Freshi

Freshi is a farm to fork platform that provides farmers access to a larger market of household consumers. Freshi is committed to address the wastage of harvest that is catalyzed by an inefficient supply chain in the agribusiness ecosystem, and poor market linkage support resources for smallholder farmers in Tanzania and across Africa. 

Freshi's has the potential to reach over 60% of the population in Africa to address the challenges of food waste due to the lack of market linkage support. Through the sale of more produce, smallholder farmers are going to sell more hence increasing their disposable income. Finally, with the order placements data, Freshi will be able to predict produce demand which will help these farmers to grow within the range of demand and reduce food wastage. 

80% of the population in Tanzania is composed of smallholder farmers who depend on farming to make a living. However, these farmers face post harvest waste of up to 40% each year. While there are environmental and storage factors that catalyze this, there are other systemic supply chain factors that propel the wastage of food. These include:

1. Unreliable local middleman to provide the market linkage support- A middleman is a vital stakeholder for smallholder farmers to make an income. However, this highly saturated ecosystem leaves farmers no choice but to sell their produce at unfair prices and become dependent on the middleman. Simultaneously, this leaves farmers with unsold produce when the middlemen are overwhelmed with supply. 

2. No access to household consumers- The agriculture supply chain makes it difficult for smallholder farmers to directly access household consumers. This is also spearheaded by the distance between the farms and the demand.

3. Poor information of produce demanded by the household consumers- Farmers are left in a constant cycle of producing more than they need because they don't have any knowledge of demand. Moreover, they don't have any sophisticated tools to predict future demand.

Freshi is a farm to fork platform that enables smallholder farmers to sell directly to household consumers. Unlike selling to a local middleman, smallholder farmers can sell their produce at fair prices and in a more consistent manner. Simultaneously, household consumers obtain a convenient way of getting their produce delivered to them. 

To achieve this, Freshi uses a reseller model. Our upstream operations entail sourcing produce from smallholder farmer partners, aggregating them in the Freshi warehouse space, and organizing and packaging them for delivery. To transport produce to our warehouse space, we will be partnering with transportation companies who carry items from the city to regions where our farmers are located. Therefore, ensuring lean operations while reducing our carbon footprint. 

Our downstream operations rely on a website and/or application of which our customer will use to place their pre-planned orders. By doing this we efficiently manage our inventory to keep track of demand. Additionally, pre-planned orders allow us to be strategic with our deliveries. 

Ultimately, the data collected through our household customers will support farmers with knowledge of household demand in terms of quantity, and produce. Hence, creating value to the smallholder farmers.

Freshi's beneficiaries are smallholder farmers i.e. Own less than 2 acres of land, live on less than $1 a day, highly dependent on a local middleman, and sell produce at unfair market prices. 

Our initial step was market validation. We achieved this through one-on-one interviews with farmers and potential customers. We learned from farmers that systemic factors such as the middleman and lack of market information makes the supply chain inefficient. Also, potential customers have indicated their value for convenience and better way to get produce without risking their chances of being contaminated by the coronavirus.

At Freshi we want to aggregate produce from smallholder farmers hence, helping them mitigate risks of having unsold produce, and letting their produce go to waste. The convenience we provide allows smallholder farmers to focus on what they do best i.e. growing the best produce. What makes our platform user friendly to the smallholder farmers is that they don't have to use fancy technology to reap the benefits of being part of working with us.

Additionally, we constantly engage these farmers by sharing consumption knowledge back to them. This supports farmers with knowledge to be more sustainable and produce what is being consumed. 

Freshi's alignment to the challenge is based on two aspects: Improve supply chain practices to reduce food loss, and scale new business models for producer-market connections. 

By addressing food wastage that occurs in the initial stage of the supply chain, Freshi's market linkage support helps make a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Through Freshi's order placement website/application, household's consumption data can be repurposed to help smallholder farmers understand exactly what is being demanded and predict quantity to farm. Hence, our farmers can justify the use of natural resources used for farming while helping them sell more. 

While there are some innovations on a B2B and B2C level, our analysis indicates that the supply chain does not provide a favorable business environment for farmers to access household consumers. Unlike other players, Freshi:

1. Digitizes the downstream operations: A number of innovations apply digital solutions that aren't user friendly to smallholder farmers. For example, solutions require internet and smartphone ownership. Freshi takes this into account by digitizing the downstream part of the supply chain while providing user friendly options to interact with the smallholder farmers e.g. Phone calls and field officers. 

