata taarifa zaidi pale ng’ombe wako anapokuwa labda na, joto kubwa la mwili, au kama ng’ombe wako amekuwa hatembei. Au inaweza kutumika sensor, kama ukienda katika mimea , ambapo utajua kiasi cha mbolea au chumvi ndani ya udongo ili uweze kujua nini kinaweza kukua. Hivyo, Smart Agriculture inamaanisha muunganisho wa data, sensor, vifaa vya kuwezesha, ambavyo vikiwekwa pamoja katika mazingira ya mnyororo wa thamani wa uzalishaji wa maziwa, mkulima anaweza kusema ‘nimepata ongezeko la 50% la maziwa yangu’, au ‘nimekuwa na punguzo la kipindi cha ndama kuzaliwa, mfano, siku 500 mpaka siku 200’. Kirahisi ni kwamba, jinsi tunavyotumia teknolojia kuwafanya wakulima wapate uzalishaji zaidi.
Brendan Le Grange 12:45
Moja ya vikwazo vilivyo wazi ni gharama – na hapo ndipo mikopo ya ng’ombe inakuja. Tunapoongelea kuhusu mikopo, unawasaidia wakulima kugharamia maunuzi ya ng’ombe walio na uzalishaji mkubwa zaidi na vitu kama hivyo kwa kupitia mkopo wako wa ng’ombe.
Kwa hiyo labda unaweza kutuambia kidogo kuhusu mkopo wa ng’ombe ni nini, na pia, mazingira ya kijijini, wateja wadogo wametawanyika katika umbali mkubwa ambapo kusafiri kwenda kati ya mmoja mpaka mwingine ni ngumu, unawezaje kuiweka mikopo hiyo ya ng’ombe sokoni?
Allan Tollo 13:15
Mkopo wa ng’ombe, kwanza kabisa, haimaanishi unatoa tu pesa bure, bali unatoa ng’ombe, na thamani ya ng’ombe italipwa kwa kipindi cha miezi 12. Hii ilifanywa kwa makusudi na sisi baada ya kutembelea wakulima na kuuliza maswali, takribani 60% ya wakulima bado wanafuga mifugo ya kienyeji. Na kama nilivyosema kabla, jamii hizi za kienyeji zinatoa kama, lita moja tu ya maziwa kwa siku. Na hivyo cha ajabu ni kwamba mkulima atafuga kama ng’ombe watano au saba, wote wakiwa wa kienyeji, na jumla watatoa kama lita tatu tu za maziwa. Na kwa hiyo tunaona, ni kwanini usifuge tu ng’ombe mmoja au wawili, na kila mmoja wao akizalisha kama lita nane za maziwa na kwa pamoja unakuwa na jumla ya lita 16 za maziwa – unaweza kuuza maziwa haya katika kampuni ya maziwa au katika masoko yasiyo rasmin na kupata kama $5 ambayo itakusaidia katika mahitaji ya nyumbani.
Lakini tatizo la pili ilikuwa ni kwamba wakulima hawana historia ya mikopo. Wakulima hawa hawana usalama wowote kama ilivyo kwa mashirika makubwa ya fedha yanayoweza kuweka dhamana na kupata mikopo. Kama wakiweza kufanya hivyo, wapatie pesa, sio kuwasaidia kuchagua aina ya ng’ombe anayefaa katika mahitaji yao, haswa ukiangalia mazingira yaliyopo katik ya kununua ng’ombe na mahali wanapofugwa. Kwa hiyo MyFugo inaingia kati, kwanza kabisa, tambua uzoefu wako katika ufugaji wa ng’ombe: Je, wewe ni mkulima mpya? Je, una uzoefu wa miaka mitano? Je, ni uzoefu wa kufuga ng’ombe wa kienyeji – ambao ni tofauti sana na ng’ombe wa nje katika vyakula vyao na matunzo? Baada ya kuchunguza hayo, kisha, tunajua aina bora ya ng’ombe – labda ambaye ni mchanganyiko – atakayekuwa ni mzuri kwako katika hatua ya kwanza, ambaye atazalisha maziwa kama lita 8 mpaka 10.
Kisha ni kumtambua huyu ng’ombe. Kwa hiyo tunakwenda na kumtafuta ng’ombe sahihi kwa ajili yako. Tuna daktari wa mifugo ambaye anamchunguza huyo ng’ombe kuhakikisha kwamba ana afya, na kuhakikisha kuwa historia yake ni nzuri, au kuhakikisha afya yake ya uzazi ni nzuri na atakuwa na faida kwa muda mrefu, na kwamba unapata ng’ombe sahihi… na kisha tunakuletea ng’ombe huyu nyumbani kwako.
