The Esoko Blog

blogFarmersImpactTeam EsokoUncategorized

Bringing Impact to Rural Communities through the FEATS Project

“The Talking Book gave me information on gender issues, best farming practices and how to keep records. The women here were excited about the training.…

Simone FugarJune 1, 2022

AgribusinessblogFarmersImpactNewsTechnologyTradersUncategorized

Esoko shortlisted for funding under the AGriDI project

Out of 122 Applications, Esoko has successfully secured funding under the AGriDI project in West Africa to improve the lives of smallholder farmers.  An Esoko…

Simone FugarFebruary 14, 2022

AgribusinessblogCase StudiesTechnology

After a decade and over of SMS-based solutions, we realize we may have missed something…

Let’s set the scene. It’s 2008. The African continent is buzzing with a growing number of people newly becoming mobile phone owners. People who had…

Simone FugarJanuary 4, 2022

blogFarmersImpactNewsTechnology

Agent Network Model – Bridging the Gap between Rural and Urban Communities

Leading technology firm on the African continent Esoko, showcased an innovative model to further improve the lives and productivity of smallholder farmers. Dubbed the ‘’Agent…

Simone FugarNovember 4, 2021

AgribusinessblogFarmersFood for thoughtInsightsTechnology

Gender and climate risk management: evidence of climate information use in Ghana

Authors: Samuel T. Partey, Angela D. Dakorah, Robert B. Zougmoré, Mathieu Ouédraogo, Mary Nyasimi, Gordon K. Nikoi & Sophia Huyer Abstract The gender perspective of…

Simone FugarFebruary 4, 2021

AgribusinessblogFood Prices

With schools reopening, can we expect any impact on maize prices?

Esoko looked at the prices of a 100kg bag of maize across Tamale, Techiman and Agbogbloshie markets in 2018, 2019, 2020. Maize is an important crop…

Simone FugarJanuary 19, 2021

blogPress Release

Esoko CEO awarded The Schwab Foundation Social Innovator of the Year 2020

Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship announces awardees for social innovation Award recognizes a group of 23 change-makers responding to the needs of those disproportionally affected…

Simone FugarOctober 18, 2020

blog

Profiling 234,000 households for social intervention programs

Digital profiling of households is an essential part of implementing fair and efficient social protection programs. The Ghana National Household Registry project seeks to profile…

Simone FugarSeptember 15, 2020

AgribusinessblogFarmers

Improving access to finance for smallholder cocoa and oil palm farmers

Source: Solidaridad West Africa Source: Solidaridad West Africa Financial institutions like banks refrain from lending to farmers because of the high risk associated with the…

Simone FugarAugust 10, 2020

blog

Big Data: The Future of Sustainable Agriculture in Ghana

By: Daniel Asare-Kyei, PhD Chief Executive Officer, Esoko Big data is moving into agriculture in a big way and its moving with the speed of…

Simone FugarJanuary 2, 2020

AgribusinessblogCase StudiesFarmersPartnersTraining

Empowering Ghana’s Young Agripreneurs under YEA

The Youth Employment Agency (YEA Ghana) was established to empower young people to contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic and sustainable development of the nation. In line with…

Simone FugarSeptember 5, 2019

AgribusinessblogFarmersFood for thought

Tackling Food Insecurity: Challenges, Opportunities and Way Forward

Thomas Jefferson couldn’t have put it better when he said, “Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real…

Simone FugarAugust 16, 2019

AgribusinessblogCase StudiesFarmersImpactInsightsNewsPartnersTeam EsokoTechnology

Fighting Fall Armyworm with Early Warning Systems in Ghana

Esoko has been at the forefront of championing digital services in agriculture and rural communities. This is in line with the company’s mission to improve…

Simone FugarAugust 2, 2019

blogImpactNewsPress ReleaseTechnology

Esoko to Offer Data Collection and Deployment Solution to Liberia

Pioneering Technology Firm, Esoko, is set to embark on a data collection exercise in Liberia. This comes on the heels of a twelve-month contract signed…