2. Works directly with farmer groups to give them market access: Farmers are forming mini markets to sell harvest that they cannot sell through the middleman. Freshi's approach is to have exclusive partnerships with farmer groups. This enables us to manage the network effects, build more of a community environment and source more produce at a shorter period of time. 

3. Operates while accounting for the environment: Through exclusive partnerships, Freshi will use existing bus systems to transport items from the farmers to our aggregation centers. As a result, adding zero additional carbon emission when transporting produce to our warehouse.

4. Uses pre-planned orders: Our customer surveys revealed that most households have one or two days during the week when they shop for their groceries. Based on these findings, Freshi's pre-order feature is aligned with the current shopping habit. Moreover, pre-orders not only help in inventory management but also allows us to be efficient in our deliveries. 

Freshi utilizes a reseller model that entails sourcing produce from the farmers and delivering the orders for sale to household consumers. 

The sourcing stage uses conventional technologies such as phones, storage facilities and laptops. This stage requires all produce to be sourced directly from the farmers, aggregated, sorted and packaged for the purpose of delivery. This part of the process utilizes traditional communication technologies such as phone calls and messages. Moreover, once items reach our aggregation center they are placed in cool storage facilities and prepped for packaging. All produce obtained and quantities will then be compiled in an excel spreadsheet.

The second stage of our process entails the delivery of produce to customers. To be efficient in managing inventory and operate in a lean manner, customers will be placing orders as pre-orders. This stage requires our customers to place their pre-orders on our website/app. The backend system that comes with this technology allows us to keep track of orders and pre-plan delivery routes while keeping track of our inventory supply. 

1. Communication tools such as phones and text messages are widely used across Tanzania and beyond. The beauty about this simple tool in our business model is that it make communication accessible to all smallholder farmers regardless of the farmers not owning smartphones or the lack of internet in the rural areas. 

2. Cooling storage facilities are largely used across Tanzania especially in the produce space. Common facilities include refrigerators used predominantly in the retail space. Environmental friendly cold storage options that we are looking to use include, solar enabled cooling facilities. 

3. Fruits and vegetable delivery websites/applications are very common. Within the past ten years Tanzania has witnessed a penetration of digital service providers such as Jumia Food, Jumia, Airbnb and Uber. Moreover, the penetration of smartphone ownership by household consumers allows for these services to happen and seamless customer acquisition via social media platforms. The backend system that comes with this technology also allows for data collection, and analysis that will help predict demand for our smallholder farmers. 

Freshi's theory of change aims to address food wastage that results from unsold produce. A study by Dalberg found that only 10% of the world's smallholder farmers participate in the market, leaving the 90% to influence the amount of post harvest waste. Freshi aims to address this by providing smallholder farmers access to household consumers. Ultimately, a reliable and innovative way to reach the end user will not only help reduce the 40% post harvest waste but also lead to their economic well being. 

Some of the inputs Freshi mobilizes to create market linkage support include: Communication on produce availability, sourcing and aggregating produce, payments to farmers through ubiquitous channels such as M-Pesa, reselling and delivering produce directly to household consumers, and strategic marketing campaigns to households. By doing this we are removing most of the burden from the smallholder farmers and creating a favorable environment for them to focus on farming great produce. 

Immediate outputs we hope to generate from the above activities include data collection of household consumption of produce and quantity, and relationship with farmers to ensure a reliable partnership. 

Our outcomes are divided into three parts. In the near term we foresee the market linkage support being the stepping stone towards our goal of helping farmers sell their produce. Ultimately, this support will lead to intermediate outcomes of increasing the farmers' income and bringing them closer towards becoming social equity. For example, Olam International's cashew nuts market linkage project in Tanzania is empowering smallholder farmers to be financially stable while observing spillover effects such as improving food nutrition and promoting female inclusion. 

In the longterm, through predictive analysis, the household consumption data will be shared to our farmers to help them understand market trends and needs. For example, through its e-commerce platform, a startup in Nigeria (Foodlocker), uses deep learning to assess demand for different produce. This is then used to analyze historical trends data and forecast the quantity of each commodity. Similarly, Freshi will provide this information to the farmers to help them be more confident on what to produce and the quantities. 

At the point of full operation and scale, Freshi will be impacting the lives of and reaching 80% of the population in Tanzania who are farmers.

Currently, we are working on launching Freshi for a launch month of December 2020. Prior to this launch we are in contact with farmer organization associations that host up to 250,000 smallholder farmers. This organization is excited about the opportunity to onboard these farmers for an opportunity to access other customer segments. 