Na kwa hiyo kampuni yetu imejengwa sio tu katika kutoa mikopo ya ng’ombe wa maziwa, lakini kama kampuni inayoshughulikia mambo yote makubwa na madogo ambayo ni muhimu kwa mkulima katika kumtunza ng’ombe wake.
Pia tunahakikisha kwamba una chakula cha kutosha, kwa hiyo lazima uwe unapanda chakula katika eneo lako, au uwe na uwezo wa kununua chakula kwa sababu chakula chao ni gharama sana. Inachukua karibu 40 mpaka 50%. Lakini kama ukipanda baadhi ya chakula hiki, basi inapunguza jumla ya gharama kwa takribani 30%.
Na kisha tunatoa mafunzo kila mwezi ili kuhakikisha usambazaji wa maarifa, uhamishaji wa maarifa, kubadilishana mtu na mtu, na wakulima kushirikishana na wakulima wenzao, wanaweza kumuuliza daktari wa mifugo swali lolote. Kwa mfano, ng’ombe anapokaribia kupata ndama, basi daktari wetu wa mifugo anaweza kuwasaidia na kila kitu ili kukuza ndama wao, kwa sababu kati ya asilimia 10 na 20% ya ng’ombe wote huwa ndama wao wanaishia kufa kwa sababu wakulima hawana maarifa. Kwa hiyo tunawasaidia katika safari nzima.
Hatuwezi kufanikiwa sisi wenyewe. Kwa hiyo tunatambulisha washirika mbalimbali kwa wakulima hawa kwa mfano, programu za chanjo, kwa mfano chanjo ya Homa ya Pwani ya Mashariki ni kama $18. Kwa hiyo tutaenda na kuzungumza na hawa watu ambao wanaweza kutoa punguzo la bei. Tunawatambulisha kwa makampuni ya vyakula vya mifugo pale wanapotoa punguzo la bei ili kuwasaidia. Na hivyo ndivyo tunavyosaidia mnyororo mzima wa thamani.
Brendan Le Grange 18:07
Ndiyo, kwa hiyo msaada kamili wa nyuzi 360 ni mzuri. Ni wazi kwamba, hiyo inasaidia kuweka ulinzi kama ilivyo katika mkopo wako, lakini pia ni mkopo unaoleta ujumbe mzuri – ambapo unajenga vyanzo hivi vya mapato, njia hizi nzuri zaidi za kufanya biashara, msaada wa jumla katika soko, ili kutoa fedha hizi ndani ya uchumi, katika mifuko ya watu, ambao ni ujumbe mzuri sana kuusikia.
Jambo moja ninalotaka kugusia ni, kama nilivyosema mwanzo, tumefanya kazi pamoja kupitia ConfirmU, ninajua wewe unatoa pia mikopo midogo ya kawaida – huwa bado unafanya ukaguzi wa ukopeshwaji, bado unahitaji kuangalia hatari ya watumiaji. Na kama ulivyosema, kawaida hawa ni watumiaji wenye historia ndogo sana ya kukopa wanapokuja kwako kwa mara ya kwanza. Je, unaweza kuzungumza kuhusu namna unavyoangalia hatari, unawezaje kutathmini mkopo, unaamuaji unafuu pia, kabla ya kutoa mkopo kwa moja ya mkopaji wako?
Allan Tollo 19:07
Sawa, ukaguzi wetu wa mkopo unahusisha, kama nilivyosema, kipato cha msingi cha mkulima huyu, anafanya nini? Je, ni mfugaji wa ng’ombe wa maziwa tu? Je, anafanya ukulima mchanganyiko? Kipato chake cha kila siku ni kiasi gani? Kipato chake cha kila mwezi ni kiasi gani? Anapokeaje malipo yake – kila siku, au ni malipo yanayokuja kila wiki? Au ni kwa kila mwezi?
