Abstract

In response to the huge tractor shortage in Sub Saharan Africa, and its implications for food security of local populations as well as the productivity and livelihoods of smallholder farmers, Hello Tractor, an award-winning agricultural technology social enterprise focused on improving food and income security throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Hello Tractor was founded by Jehiel Oliver (Oliver) and Van Jones. Oliver developed a low cost ‘Smart Tractor’ with parts that were easily serviceable and replaceable. However, what was really innovative was Hello Tractor’s Uber-like platform that allowed Smart Tractor owners to rent them out easily to fellow farmers – while keeping track of usage and maintenance, and preventing fraud or misuse – all through SMS. This translated into convenient and affordable tractor services for farmers, as well as additional income for owners. Hello Tractor’s vision was in line with the Sustainable Development Goal #2: “achieve food security and promote sustainable agriculture. Hello Tractor was first launched in Nigeria in 2014. The company grew quickly and became the leading provider of technology solutions designed for the tractor services market, expanding to a total of 16 markets across the continent as well as reaching well over 500,000 smallholder farms. It partnered with Aeris, the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, CalAmp, IBM, John Deere, and others to scale its enterprise. However, there were challenges along the way such as the fact that few people owned smartphones. In 2018, only about 13% of the population across urban and rural areas owned smartphones in Nigeria. Hello Tractor aimed to grow across markets in Africa and Asia, with the goal of providing mechanization access to 15 million farmers by 2022. Would Hello Tractor be able to scale up to serve other developing countries and fulfil its goal of providing food security and sustainable agriculture?

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Analyze the path of a social entrepreneur from idea generation to market development to scaling up
• Discuss how AgriTech startups were providing solutions to help smallholder farmers and bringing food security in Africa and Asia
• Examine how Hello Tractor was working to create sustainable livelihoods through AgriTech in Africa and Asia
• Formulate strategies for social enterprises to achieve financial sustainability
• Examine the challenges faced by Hello Tractor in achieving its vision

Keywords

AgriTech; Hello Tractor; Food Security; Sustainable Agriculture; Africa; Smallholder Farmers; Entrepreneurship; Global Food Security; Sustainable Livelihood Creation; Nigeria; Smart Tractor; Sub-Saharan Africa