In one year, we project reaching approximately 10,000 households (excluding loyal and acquired customers). To accommodate the demand we are expecting to increase our smallholder farmers from 5000 to 250,000. This projection takes into account aspects such as seasonality, climate changes, harvest quantity and harvest variety that may influence the output that the smallholder farmers may face. 

In five years, we are projecting reaching approximately 100,000 customers (excluding loyal and acquired customers). To accommodate the demand we are projecting to increase our smallholder farmers from 250,000 to 1 million. Therefore projecting to reach approximately 25% of the smallholder farmer population within the five year period of operation. 

Before this year ends Freshi is transforming from a concept into a running platform. By 2021 we hope to scale our operations to reach more farmers. In order to have the social impact footprint we want to create we recognize that it is imperative for Freshi to consider creative ways of scaling that will be appealing to household customers.

To achieve this, our five year journey is illustrated through three horizons of innovation that our business is going to undergo. While each horizon is a service extension and opportunity, all three horizons carry the same objective i.e. reducing food waste by helping smallholder farmers access a market of household consumers.

1. Horizon 1- Freshi remains a fruits and vegetable delivery service. In this stage we not only see ourselves working in Tanzania but also scaling our operations in other neighboring countries in East Africa such as Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya. 

2. Horizon 2- Freshi has an opportunity to not only delivery produce but also deliver meal kits that have the right number of produce needed to feed the number of individuals in a household. Additionally, this service extension helps address food waste on a household level. 

3. Horizon 3- Freshi can explore opportunities in processing food and creating branded products for retail space or sold in our platform. We envision using unsold produce that is in our aggregation space and processing them into products that are consumed by households everyday. These include tomato paste, jams and even juices. 

Our biggest barrier is the financial resource to scale and put Freshi into the reach of smallholder farmers across. Bearing in mind our vision, marketing, operation and asset needs, it's essential for us to obtain the financial support from strategic partners and institutions who are also aligned with our social impact objective. 

While Freshi is in its concept stage, we have taken a number of steps to move us into the right direction. Our market validation effort has allowed us to identify a need by smallholder farmers but also the need for convenience by household consumers. This market need validates a proven willingness to pay that will make Freshi self running even after initial financial support. 

Additionally, we have leveraged resources here at Boston University (where I graduated this year) that has awarded us a small grant for the Summer with mentorship support. These three months will be used to set the foundations for our platform and create the online presence we desperately need. 

Lastly, we have expanded our reach to institutions outside of Boston University. For example, we have presented our idea to a social impact accelerator in Cambridge Massachusetts who has invited us to be a part of their Fall accelerator program that also provides a small grant and mentorship. 

We are excited about leaving these experiences with a strong foundation to launch Freshi in December. The small grant support provided is also going to be very important in taking us from a concept into an actual operation. 

N/A

• 1 Full-time- Sayi Makwaia (Founder-Marketing and Business Development)
• 1 Part-time- Francoise Cattaneo (Research and Communications)
• 2 Volunteers- Cristina Sciuto (Operations volunteer) and Beneah Kombe (Tech lead volunteer)

Freshi's team that has been exposed in emerging markets and understands the pain points and opportunities.

Sayi- Experience working i startups in Tanzania e.g. Jumia Food and NINAYO. Sayi has predominantly worked in customer acquisition, running marketing campaigns and building startups from the ground up. She has a passion for agri-business and recognizes opportunities where others see gaps. She came to Boston University to gain knowledge and apply the knowledge in an ecosystem that will create purposeful impact.

Francoise- Experience working with the Knowledge and Communications team at GAIN (Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition). Françoise has a background in public health and nutrition. She published for the Nestle Nutrition Series on the Global Landscape of malnutrition and is passionate about collaborating internationally on the challenges of nutrition discrepancies. Francoise grounds Freshi's direction with research driven decisions and leads our communication. 

Beneah- An MIT engineering alumnus who volunteers his time to advise in all matters related to the design and execution of our technology. Beneah helps our tech design reflect the user experience and Freshi's vision. His experience in a logistics startup is transferable and relevant to Freshi. He has personally invested in a number of businesses in Kenya and has a passion for digital innovation in Africa.  

Cristina- Experienced project manager currently working in operations at Abt Associates. Cristina brings operation expertise helping Freshi identify ways to have efficient and lean operations. Her experience in Tanzania and learnings from the MBA program will help strategically position Freshi to move forward.

For the initial piloting of Freshi we are excited about the opportunity to partner with the following organizations:

1. Saibaba Express Bus Transportation Company- Leveraging their transportation routes and vehicles to transport items from the regions where farmers are located to Dar-es-Salaam (headquarters for aggregation).