Cha kuvutia, katika utafiti uliofanyika – ulikua ni kama KYC zaidi – tuligundua kwamba hakuna anayelima tu pekee ndani ya Kenya, hasa kati ya wakulima wadogo. Kwa hiyo wafugaji wa ng’ombe wa maziwa utakuta pia ni muuza duka. Mkulima atakuwa na ng’ombe kumi na pia ni mwalimu. Mkulima atakuwa na ng’ombe watatu na pia anauza nafaka sokoni. Kwa hiyo tulipoleta mikopo midogo, ilikuwa ni maalumu kwa ajili ya kusaidia wakulima hawa katika mahitaji yao ya kila siku. Na mahitaji ya kila siku hapa ninamaanisha kama ng’ombe akiwa anaumwa, na hii ni dharura, na anakuwa hana hela, atachukua mkopo huu mdogo kutoka kwetu na kulipia huduma ya daktari wa mifugo. Na hivyo ndivyo tunavyoleta mikopo midogo kusaidia mahitaji ya wafugaji hawa wa ng’ombe wa maziwa.
Hata hivyo, tuligundua pia kwa sababu anakuwa na shughuli ya ziada ya kipato, kama kuuza nafaka sokoni, wakati mwingine wanachukua pesa hii na kuitumia kununua hisa sokoni. Kwa hiyo kwa kutumia pesa hii, inarudisha nyuma biashara ya ng’ombe wa maziwa, kwa hiyo hauwezi kununua unachotaka kwa ng’ombe wako wa maziwa. Kwa hiyo tunaleta mikopo midogo sio tu kwa mahitaji ya ufugaji, lakini kama mtaji wa ziada kwa shughuli nyingine yoyote ambayo mkulima atakuwa naifanya, ili aweze kufanya biashara zote pamoja.
Tunachogundua ni kwamba baadhi ya changamoto walizonazo wakulima wetu wadogo ni za kitamaduni sana, unatakiwa kuelewa jinsi mkulima mdogo anavyofikiria, je atapokea mkopo wa $20 na kuupeleka katika mahitaji ya ng’ombe wake, au katika biashara ya nafaka? Au atakwenda katika kilabu na kuinywa nusu yake?
Kwa hiyo kuelewa mkulima anachopitia kutasaidia kuhudumia mahitaji yao. Kwa hiyo tulibahatika sana kushirikiana na ConfirmU, wanaotusaidia kuweka viwango vya mikopo kwa mkulima. Na ConfirmU sio tu inafanya ukaguzi mkuu, ambao pia tunafanya, kiasili, lakini waliangalia kwa undani katika tabia za mkulima, na uhusiano wake na hatari ya kifedha, kama anaweza kushindwa kulipa mkopo wake.
Na huu ni utaalamu mkubwa wa ConfirmU, kwa sababu saikolojia ya mkulima, bado tuna changamoto kuielewa. Kwa hiyo model ikiunganishwa na tathmini ya kawaida ya ukopaji, vimesababisha tuweze kuelewa wakulima vizuri zaidi na kupunguza hatari tunapotoa mkopo. Ndiyo, inatusaidia kutanua biashara zetu katika maeneo mengine, kwa sababu tuna nyenzo inayowea kutusaidia kumuelewa mkulima hata kabla ya kumkopesha.
Brendan Le Grange 23:11
Allan, ni vizuri sana kusikia, na ulizungumza kuhusu kutanuka kwenda miji mingine, unasambaaje katika masoko mengine ya Kenya?
Allan Tollo 23:19
Miezi kumi na mbili iliyopita, tulikuwa katika nchi nne. Katika miezi 12 iliyopita, tumesambaa katika nchi zingine nne. Na ifikapo katikati ya 2023, tungependa kuwa katika nchi 15, COVID imepunguza kasi ya vitu na pia tuna tatizo katika uchumi wetu – kiasi kikubwa cha kukosa ajira, mfumuko wa bei – lakini tuna mawazo chanya sana kwa sasa kwamba, kuwepo kwa watu wengi wasio na kazi, haswa vijana, na watu wengine wakitafuta njia zingine za kupata kipato kwa familia zao, tuna uhakika tutaweza kusimamia ukuaji huu na kufanikiwa.
Brendan Le Grange 24:11
Ndiyo, hiyo imetengenezwa maalumu kwa hilo, sababu lazima kuna watu wamekaa hapo unajua, wangependa kupata kipato cha ziada, lakini labda wanaogopa. Na sasa una huduma hii kamili ambapo wanaweza kwenda kwa mtu wanaemuamini, wanaweza kupata ufadhili wa fedha kupata ng’ombe sahihi, msaada wa kumlisha ng’ombe mwenyewe, msaada wa tiba kwa daktari wa mifugo na shamba la kufanyia kazi. Inafanya iwe inawezekana kwa watu kuelekea katika muelekeo huo.
