On November 2 of 2018, Erwin Sikma of Impact Terra – a finalist of the NpM Innovator’s Challenge – gave his pitch at the Accenture Innovation Summit to a grand jury, offering unique ways of using geodata to support access to finance for smallholder farmers.

Organisaties die kredieten verlenen aan ondernemers en kleine bedrijven staan vaak aan de basis van en zijn bepalend voor het succes van deze instellingen.

Achieving food security is one of the top priorities among the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and as the global demand for food continues to rise, the problem needs to be addressed before it is too late. Effective solutions must take into account the essential role played by smallholder farmers in emerging countries, who grow and produce a staggering 70 percent of the world’s food.

Het Nederlandse VanderSat, dat diensten ontwikkelt met satellietdata, is één van de drie winnaars van de Innovator’s Challenge 2018, die door het Netherlands Space Office (NSO) werd ondersteund. VanderSat ontving 125.000 euro van het NpM, Platform voor Inclusieve Financiering (NpM). Dankzij de toepassing TARA, gericht op risico-inschatting en agrarisch advies, zijn banken in ontwikkelingslanden namelijk eerder bereid krediet te verschaffen aan kleinschalige landbouwers. TARA combineert gegevens over klimatologie en over de bedrijfsvoering van boeren om gewasopbrengsten en winstpotentie beter te voorspellen, waardoor het risico voor de financier afneemt.

The 60-member Green Inclusive and Climate Smart Finance Action Group, one of the European Microfinance Platform’s (e-MFP’s) five Action Groups, met today to drive forward agenda items such as the increased adoption of the Green Index. The Green Index is a tool for assessing the performance of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in four areas: policy and strategy; internal risk; external risk; and green loan products offered. Green loans can fund a range of purchases, from solar panels to waste management systems.

Friday, November 2 was D-Day for the finalists of the NpM Innovator’s Challenge. The challenge of pitching their ideas in front of a grand jury was the last thing that stood between them and the prize of €125,000.

ICCO’s partner VanderSat is one of the three winners of the NpM Innovator’s Challenge. The Innovator’s Challenge incentivized technology companies to transform their geodata-based solutions for smallholder farmers and make them available for the financial sector. VanderSat receives € 125,000 to pilot its solution – to develop a risk assessment platform for Financial Service Providers – in an implementation project.

Agri-Wallet, Apollo Agriculture and VanderSat are the 3 winners of the NpM Innovator’s Challenge! Each winner received EUR 125,000 to pilot their solutions in an implementation project.

Netherlands-based NpM, Platform for Inclusive Finance, which was previously known as the Netherlands Platform for Microfinance, recently announced the winners of its Geodata Innovator’s Challenge, the goal of which was to encourage “technology companies to transform their geodata-based solutions for smallholder farmers and make them available for the financial sector.” A total of 17 companies participated in the challenge, and the winners are Agri-wallet, Apollo Agriculture and VanderSat. Each will receive EUR 125,000 (USD 143,000) to create test implementations of their solutions.

Agri-wallet and Geodatics have been awarded 125,000 euro prize money from the Innovator’s Challenge of NpM, Platform for Inclusive Finance. The challenge aims to support the development of financial services for smallholder farmers in developing countries based on geodata. Agri-wallet and Geodatics will work together to provide tailored agronomic advice and customized loans for agricultural inputs like seeds and fertilizer to smallholder farmers in Kenya.