Simone FugarJune 26, 2019

AgribusinessblogFood for thoughtImpactInsightsJobsPartnersTechnology

The Invasion of Digital Technologies: What it Means for the Future of Work

The pace of advancement for digital technologies is on a high, sending shivers down the spine of many workers. The phenomenon has ignited the spread…

Simone FugarMay 16, 2019

AgribusinessblogCase StudiesFarmersImpactInsightsPartnersTechnology

Scaling up climate information services through public-private partnership business models: An example from northern Ghana

Author: Nikoi Gordon Kotey, MSc - Esoko Abstract/Description Between 2011 and 2017, CCAFS West Africa piloted how the dissemination of climate information services (CIS) to…

Simone FugarMay 6, 2019

blogInsightsNewsPress ReleaseTechnology

Evolution of Data Collection: From Clay, to Paper, to Mobile

From Clay Tablets... You may not be wrong to liken data to life. Many are of the view that the origin of data collection can…

Simone FugarApril 10, 2019

blogFarmersImpactInsightsNewsTeam EsokoUncategorized

Improving Access To Agric Information Through Farmer Helpline

Farmers all over the world make significant contributions to the growth of many economies, keeping the agriculture industry alive. Ironically, most live from hand to…

Simone FugarFebruary 25, 2019

blogFarmersFood for thoughtImpactInsightsTips & Tricks

OF RISING GLOBAL TEMPERATURES – CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS TO CLIMATE CHANGE

by Prince Adzivor Planet Earth is sitting on a ticking time bomb. A toxic mixture of greenhouse gasses, smog, soot and several other harmful tons…

Simone FugarFebruary 12, 2019

AgribusinessblogInsightsNewsTechnology

 The fast-moving train of digitization; why all must get onboard

It took us centuries to get here. Having gone through pockets of social, economic and political advancements, it is prudent to pinpoint the drivers of…

Simone FugarDecember 13, 2018

blogFarmersImpactInsightsNewsTechnology

Esoko Diaries: Ensuring client satisfaction through effective project management

Esoko, the leading firm in technology and field deployment solutions for agricultural value chains and data digitization, has chalked numerous successes in its quest to…

Simone FugarOctober 29, 2018

blogNewsTechnology

7 reasons to choose mobile data collection over paper

Good quality data is important in every organization, to optimize operations and decision making. Researchers need data to make informed investigations; Banks need accurate data…

Simone FugarOctober 4, 2018

blogNewsPartnersTechnology

ESOKO WINS BEST TECHNOLOGY IN AGRICULTURE AWARD AT MOBEX INNOVATION AFRICA

Esoko (www.esoko.com) a pioneering firm in the tech for agric space, has been adjudged winners of the maiden Mobex Innovation Africa (MIA) Award for Governance…

Simone FugarOctober 4, 2018

blogInsightsNewsPartnersTeam EsokoTechnology

ESOKO: DIGITISING DATA COLLECTION WITH ‘INSYT’

Accra, September 2, 2018 - Esoko, a pioneering technology company in Africa has yet again deepened its innovative credentials as trail blazers within the technological…

Simone FugarSeptember 2, 2018

AgribusinessblogImpactInsightsUncategorized

Field Deployment Guide for Mobile Data Collection Exercises – Esoko

Esoko provides a web/mobile-based platform and deployment service called Insyt, for the collection of field data, using tablet devices and smartphones.  Since 2013, Insyt has…

Simone FugarJuly 11, 2018

AgribusinessblogFarmersImpactInsightsNewsPartnersTechnology

Stories from the Ghana Poultry Project

Bartholomew Kwabena Antwi is part of the Ghana Poultry Project (GPP), for which Esoko provides information on poultry prices in the country, and products for…

Simone FugarJune 8, 2018

blogNewsPartnersTechnology

Partnering with Electroland Ghana to Give Rural Communities a Digital Footprint

For years, Esoko’s Insyt data collection platform has been the backbone of many large-scale social protection projects in Ghana. These include the Ghana National Household…