Kwa mtazamo wako, je unazo hadithi za mambo chanya uliyoofanikiwa kuyaathiri kwa watu?
Allan Tollo 24:48
Ndiyo, nina hadithi nyingi sana. Tuna mwanamke ambaye alikuwa na tatizo la kimwili na alikuwa hawezi kutembea na akaanzisha biashara ndogo ya chakula. Na kwa sababu mbalimbali alishindwa kupata mkopo kutoka benki au taasisi nyingine ya kifedha – kwa sababu walimuona ana hatari kubwa. Tulikuja na kumsaidia na mkopo mdogo. Sasa amekuza biashara yake kwa 300%. Ushahidi mkubwa sana, ambao upo katika video, na ni mwanamke mchangamfu sana.
Hakika, tuna baadhi ya watu wa kuwataja, mwanamke mmoja pia alikuwa na ng’ombe, aliyekuwa akimpa lita 1 ya maziwa, na tulimshawishi amuuze. Na kuongezea pesa kidogo juu yake ili kumfadhili na kumpatia ng’ombe. Sasa anafurahia na kupata lita 17 za maziwa kila siku. Sasa, uzuri wa hii unaonekana pale ng’ombe akipata mtoto, alikuwa na mimba ndani ya miezi miwili. Na pia nadhani katika miezi mitatu ijayo atakuwa akifurahia tena ndama wa pili kutoka kwa ng’ombe wa mwanzo ambaye tulimsaidia kumpata.
Pia tumeona mtu ambaye, alipoanza na sisi, alikuwa na ng’ombe 5, na amekua katika ufugaji wa ng’ombe wa maziwa. Na sasa ana ng’ombe kama 14. Kwa hiyo kuna hadithi nzuri za mafanikio. Na kubwa kabisa ni kwamba, katika kundi moja, ndani ya siku moja, tunaweza kutoa mkopo kwa kama ng’ombe 40 wa maziwa na kuwasambaza katika makundi ya wanachama kadhaa.
Na tena, bila kusahau kwamba MyFugo inatekeleza baadhi ya malengo ya SDG: kupunguza umasikini, kazi nzuri, ongezeko na kuboresha usawa kati ya wanawake, kwa sababu 65% ya wateja wetu wote ni wanawake, 20% ni vijana.
Brendan Le Grange 27:00
Ndiyo, Allen, wakati mwingine mikopo inapata jina baya, na kuna wanaokopesha kwa malengo mabaya, lakini hadithi hizi ni mifano mizuri ya jinsi mikopo inavyoweza kufanya kazi na jinsi inavyoweza kuleta mabadiliko chanya. Kwa hiyo ni vizuri kusikia matokeo haya na misaada hii
Nina uhakika watu wanaosikiliza leo watasikia na kuguswa pia. Kama watu wanataka kufahamu zaidi kuhusu MyFugo, au labda watu wanataka kuwasiliana na wewe, ni wapi sehemu nzuri ya kufahamu zaidi kuhusu wewe, au labda kupata mawasiliano?
Allan Tollo 27:36
Sehemu nzuri ni kutufuata katika kurasa zetu za kijamii. Huwa tunatuma machapisho huko mara kwa mara kwa hiyo unaweza kuipata MyFugo, unaweza kutupata katika Facebook, Twitter, na katika LinkedIn. Facebook ikiwa ni sehemu tunayopatikana sana kwa sababu tunawasiliana sana na wakulima wetu kupitia hapo. Pia tuna tovuti yetu www.myfugo.com, na pia katika barua pepe ya info@myfugo.com
Brendan Le Grange 28:36
Nakutakia mafanikio mengi katika hilo. Allan, nimefurahi sana kuwa na wewe hapa, asante sana, hasa ukizingatia kwamba tumekuchelewesha katika wikiendi yako.
Allan Tollo 28:45
Asante sana, Brendan, asante.
Brendan Le Grange 28:47
Pia asante sana wote kwa kusikiliza Kama umefurahia, tafadhali weka maoni yako katika jukwaa la podcast unalopendelea na pia sambaza ujumbe huu pamoja na katika LinkedIn. Na ukiwa huko, nitumie ombi la kuunganishwa na mimi. Kipindi hiki kimeandikwa na kurekodiwa na Brendan le Grange akiwa Brighton Uingereza na kuhaririwa na msaidizi Kane Hunter, muziki umefanywa na Iam_wake na unaweza kupata maandishi kamili katika lugha mbalimbali, na zaidi kupitia
www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show
Tutaonana tena Alhamisi ijayo.