TBL, Vodacom now use blockchain to empower farmers

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL) and Vodacom Tanzania yesterday announced the integration with a blockchain platform dubbed BanQu in efforts to link and financially empower farmers in TBL’s supply chain.

BanQu is a software service company that provides a blockchain-powered supply chain and records management platform to operations of TBL’s parent company, AB InBev.

It is geared to reduce the risk of fraud in payment, enhance long-term yield management and improve access to credit and other financial services. For buyers, in this case, TBL, BanQu reduces input financing risk and eliminates the risk of fraud between tiers of the supply chain.

The Minister for Information, Communication and ICT, Mr Nape Nnauye, graced the announcement, commending the companies for walking the talk in the government’s agriculture transformation agenda.

“BanQu has come at the right time when President SamiaSuluhu Hassan has recently launched the ‘Ajenda 10/30’ campaign aimed at promoting the growth of agri-business in the country by 2030,” he said.

He said by empowering farmers, who provide raw materials to industries, the initiative was well in line with Tanzania’s industrialisation agenda.

Under the arrangement, the purchasing platform on BanQu is linked to Vodacom’s M-Pesa so that payments can be directly deposited.

So far, BanQu has already connected over 5,000 grapes, sorghum, and barley farmers to the TBL value chain who were connected during the technical integration and pilot done in December 2021.

Farmers will not need a smartphone to access the BanQu. “The USSD/SMS functionality is sufficient for one to access it because it was tailored to meet the requirements of farmers. Alternatively, farmers can register by creating a user ID on BanQu that can later be linked to a phone,” the two companies said in a joint statement yesterday.

The BanQu platform records all transactions between TBL and farmers. This guarantees transparency and traceability to both farmers and TBL.

Besides, each farmer will own a digital ledger known as an ‘economic passport’ on the BanQu platform. The digital ledger will connect them to the TBL value chain and provide an unchangeable record of all crop transactions made.

“It [the ledger] will describe every agricultural cycle from input to harvest. It will keep a transparent and traceable payment history of every kilogramme of the crops sold and provide usefully, quality metrics to improve productivity and business practices,” the companies say.

According to TBL’s country director Jose Moran the platform provides the company with access to a digitally secured (and privacy compliant) record of members, a detailed record of sales and purchases tracked and traced to an individual farmer as well as a summary of payments and inventory of harvest or inputs.

“Through BanQu, we are now able to ensure that our farmers constantly have access to solutions and insights that will help them make informed decisions. The platform has been created to protect farmers, extend opportunities for financial inclusion through our partners Vodacom Tanzania Plc, enhance transparency, and ultimately drive inclusive economic growth,” he said.

Vodacom Tanzania Plc managing director Sitholizwe Mdlalose said the partnership was in line with M-Pesa’s goal of contributing toward financial inclusion and facilitating digital payments in Tanzania.

“M-Pesa’s main objective is to facilitate digital payments as well as connect the otherwise unbanked onto some formal financial system. This partnership with BanQu ensures that these farmers are connected and can make use of our M-Pesa platforms to not only to receive payments but also to save, transfer and access micro-credit to increase their productivity,” said Mr Sitholizwe.

He called for more actors to collaborate with Vodacom M-Pesa to ensure ease of payment and push the country’s financial index up. Vodacom is also innovating in the agriculture space through its own M-Kulima platform which aims to digitize the value chain.

TBL sources 74 percent of its raw materials locally and seeks to ensure that 100 percent of its direct farmers are skilled, connected, and financially empowered by 2025.