Hello Tractor
MLC Vanguard | Created by Hello Tractor
Hello Tractor is a Internet of Things enabled platform that empowers smallholder farmers with affordable mechanization, input, and commodity marketing services as well as tractor financing.
1,720,000 Lives Impacted
Hello Tractor has emerged as the leading and fastest-growing platform for tractor co-sharing in the emerging markets with over 3,500 bookings agents and 3,000 tractors on the platform, providing services to over 623,000 smallholder farmers growing on more than 1.7 million acres.
According to the research performed by Acumen, a majority farmers in our marketplace reported that their quality of life was improved as a result of our mechanization solution, 55% reported that it was their first time accessing a tractor, 96% reported that it improved their way of farming, 87% increased their revenue and 83% increased their farming production. 87% of our customers live on or below the poverty line. According to surveys executed by 60_Decibels, our Net Promoter Score was 82 in 2020.
In January 2022, we launched a tractor financing program. As of November we financed 104 tractors in Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda prioritizing unbanked, rural entrepreneurs. By the end of 2022, we expect a financed portfolio worth 11 million $. 30% of our financed tractor owners are women and more than 25% of our implements refer to conservation agriculture. Furthermore, through our financed tractor owners, we expect to cover 42% of the volume of imported wheat from Russia in 2021.
The Innovation
Hello Tractor helps smallholder farmers and agri-service providers improve ecosystem productivity and income security.
First, through a tractor brand-agostic IoT device linked to the Hello Tractor cloud and a tractor owner application, fleet owners are able to track geolocation, performance and fuel level of their tractor. Through data analytics, owners can access performance reports.
Second, through a marketplace smallholder farmers connect with tractor owners. Through community-based booking agents that aggregate demand and book services on behalf of farmers, mechanization services happen on economies of scale. The marketplace created a strong network on the ground. This social capital allows to penetrate the solution to rural areas that are traditionally too risky to access.
Third, the pay-as-you-go (PAYG) tractor financing allows high performing booking agents to qualify for equipment financing. PAYG prioritizes unbanked, rural women entrepreneurs who have exceeded 500 farmers within their booking business. Instead of using credit history we underwrite their book of demand and pre-approve these borrowers. With these financial incentives we foster the adoption of CA practices.
Implemented in
Kenya
Nigeria
Uganda
Get in touch
Susan Njihia, Innovation & CX Lead
Joost Muller, Business Development
About Hello Tractor
Hello Tractor uses a human centred design process and derives significant advantage from hiring local talent to solve local problems. The close proximity to our large and diverse customer base assists us in overcoming local barriers and accelerates need recognition by allowing us to get direct feedback. This is reinforced by our network of booking agents, local agri-input brokers, farmers and equipment owners. In the last 8 years, especially after pivoting in 2017, we have gained invaluable insight into the type of solutions that work and have used these learnings to enhance data-based mechanization on a wide scale in the region. The combination of best-in-class technology and an ability to adapt and innovate within local contexts crowds in critical partnerships and accelerates growth in farmer productivity.
