Corporate Profile

INTRODUCTION Agriculture has, for many years, formed the backbone of Kenya's economy: the agriculture sector contributes about 30 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and accounts for 80 per cent of national employment, mainly in the rural areas. In addition, the sector contributes more than 60 per cent of the total export earnings and about 45 per cent of government revenue, while providing for most of the country's food requirements. The sector is estimated to have a further indirect contribution of nearly 27 per cent of GDP through linkages with manufacturing, distribution, and other service related sectors. Kenya's agricultural sector directly influences overall economic performance through its contribution to GDP. Periods of high economic growth rates have been synonymous with increased agricultural growth. The tea sector is a dominant sector and the coffee sector has started to pick up following a decline in the recent past. The horticultural and flora sectors have seen unprecedented growth over the past years as more companies venture into production and export of flowers and fresh produce. The sugar industry has faced significant challenges and it is the governments intention to improve the sector. This industry is expected to show good growth over the next few years, should the government implement their stated policies. Other sectors where the country has significant untapped resources include cotton, forestry, fishing, pyrethrum, and macadamia nuts.1 Ewakulima.com is a new web portal designed to provide three things. Access to markets for the Kenyan farmer, provision of advertising to players in the entire agricultural value chain, and to act as a clearing house for the latest scientific research, policy changes and other news of interest for all those

http://www.pwc.com/ke/en/industries/agriculture.jhtml

interested in the agricultural sector in Kenya. This document seeks to answer the following questions:1. How will Ewakulima.com gain a foothold into the market?
2. Where will the market and the information come from?

3. Why should a potential advertiser spend his money advertising on Ewakulima.com?

How Ewakulima.com works

Three technologies are increasingly making a convergence that will enable Ewakulima.com attain its objectives, and they are mobile, social media and mobile money. Ewakulima.com is already posting market prices of commodities across all major towns and cities in Kenya. These are currently being posted and updated daily on Twitter using the @wakulima username. Ewakulima.com however does realize that there are lots of other potential transactions that are going on a daily basis. This is the commercial side of the transaction that Ewakulima.com intends to capture across the country. Ewakulima.com envisages using Twitter as a business platform. Twitter is free, and is increasingly available on mobile. In Kenya Safaricom and Airtel have already introduced short codes for Twitter in the market.2 It can therefore be said, that the lead platform for Ewakulima.com will be Twitter. The statistics do bear witness that Twitter is an emerging platform. Kenya ranks second on the African continent in terms of the number of Twitter users.3 Kenya already has close to 2.5 million Twitter users. The technology maybe novel, but the steps required to set up a Twitter for mobile account on any of the leading mobile networks are comparable in complexity to those needed to load airtime or access MPESA information.4
2

http://www.safaricom.co.ke/index.php?id=1274 and Airtels code 40404.

For further information please see the study conducted by Portland Communications available at http://www.portland-communications.com/Twitter_in_Africa_PPT.pdf
4

By promoting the use of Twitter for mobile, and provision of detailed information on the portal, it will enable Kenyan farmers access detailed information more than they would find on Twitter. It must therefore be stressed that the key for this business model to succeed would be to tightly integrate Ewakulimas social media, with the consumers mobile and with further linkages to the market and relevant curated information on agriculture.

Where Ewakulima.com gets content from

The information that is provided by Ewakulima.com comes from a variety of sources, including the Government of Kenya, in addition to a number of other content providers around the world. The focus of the content provided is on Kenyan, African and global trends in agribusiness, and other relevant topics. It is the hope of Ewakulima.com that as we commence operations we will be in a position to acquire much more usergenerated content from our customers. Already, the @wakulima Twitter username is developing a steady following, with some interest from other stakeholders in the agricultural sector in Kenya, and around the world. It is from the same audience that Ewakulima.com is going to developing an advertising base. This will be done by targeting specific users, and generating leads therefrom in addition to the tried and tested setting up of business meetings. Analysis of the information gathered will lead to better developed products and services.

Why use Ewakulima.com

Ewakulima.com is a novel advertising concept. It is really about fusing the prevailing technologies in a way that will enable you reach your customers better. Currently, companies are indeed using social media, but at Ewakulima.com, it is our belief that these platforms can be harnessed for the needs of the Kenyan farmer. The initial invest is low, and hence you have the opportunity to grow your business, or farm together with a growing and profitable business opportunity. In the future, Ewakulima.com is going to become the obvious port of call for information on anything to do with agriculture. If you would like further information contact us on info@ewakulima.com or don@ewakulima.com Our telephone numbers are +254 721 136 697 and +254 716 429 858. We would be happy to schedule an appointment with you to enable further discussions.