Simone FugarMay 16, 2018

blogImpactInsightsNewsTechnology

Tales from the Field: Data Collection for LEAP (Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty)

Esoko is on the field deploying our latest data collection project with Insyt technology. The Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty is a Government of Ghana initiative to…

Simone FugarApril 16, 2018

blogFarmersImpact

“Getting an idea of market prices…helps me plan where and when I can get the best prices for my crops”

Connecting farmers to market prices, weather information and markets is one of the things we do best at Esoko. The aim is to help farmers…

Simone FugarApril 13, 2018

AgribusinessblogFarmersNewsPartnersPress Release

Esoko Mexico Grows into Extensio

Mexico City, February 21st from Diana Popa, Cofounder and CEO of Extensio In order to reaffirm its Mexican identity and focus on the needs of…

Simone FugarFebruary 21, 2018

blogNewsTechnology

The evolution of Esoko: Keeping up with the needs of rural Africa

From sending information to collecting data 2017 was one of many defining years for Esoko. The company incubated and launched Tulaa as a separate business…

Simone FugarJanuary 17, 2018

blogInsightsTechnology

Challenges of deploying data collection technology in rural communities

Innovation has driven the development of new tools and services to tackle different areas of rural development and improve the livelihoods of individuals, households and…

Simone FugarSeptember 25, 2017

blogTechnology

Closing Africa’s data collection gap one project at a time

We all know about Africa’s developmental challenges. There are a million and one articles which address rising poverty and hunger levels, corrupted institutions and slow…

Simone FugarAugust 24, 2017

blogFarmersImpactInsightsPartnersTechnology

The Journey So Far: Registering Ghanaian Farmers for the Planting for Food and Jobs’s program

In March 2017, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) partnered with Esoko under the Planting for Food and Jobs program, to provide technologies to…

Simone FugarJune 6, 2017

blogFarmersImpactInsights

Insight on Baseline Study of Smallholder Farmers in Ghana

Summary Fasiba, Esoko ‘s latest innovative technological solution, is designed to help smallholder farmers overcome the challenge of lack of access to affordable and quality…

Simone FugarMarch 28, 2017

AgribusinessblogImpactInsightsTechnology

Open data: Opportunities and challenges for Africa’s development

by Simone Fugar Open data: a basic human right? Open data refers to data that can be freely accessed, used and redistributed by anyone without…

Simone FugarMarch 20, 2017

blogFarmersImpactInsightsPartnersTechnology

Digitizing rural communities

by Patrick Kiao How do you feel when you switch from an iPhone 6 to iPhone 7? That rush of excitement and anxiety….you just can’t…

Simone FugarMarch 13, 2017

blogFasibaNewsPress Release

Esoko launches new website

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Nairobi, Kenya – Esoko launched its new website today (www.esoko.com), which reflects the company’s transformation towards mobile commerce and digital financial services…

Simone FugarFebruary 2, 2017

blogFarmersImpactInsightsUncategorized

Harnessing Open Data for Sustainable Development

Since its inception, Esoko has been a fervent supporter of open data. Our social enterprise began by collecting data and sharing this information with farmers over…

Simone FugarSeptember 22, 2016

AgribusinessblogFarmersImpactInsightsPartnersTechnologyUncategorized

Mobile phones help Northern Ghana’s farming families beat climate change

by Gordon Kotey Nikoi (Esoko Ghana), Samuel Partey (CCAFS West Africa) and Robert Zougmore (CCAFS West Africa) A farmer inspects his millet crop in Ghana. By…

Simone FugarJuly 27, 2016

blogInsightsNewsTeam EsokoTechnologyUncategorized

Esoko Core Values: Think Ahead

One of the key skills that separates great athletes from good is their ability to anticipate. This means that great athletes are better able to…

Simone FugarJuly 27, 2016

blogInsightsNewsTeam EsokoTechnologyUncategorized

Esoko Core Values: Find the opportunity in every challenge

  “Grit” is the combination of someone’s passion to achieve a goal combined with a tenacious drive to achieve it. Few people exemplify grit more…

