Farmers are typically forced to sell their produce immediately after harvesting, when the price is lowest, due to limited access to storage facilities and finance. Ergos Business Solutions addresses this barrier by operating a network of micro warehouses that enables farmers to store their produce, reduce waste, use the stored goods as collateral to access immediate financial liquidity, and sell the produce when it reaches the desired price.96
Through a mobile app, Ergos provides farmers with a warehouse stock count and real-time market prices. Farmers can use digital warehouse receipts as collateral with loan providers to access short-term funding allowing them to wait to sell the produce at a higher price.97 Maize farmers who use the facilities have sold their produce at prices 20-30 percent higher than before using Ergos.98 Through its work, Ergos is providing better livelihoods for farmers as well as reducing food loss and waste at the production level.
Ergos is supported by Aavishkaar, an early-stage impact investor focused on rural enterprises in underserved geographies. Aavishkaar has a track record of $155 million invested in 300 start-ups since its launch in 2001.
96 Shailesh Menon. 2017. ‘Mobile Services: How Tech-Enabled Agriculture Ventures Are Offering Farm Related Services via Mobile Phones’. The Economic Times. 29 August 2017. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/how-tech-enabled-agriculture-ventures-are-offering-farm-related-services-via-mobile-phones/articleshow/60265335.cms.
97 ‘Empowering Participation from Farmers’. n.d. Ergos. https://ergos.in/.
98 Shailesh Menon. 2017. ‘Mobile Services: How Tech-Enabled Agriculture Ventures Are Offering Farm Related Services via Mobile Phones’. The Economic Times. 29 August 2017. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/how-tech-enabled-agriculture-ventures-are-offering-farm-related-services-via-mobile-phones/articleshow/60265335.cms.