NAMPYA FARMERS MARKET : a commodities’ marketplace that connects farmers with customers

In the year 2015 when I was researching on how religion affects small business owners in terms of credit, purchasing decisions and the like, I also researched on banana exports from Uganda and this research showed me that it was impossible to export bananas as the price of bananas in Kampala was the same as that in Dubai. This made me look at the value chain in a complex way and felt there was a need to address this problem. I looked at the market not just from the export side of things but from the local consumption perspective and based on my background felt this is a problem I could solve.

NAMPYA FARMERS MARKET begun in the 2016 with the goal of solving the fragmentation in the produce market. We started off with 2 tuk-tuks and were distributing bananas in the suburbs of Kampala as a pilot. As we grew, we realized that Mama Mbogas (grocers) loved the idea of having goods delivered to them. This allowed for NAMPYA to pivot into a tech platform to allow the company to quickly scale. Technology has allowed us to create a replacement market for the wholesale market which is the Kalerwe and Kasubi market and taking all this aggregated demand from our customers and organizing supply based on their needs.

Your products and services 

NAMPYA FARMERS MARKET that’s low-technology enabled, saves time of vendors on trips to markets by delivering to their doorstep “better quality and better-priced stock”. We then translate this collective purchasing power to farmers across the country, allowing them access to stable markets at better market rates, while minimizing post-harvest losses through efficient logistics. NAMPYA is essentially building a commodities marketplace to connect farmers with customers using a business to business model.

On the market side of things, the vendors face a problem with liquidity which leads to food inflation. Add other market bottlenecks and the price of foodstuff will keep rising. This can be solved by an oversupply, where the vendor will not at any one time lack the necessary foodstuffs to sell to their market. However, the mama mboga (grocer) does not have enough cash for risk capital and so NAMPYA solves this by first ensuring a constant supply of the necessary vegetables and secondly offering trade credit to the customers. Our average client orders their goods three times a week. So we give most of them a 48-hour line of credit until the next delivery. This not only allows them to sell more but helps them deal with liquidity issues.  NAMPYA primarily uses technology to score the vendors before deciding how much credit to give the vendor and this is still at the pilot stage.

Our Mission is to enable food producers  (farmers) thrive decently in their local communities.

Your success factors 

Our success factors include credit terms, customer service and business relationships.

For vendors, NAMPYA is a business partner. We change the game for vendors in six big ways:

1. Prices are lower than the wholesale market
2. Quality is guaranteed
3. We make buying produce as easy as buying airtime
4. We ensure no more 5 AM market trips. Our tuk-tuks get to their shops(door-to-door deliveries).
5. We offer business support
6. Goods are safe. Everything can be traced back from where it arrived from.

For suppliers (farmers), NAMPYA is a Market-driven supply. We change the game for vendors in five big ways:

1. Prices are better
2. We make selling to local markets bankable
3. We need no brokers. We’re a long-term partner
4. We offer advice to grow their farming business
5. We try hard to pay fast.

Mobile Money is also a big boon for the business. There are 9 steps between the farmer and the vendor side of things which is the mama mboga and kiosk that buys from NAMPYA and mobile money is a major facilitator of these transactions and processes. We perform 400 transactions a week on the vendor side of things and have more on the farmer end and mobile money has allowed for the completion of these transactions.

We are able to eliminate leakages while optimizing the value chain process owing to Mobile Money. We are also looking to become a full stock M-Commerce platform for small businesses in 2021, serving all business needs from groceries to toilet paper and the like and at the very center of this will be the deployment of proper solutions. If we solve this problem, then we shall have solved most of the problems associated with agricultural economics.

Drawing on our experience in the logistics and supply chain space, NAMPYA FARMERS MARKET has developed a unique solution to address the inherent inefficiencies in the delivery of fresh produce across East Africa, with significant impact for both producers and consumers.

Your factors differentiating and disruptive compared to the existing 

Use of technology to collapse the value chain in agriculture.

Your business model 

NAMPYA is essentially building a commodities marketplace to connect farmers with customers using a business to business model. NAMPYA FARMERS MARKET operates a mobile-based business to business supply platform for retail outlets, kiosks, and market stalls in East Africa. The company enables vendors to order supplies like bananas using its platform. It supplies pineapples, tomatoes, and more. A vendor orders stock from NAMPYA and we reliably show up the next day at their shop with low cost and better quality products than informal markets can provide.

A few words about your competitors

These are few and located in the middle of East Africa.