How #BellaNaijaWCW Aisha Raheem-Bolarinwa of Farmz2U is Helping Farmers Grow Their Business

For our #BellaNaijaWCW feature this week, we shine the spotlight on and celebrate Aisha Raheem-Bolarinwa, the co-founder of Farmz2U, a digital platform that prevents food waste by helping farmers plan their crops.

Aisha made headlines in 2019 after she made the shortlist for the 2020 edition of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. This September, she was announced as one of the runners-up.

How Farmz2U works is that farmers tell the application how much land they have, what crops they want to grow, what their budget is, and even their target profit. Farmz2U then calculates how many seedlings the farmer should get, what fertiliser and pesticides to use, and provides training guides and videos for certain crops. Farmers can also find out where there is demand for their product, track orders and invoices, and find storage locations. Farmz2U even allows users to access financing, insurance, and receive weather reports and warnings.

Aisha, a strategy consultant, developed Farmz2U after a health scare prompted her to eat more healthily, which in turn exposed her to the challenges faced by the food industry. She became determined to reduce food waste and improve the nutritional intake of other people.

Farmz2U has already partnered with two commercial farmers as well as with the Nigerian Ministry of Agriculture’s farmer support programme to access its network of smallholder farmers.

Farmz2U is working to create another app that will include a nutrition management platform for health-conscious consumers who can create meal plans and shopping lists. Users will be able to buy fresh produce directly from farmers who are registered on the Farmz2U farm management platform, creating additional markets for local farmers.

Aisha is an Economics graduate from Queen Mary University of London and she cut her teeth in business consulting and strategy in a variety of firms in London.

Apart from the Prize for Engineering Innovation, Aisha’s Farmz2U received a £5,000 grant from  ShellLivewire in 2016.

Aisha is helping farmers farm better with tailored agricultural expertise and access to market and we’re rooting for her!