Simone FugarJuly 19, 2016

AgribusinessblogFarmersUncategorized

Leveraging mobile technology in farming

  Mobile technology continues to expand its ability to assist various sectors, including the agricultural industry. In Africa, 40% of the population now have access…

Simone FugarJuly 13, 2016

blogInsightsNewsTeam EsokoTechnologyUncategorized

Esoko Core Values: Team Esoko First

  Team Esoko First means that we are not Kenyans and Ghanaians first. We are not Product or Sales or HR first. Team Esoko First…

Simone FugarJuly 7, 2016

blogNewsTeam EsokoTechnologyUncategorized

Google X Esoko

In the month of May, Esoko welcomed four Google employees to our Ghana office for a 3-week volunteer consulting project. We got a chance to…

Simone FugarJuly 7, 2016

blogUncategorized

Esoko Core Values: Give everyone a remarkable experience

Author: Hillary Miller-Wise (HMW), CEO of Esoko Esoko’s second value is to “give everyone a remarkable experience”. But how do we know what remarkable looks…

Simone FugarJune 26, 2016

blogInsightsTechnologyUncategorized

Scary thoughts on what awaits Africa (with the fast approaching Fourth Industrial Revolution)

  Author: Dr. Mayuri Odedra-Straub, Digital Africa Digital Africa Global Consult (of which I am part) recently hosted its 4th International Conference with the theme,…

Simone FugarJune 26, 2016

blogFarmersImpactInsightsUncategorized

Agriculture and Nutrition: A Nexus to Improve the Livelihood of Population at the Base of the Pyramid

Author: Frederick Kofi Asare, Nutrition Specialist (Esoko) The BoP Socioeconomic classification segments and situates part of the working class, the working poor and the poor…

Simone FugarJune 22, 2016

blogUncategorized

Access and use of seasonal forecast Information gives hope to farmers in Northern Ghana

  Livelihoods in the Northern part of Ghana are characterized by chronic poverty, food insecurity and environmental degradation which continue to worsen due to the…

Simone FugarJune 14, 2016

blogTeam EsokoUncategorized

Esoko Core Values: Do the Right Thing

Author: Hillary Miller-Wise (HMW), CEO of Esoko Over the coming weeks, I will be writing some thoughts on each of our Core Values. I welcome…

Simone FugarJune 10, 2016

AgribusinessblogFarmersImpactInsightsTips & TricksUncategorized

Advising farmers on Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs)? It is time you asked yourself how precise your information is

A blog by Emmanuel Soita, Esoko Content Specialist (Kenya) Recently I got a chance to go out in the field and interact with farmers in…

Simone FugarMay 18, 2016

AgribusinessblogFarmersImpactInsightsTechnologyUncategorized

Running Without Shoes: Plight of the Smallholder Farmer

A post by Hillary Miller-Wise, CEO of Esoko Imagine you had to run a 10 km race without running shoes. Certainly you would make do with…

Simone FugarMarch 29, 2016

blogNewsPartnersUncategorized

Esoko Mexico Secures Another Client; Will Now ‘Fish’ for Prices

MEXICO CITY (Esoko News). - Esoko Mexico resellers Nicolas Demeilliers and Jose L Amaya have recently secured a pilot with Environmental Defense Fund (EDF de…

Simone FugarMarch 1, 2016

AgribusinessblogFarmersImpactInsightsUncategorized

Mobile World Congress 2016 Jumpstart pitchers: Esoko

Author: Hillary Miller-Wise for Mobile World Congress 2016 Like many technology start-ups that have managed to survive beyond a year or two, Esoko is continually…

Simone FugarFebruary 25, 2016

AgribusinessblogImpactNewsPartnersUncategorized

Out of Africa…Viva Mexico!

