Safaricom Ethiopia has partnered with Lersha, a digital platform for smallholder and commercial farmers in Ethiopia, Hibret Bank, a financial services provider, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), to offer innovative solutions to the agricultural sector in the South Sidama region of Ethiopia.
The announcement was made by the telecom behemoth on its LinkedIn page on Thursday, stating that 224 farmers in Teticha Woreda have already benefited from loans through M-PESA through the Wheat Value Chain Financing Pilot Project. The initiative aims to boost output and enhance their standard of living.
This project hopes to reach 10,000 farmers by providing them with a scalable framework for financial inclusion and economic progress.
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Initiative to utilise Safaricom’s M-PESA
The partners are laying the groundwork for more easily available and transparent finance by utilising digital technology, such as Safaricom’s M-PESA and digital lending platform.
M-PESA, which provides a smooth digital platform for financial transactions, will be crucial to the project’s development to expedite the loan disbursement and collection procedure.
This partnership provides insight into the future of agriculture in the area and is consistent with Ethiopia’s Digital Strategy 2025.
The project is expected to improve food security, promote sustainable growth, and change the financial environment for Ethiopian farmers as it moves forward.