TruTrade
GIVING FARMERS A BETTER DEAL
DIGITISING AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAINS
BUILDING SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAINS
About
TruTrade is a social enterprise providing smallholder farmers with a reliable route to market and fair prices for their produce.
Our mission is to increase smallholder farmer incomes through integrating them into sustainable value chains.
We do this by bringing together the ‘supply power’ of millions of small-scale producers, to meet the demand of local, regional and international markets.
Our Trade Transparency Solutions are making rural agricultural markets work better for farmers, aggregators and buyers.
Watch the video below on how TruTrade provides markets and incomes:
Farmers
have a direct link to markets and get better prices
Aggregators
have a business opportunity and can earn commission
Buyers
get a reliable and traceable source of good quality produce
Our Services
Platform
We have an online and mobile enabled trading and payment platform for collaborative supply chain management. This allows for the capture of all costs, analysis of transaction viability and price setting; registration of farmers and triggering payments; and tracking of produce from collection to delivery. The development of our technology platform and digital trading records is opening up significant new possibilities for farmer and business credentialing and gives global commodity buyers the ability to connect to their smallholder farmer suppliers.
Agent Network
We have a growing network of sourcing agents who manage collection points, check and weigh produce and trigger payments direct to farmers. An agent will typically source 20-80MT a season from 40-100 farmers, depending on value chain, area and experience. We are creating business opportunities for more agents to reach more farmers each year. In this way TruTrade is expanding its Market Connect Service across rural areas in Kenya and Uganda, enabling smallholder farmers to engage directly with volume buyers and benefit from economies of scale.
Trade Finance
TruTrade provides trade finance so that farmers can be paid as they hand over produce at the collection point. Our trade finance covers transaction costs including packaging, handling, storage, transport, taxes and any value addition services up to delivery to final buyer. It addresses the sale to settlement gap which typically constrains market opportunities. When the buyer pays TruTrade the fund is replenished.
How We Work
Check it out
We start with a simple value chain analysis, so we understand the market demand and supply for a commodity.
We use our platform to check out the commercial viability and social impact of potential transactions.
AGREE DEAL
Next we negotiate supply contracts or Local Purchase Orders (LPOs) with buyers.
Deals which break-even can now be approved on our platform.
START SOURCING
Agents display the price.
Farmers bring produce to a collection point, the agent checks quality, weighs and then triggers a payment directly from TruTrade to the farmer’s mobile or bank account.
AGGREGATE & DELIVER
TruTrade manages the aggregation from different agents, transaction logistics and delivery to the final buyer.
PAY COMMISSIONS
TruTrade and Agents earn a commission linked to the volume of produce sourced and its quality.
CLOSE DEAL
After buyer payment is received all figures are finalized.
If there is any profit it is shared equally between farmers and TruTrade at the end of the season.
Commodities
Oilseeds
Soyabean, Sesame, Groundnut, Chia
Root Crops
Cassava
Tree Crops
Avocado, Cashew nut, Macadamia nut and Mangos.
Cereals
White sorghum, Millet, Rice and Maize
Pulses
Greengrams
Livestock
Chicken
Our Clients
Our Impact
We envision a world where smallholder farmers prosper and agribusiness drives rural development.
TruTrade provides an alternative to the buy-low-sell-high trading practice common in agricultural value chains in Africa. Our business model has been developed from experience, to create a practical solution that is cost-effective. We are passionate about achieving social impact at scale and the growing reach of digital financial services makes this possible. We:
Increase smallholder farmer incomes and build their confidence to invest in production.
Create rural employment opportunities, in particular for youth as village agents.
Enable agribusinesses to source sustainably and create shared value.
Our Team
TruTrade has an ambitious and experienced leadership team, bringing together expertise in supply chain management, finance and social business.
Our dynamic Operations team is growing rapidly with Area Supervisors across Kenya and Uganda and a responsive back office staff supporting transactions, managing supplier relationships and developing new business opportunities.
Jo Ryan
interim ceo
Over 15 years experience in strategic and financial management in Africa, including lead roles in Traidlinks and Partner Africa.
Radhika Suri
Head of Finance
A senior finance professional with over 14 years’ experience in the development, medical and aid sector having worked for International NGOs in Kenya and the UK. Radika has also worked for Ernst and Young, and as a self-employed entrepreneur in the agricultural sector for a number of years.