African Potash Ltd (LON:AFPO), has announced that it has entered into an engagement agreement with TokenCommunities Limited a Gibraltar company (“TokenCommunities”). This agreement complements the agreement with FinComEco Limited announced recently as it will greatly facilitate the company’s plans to jointly develop and operate a range of platforms/projects and initiatives in the agricultural commodity markets sector in sub-Saharan Africa. TokenCommunities will advise on the deployment of tokens to in a complete blockchain-based agricultural ecosystem solution. This supply-to-demand chain links together smallholder farmers, small-scale traders, brokers, storage, transportation, and commodity buyers. It will help enable smallholder farmers to raise productivity and potentially obtain a better price for their produce. In the longer term, it may provide opportunities for further income growth as well as opening alternative added-value opportunities including broader e-commerce-enabled enterprises.
It is anticipated that demand will be driven by the provision of microloans by the Company direct to Small Scale farmers (“SSF”). The microloans are expected to bear interest at approximately 12% per annum, a rate which will be a significant disrupter in the countries of operation where farmers can pay well over double this rate. The portfolio of loans will be insured against non-performance. All supply chain financing and transaction logging will be by blockchain. This will offer a much more secure and cheaper alternative to present systems where they exist. Dealing direct with the farmer will limit government interference and cut out “the middlemen” and thereby potentially lower costs further.
Alex Lightman, Founder and CEO, of TokenCommunities PLC said “We are delighted to be working with African Potash to enable them to transform the lives of smallholder farmers across sub-Saharan Africa. Our collaborative approach will be delivering best-of-breed technology, standards and inputs allowing the Company to utilise Fintech and the blockchain technology as well as the internet of things to implement its plans to finance African farmers to access capital. This is required for them to operate more efficiently by purchasing essential items (including seeds, fertilisers and pesticides) coupled with agricultural finance facilitation to link the supply to market side demand creating a holistic agricultural value chain.”
TokenCommunities and its associates provide comprehensive consultancy and advice to the block chain/distributed ledger sector.
Craig Marshak, a Director of TokenCommunities, said TokenCommunities had been specifically chosen for its in depth analysis of the wholesale food supply chain in Africa and its proposal to significantly change the entire sector business model. This will lead to increased profitability and bring positive disruptive change heralding the creation and phased continuance that the constructive use of the blockchain and related technologies can release.
See http://tokencommunities.com/
Chris Cleverly, African Potash Ltd Executive Chairman, said, “By linking agriculture to blockchain technology, the engagement agreement with TokenCommunities Limited will allow the Company to draw on the expertise of Alex Lightman and his team to facilitate agricultural value-chain efficiencies through provision of strategic value-added services utilising Blockchain technology. Demand for agricultural inputs will be driven by the provision of low cost microloans direct to SSFs) for them to purchase inputs from our designated warehouses; with repayment in the form of warehouse receipts of SSF outputs. In addition, other value-added services such as the provision of market information, training and capacity building will be provided, working together with TokenCommunities and other appropriate partners. The blockchain system tokens are expected to generate other e-commerce opportunities as demand evolves. This agreement represents a further step in our strategy to build a vertically integrated fertiliser business from initial resource through to selling, using blockchain technology, direct to the farm. This strategy is reflected in the proposed change of name to Block Commodities limited”.
