Award-winning farming app boosts South Africa's black farmers

An award-winning app in South Africa is helping emerging small-scale farmers connect with supermarkets by making it easier for them to market, sell and transport their produce.

Created by young entrepreneurs Karidas Tshintsholo and Matthew Piper, Khula allows businesses to order fresh, organic vegetables straight from the ground. Its founders say they created the app to find ‘African solutions to African problems’.

“We thought if we could find a way to all those emerging farmers it will have huge implications on employment and basically huge implications on the economic growth of the continent as a whole,” Tshintsholo said.

We thought if we could find a way to all those emerging farmers it will have huge implications on employment.

Over six hundred farmers use the app and notable clients include Pick n’ Pay, the Michelangelo Hotel and the Sandton Convention Centre.

One of the farmers benefitting from using Khula, a 29-year-old Owen Mulaudzi, said he’s seen significant growth in his produce.

“Khula app, I no longer worry about the transport, I no longer worry about the access to market and then with Khula app, I also, I am in a position to track my records more accurately,” Mulaudzi said.

Through charging a small percentage on each transaction as well as a fee for managing the logistics, Khula has generated half a million rands in its first three months, proving the value of the business.

The co-founders plan to expand in parts of the continent and introduce the app to other emerging markets such as Brazil and India.