‘AGRIinsight’ platform, launched by Cambridge collaboration, will reduce cost and risk of investing in Africa’s agriculture sector

AGRIinsight brings together relevant and reliable data onto one platform. (Image Source: Luigi Guarino/Flickr)

AGRIinsight Ltd and Arcus Global, alumni of Allia Future Business Centre in Cambridge have announced a new partnership to provide an online mapping platform to support agribusiness investment in the developing world. The partnership brings together the combined knowledge and experience of both the organisations. Arcus has taken an equity position in AGRIinsight and will provide specialist IT and cloud computing expertise to help develop the platform.

The first version of the mapping platform will launch in May, with a set of early adopters from the public and private sectors in East and West Africa. The AGRIinsight platform will consolidate and map information in a quick, reliable and easy to use format. This will drive new investment into the African agribusiness sector and create new opportunities for income-generation and facilitate collaborations between investors, agribusinesses, farmers and suppliers.

The platform will provide agribusinesses with an efficient way to store and share information, locate, and contact suppliers, customers and investors online. The mapping tools will also allow NGOs to target their support and resources.

Using a smart phone, subscribers to the platform can add their own profile, location, data and requirements, and easily contact other agribusinesses, NGOs and investors. This data can be overlaid with public information on the platform such as infrastructure, soil and climatic conditions, allowing better planning, coordination and targeting of resources across the region.