2. Vodacom and Tigo Telecommunication companies- Leveraging their mobile payment solutions for seamless payments to the farmers and also between Freshi and our customers. Additionally, telecom companies can play a strategic role in our marketing campaigns. They have a channel to reach our target customers. 

3. World Food Program- Leveraging their ecosystem of organized smallholder farmer groups to source produce from and maximize our reach. This will help us have a reliable supply of produce while also helping WFP meet its objectives.  

In order to reduce the 40% food waste, Freshi utilizes a market intermediary business model connecting smallholder farmers with household consumers. To achieve this we use a reseller model. We purchase all produce from the smallholder farmers and then resell them to the household customers.Through this, Freshi reduces the risk of a smallholder farmer not selling while providing the delivery convenience and time saving value to the household individual. 

To the smallholder farmer who faces post-harvest loss, due to trouble selling his/her produce, Freshi provides them a reliable and consistent alternative to access the market without incurring transportation and storage costs. Unlike selling through the middleman, our service pays the farmer fair prices and assures them a consistent buyer.

For individuals who do not have the time to go to the market, our reseller platform provides a seamless and convenient way to order and get their produce delivered. Unlike local markets, our platform provides an online delivery service which makes it easy for households to place pre-orders without going to the market only not to find what they were looking for. Moreover, our inventory management infrastructure will allow delivery of produce without neglecting quality. 

At Freshi we believe that technology and innovation to provide a better experience for over 38 million smallholder farmers in Tanzania. In two years we want to intelligently use our customer demand data to predict household demand of fruits and vegetables. By sharing this information to smallholder farmers we want to help them understand exactly what is being demanded, and how much of it is needed in households. Hence, helping smallholder farmers mitigate wasting their resources and dumping their produce. 

To reach there we need the right partner, network and funding. Solve's initiative to solve global challenges is the same reason my team and I wake up every morning with a passion for Freshi. Moreover, we recognize the opportunity to leverage the network of partners who, in our case, are not accessible in Tanzania. Solve partners such as Vodafone and the United Nations are important stakeholders in our ecosystem. In both cases, we see Freshi receiving as much as it will be giving to push forward their objectives. For example, Vodafone's M-Pesa payment solution will provide seamless payments for all produce sourced from our farmers but also to receive payments from our end customers. Hence providing Vodafone more transactions. At the same time, the United Nations', Freshi can leverage a network of smallholder farmer groups, instead of forming these relationships with the farmers from scratch. Likewise, allowing these farmers groups to thrive. Finally, the opportunity to obtain funding will allow us to create the impact we want to create. 

We recognize that the above areas of support are going to be pivotal in our journey to redefine the agriculture supply chain. While we are building our technology now into a minimum viable product, we want to be cognizant of features we can add that will better the user experience. On the other hand, to our smallholder farmers, while our reseller model doesn't require them to need the internet or a smartphone to work with us, we also recognize opportunities to embed a solution into our communication with farmers without them needing the internet. Some examples we have seen include the RACHEL education program that provides students in remote areas with education material. 

1. Solve members- Bearing in mind the various numbers of stakeholders within the agriculture sector we see a lot of opportunities for us to leverage the network of leaders and innovators built by the Community Coordinator. Moreover, we are excited to get the support from the Internationals Program team especially with strategy implementation.

2. Vodafone- Leveraging their mobile payment solutions for seamless payments to the farmers and also between Freshi and our customers. Additionally, telecom companies can play a strategic role in our marketing campaigns. They have a channel to reach our target customers. 

3. World Food Program- Leveraging their ecosystem of organized smallholder farmer groups to source produce from and maximize our reach. This will help us have a reliable supply of produce while also helping WFP meet its objectives

In Tanzania, women play a significant role in contributing towards the socio-economic standard and wellbeing of their families. In a country where over 80% of the population are farmers, research shows that 81% of them are females compared to 73% being men. By creating an easier access to market and information sharing and learning, Freshi is going to directly redefine the selling experience of female smallholder farmers. 

For so many years smallholder farmers have farmed without having any connection, be it direct or indirect, with the end user. In most cases they don't even have access to market prices or know what is being demanded by the end users. In five years the plethora of household orders placed through Freshi's ordering platform is going to be information that will help smallholder farmers understand what is being demanded and in what quantities. We will do this through data mining and predictive analytics. This will help smallholder farmers reduce post harvest waste from unsold produce.