Savings and Retail Banking in Africa: A Case Study on Digital Platforms Serving the Agricultural Sector

The use of platform services to support smallholder farmers has blossomed. During the pandemic they proved a valuable lifeline, enabling farmers to stay in touch with their value chain partners, from financial service providers to farm input suppliers and off-takers. This publication explores the topic from the point of view of financial service providers. It aims to answer two key questions they must consider when weighing whether to launch an online platform for farmers:

1. Why should I participate?
2. And if I do, what must I keep in mind?

This case study looks at a variety of African agricultural platform providers and more closely at three platform models: bank-led (First City Monument Bank in Nigeria), fintech-led (DigiFarm in Kenya) and telco-led (EcoFarmer in Zimbabwe).