Pictured (left to right): Tendai Chitapi and Oliver Windram.

Milken Institute: Tell us about your team?

Tendai Chitapi and Oliver Windram: As Kuronga co-founders, we grew up together as boarding schoolmates in Zimbabwe. After school, Tendai gained extensive experience in the fields of corporate finance and agri-logistics throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. Meanwhile, Oliver dedicated his career to the study and application of molecular plant pathology and data science.

Twenty years after leaving school, we were reunited by our shared passion for using science and technology to move Africa forward, particularly towards improving the livelihoods of farmers in our beloved Zimbabwe and beyond. We set our focus on addressing the challenges faced by small-scale farmers in the agricultural value chain and soon realized the quickest and most scalable way to do so was through the power of platform technology and AI as enablers. It was at this point that our passion for AgriTech was born. This passion has been fueled by the undeterred belief that technology is the great equalizer and the only catalyst capable of disrupting and revolutionizing the agricultural value chain.

What inspired you to participate in the Milken-Motsepe Prize in AgriTech? In addition to competing for the $1 million grand prize, what do you hope to gain from this experience?

We knew we couldn’t do this alone, and we spent hours labouring over where to find the support we needed. When we discovered the Milken-Motsepe Prize in AgriTech, it was immediately clear that we’d found our home. We were particularly inspired by their focused commitment on the ambition we shared—to develop sustainable technologies that significantly reduce crop losses, to improve farmer income, and to enhance global food security. We feel privileged to have the opportunity to work alongside such a change and impact-driven organization, where we also hope to access mentorship, networking, and investment opportunities that will enable us to scale with purpose and speed.

How will your concept increase economic value to farmers in Africa?

The stark reality for most small-scale farmers in South Africa is that the only avenue available to sell their produce is the highly monopolized and tightly controlled national fresh produce markets (accounting for 80 percent of all sales/deliveries). Unfortunately, this marketplace disproportionately favors larger commercial farmers for their ability to consistently meet higher quality requirements and deliver at scale, which effectively locks out small farmers. Through the use of artificial intelligence, the Kuronga app disrupts the value chain by directly connecting farmers and buyers, performing quality validation and grading at the farm gate to accurately match farmers to buyers based on produce quality. Ultimately, this solution overcomes the existing structural barriers, enabling even the smallest farmer to compete on a level playing field to sell more produce, earn more revenue, and reduce post-harvest crop losses and food waste in the process.

What sets you apart from other teams in this competition?

We have a very personal interest in farming, and this is in no small part inspired by our upbringing in a country once dubbed “The Breadbasket of Africa.” Oliver grew up on one of the most productive commercial farms in Zimbabwe and noticed the juxtaposition between the success that his family’s farm gained from good agronomic practice coupled with good marketing, versus the struggles of many nearby small-scale farmers, who grew amazing produce but lacked the marketing experience to really capitalize on their productivity. Further inspired by his experience in corporate agriculture and seeing the potential and opportunity that farming presents to elevate Africa’s fortunes, Tendai and his wife recently acquired a farm in South Africa.

Together, we have closely engaged with farmers in both South Africa and Zimbabwe over the past year, getting under the skin of their very real and human needs. With our unique perspective, we’ve built a broader team that combines a set of talent designed to unlock the technological advantages to be found in agri-logistics, fresh produce quality assurance, artificial intelligence, and deep learning. We believe that our human-centered approach to product development gives us a unique edge in being able to accelerate the productivity of small-scale farmers.