  A guest post by Elias Chandi Since the inception of Esoko, our main focus has been on Africa. We have worked tirelessly to offer…

Simone FugarJanuary 15, 2016

AgribusinessblogFarmersImpactPartnersUncategorized

KAVES: Adoption of Hermetic Bags

For many years, farmers have been left frustrated by the ever escalating cost of agricultural production. This ranges from costs incurred in the acquisition of…

Simone FugarDecember 24, 2015

blogFarmersImpactInsightsPartnersUncategorized

Happy Beninois Farmers

  At Esoko, we live for the human part of our work. We love hearing stories of the social impact that our weather and price…

Simone FugarDecember 15, 2015

blogInsightsTeam EsokoUncategorized

Connecting Farmers

  With 60% of Africa’s population working in agriculture, innovations like Esoko’s pricing apps promise to improve conditions of smallholder farmers Esoko provides African farmers…

Simone FugarNovember 10, 2015

blogInsightsTeam EsokoUncategorized

How do we scale mAgric services? Partners of all shapes and sizes.

A guest post from Vani Holla, Director of Client Services at Esoko. Esoko's won a $1.1M grant from DFID to start operations in six countries…

Simone FugarDecember 16, 2014

blogInsightsUncategorized

Esoko and the Chocolate Factory

The UK's premiere chocolatier, Prestat, is committed to trading fairly. So what does that mean in practice? They're currently funding a partnership between Cocoa Abrabopa and Esoko in…

Simone FugarOctober 2, 2014

blogFarmersImpactInsightsUncategorized

Will it rain today? The weather, straight to your Inbox

‘I would have lost a total of 7 acres of various commodities, mostly maize, but for the timely weather advice I received from Esoko. All my…

Simone FugarAugust 28, 2014

blogFarmersImpactUncategorized

What’s voice got to do with it?

Our Farmer Helpline team in Accra has been answering calls for six months now. If this is the first you’ve heard of it, you may…

Simone FugarJuly 15, 2014

blogFarmersImpactInsightsTeam EsokoUncategorized

Coordinating with SMS: Flies, Mangos and mAgric

Brought to us by CEO Mark Davies on the heels of a trip to Burkina Faso.  Technology discovers itself through use. A truism to be sure,…

Simone FugarJune 19, 2014

blogNewsUncategorized

Acumen, Lundin Foundation Invest in Esoko

We're thrilled to announce the $1.5 million aggregate equity and debt investment from Acumen and Lundin Foundation. They join our group of investors made up of…

Simone FugarMay 12, 2014

blogFarmersTeam EsokoUncategorized

Evil Weevil, or Vani’s Adventures North

Because of close to zero background in agriculture & because Esoko's service offerings are mainly in the field of agriculture, I decided to (read as…

Simone FugarMarch 1, 2014

blogFarmersInsightsTeam EsokoUncategorized

Reaching the rural farmer with modern technology

Over the years innovation has driven the development of new tools and services to tackle different areas of the agricultural value chain…now including, of course,…

Simone FugarFebruary 1, 2014

blogFarmersImpactUncategorized

Another Great Idea Born In Africa

Thanks to Talking Heads - who highlight Africans solving problems and making meaningful contributions to their communities, cities, countries, continent & the world - for our new favorite video!…

Simone FugarOctober 4, 2013

blogFarmersTeam EsokoUncategorized

Coming Out (My Esoko Story)

I joined Esoko 3 months ago. Before joining the organization, I always saw the building on my way home from school, orange and white, and…

Simone FugarSeptember 4, 2013

blogPartnersUncategorized

Esoko’s Second mAGRIC showcase

By 2050 Africa’s population is expected to double from 1 to 2 billion and there’s growing concern about how the world will feed itself.  Much…

Simone FugarJune 25, 2013

blogTeam EsokoTechnologyUncategorized

Coding in Country

A fast paced question and answer session with Chinedu Okonkwo, software engineer. What do you work on at Esoko? I work on the API (Application…

Simone FugarMay 25, 2013

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear

Ambrose Redmoon

blogFarmersImpactTradersUncategorized

Impact in 2012 – a snapshot

Sara Maunda made $130 instead of $27 after receiving and using Esoko price alerts. As we come to the end the year, here's a snapshot…

