Kenya's Shamba Records uses blockchain, AI to improve farm processes - Disrupt Africa

Kenyan agri-tech startup Shamba Records has built a blockchain-based platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and big data to collect farmers' harvest records, process payments and issue credit. Founded in 2017 and already used by over 6,000 farmers, the Shamba Records platform provides users with features such as data collection and mapping, payment aggregation, smart contracts, and bulk SMS, making farms more efficient and collecting information that can allow them to access financial services. It was developed by a team with first-hand experience of farming in Africa. "Each founder has a story to tell of how inefficient the agriculture space in Africa is, for example, poor records, delayed payments, no credit alternatives, lack of communication tools, and so many other challenges," chief executive officer (CEO) George Maina told Disrupt Africa. These inefficiencies are major problems on a continent where over 600 million people depend on agriculture as their main source of income.