Simone FugarDecember 26, 2012

blogPartnersUncategorized

Esoko hosts Ghana’s first mAGRIC showcase

We hosted Ghana’s first ever mobile for agricultural development workshop dubbed ‘mAGRIC Showcase 2012’ on May 15. The workshop, which was sponsored by Esoko, GIZ and the World Bank (WAAPP),…

Simone FugarMay 20, 2012

blogPartnersUncategorized

Esoko’s 4th Annual Partner Conference

Esoko being deployed in multiple countries across Africa presents unique and interesting challenges -  all specific to each country's agricultural, cultural, mobile and economic environments.…

Simone FugarApril 27, 2012

blogTeam EsokoUncategorized

Know your customer: Software developers visit farmers!

Most software developers just want to fix their eyes on their computers and write code - no disturbances, no distractions. 'The business team should do…

Simone FugarApril 1, 2012

blogTeam EsokoTechnologyUncategorized

Local Needs, Local Development

By Kwesi Acquah, Esoko Communications Officer Esoko, 2011, Accra. The mere mention of technology brings to mind names like Berlin, Singapore, Basel, Bangalore and the…

Simone FugarDecember 20, 2011

blogFarmersInsightsTrainingUncategorized

Teach a Man to Text

Nicole Hildebrandt is a New York University/Center for Technology and Economic Development doctoral student working on a randomized control trial (RCT) on Esoko in Ghana. These are…

Simone FugarNovember 2, 2011

blogInsightsTeam EsokoUncategorized

In African agriculture, information is power

This post originally appeared as part of National Geographic's Digital Diversity Series. By Sarah Bartlett, Director of Communications and Research at Esoko Standing in the heart…

Simone FugarSeptember 5, 2011

blogInsightsTeam EsokoUncategorized

MIS Practitioners: Don’t Be Defined by Our History

Brought to us by Mark Davies - market information obsessed anthropologist & technologist (and incidentally the founder/CEO of Esoko). Recently at a UNECA workshop in…

Simone FugarJuly 19, 2011

blogInsightsTradersUncategorized

Why Traders are Not Evil

My name is Cosmas Kombat, and over the past 3 months I have been researching Market Information Systems (MIS), this particular one funded by GiZ/Market…

Simone FugarMay 11, 2011

blogTeam EsokoTips & TricksUncategorized

DIY: Bernard’s Commodity Index

Hi, my name is Bernard Otabil, and I led the launch of the first ever agricultural commodity index in Ghana. It’s known as the Esoko…

Simone FugarFebruary 4, 2011

blogFarmersImpactUncategorized

Impact in 2010 – a snapshot

Jonathan Abudu, Salaga, Ghana Jonathan cultivates yam tubers. When a buyer came to his small community quoting a very low price, Jonathon sent an SMS price…

Simone FugarDecember 18, 2010

blogTeam EsokoTechnologyUncategorized

An Android Revolution?

Hi I'm Torsten Herbst and I'm creating the new Esoko app for Android. I'm writing today to share a little bit about Android itself, and…

Simone FugarNovember 12, 2010

blogInsightsTeam EsokoTips & TricksUncategorized

The Nitty Gritty on Enumeration

I'm Andrew Kpeleku, the Enumeration Manager at Esoko Ghana. That's me on the right, with our Techiman Enumerator, Sampson Aiyedum. Our department is responsible for the…

Simone FugarAugust 13, 2010

blogPartnersUncategorized

Who’s behind Sudan’s MIS?

Under the Food Security Project in Northern Sudan, FAO Sudan will soon begin a deployment of Esoko’s web and mobile Market Information System as the…

Simone FugarFebruary 19, 2009

blogTradersUncategorized

Esoko (and Hajia Talhatu Kudi) on CNN!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6z0ywkHPPQ It’s easy to see why Hajia Talhatu was given a new last name by friends and co-workers in Accra—Kudi, the Hausa word meaning money.…

Simone FugarMay 5, 2008