Technology to Transform Lives of the Small and Marginal Farmers

Dalberg Advisors is partnering with the Government of Andhra Pradesh (AP), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to organize an AgTech Pitch Competition #SmartFarming4AP.

The Pitch Competition is to seek out innovators developing solutions, which could solve the challenges faced by the small and marginal farmers. The winners will get an opportunity to sign an MoU with the Government of AP to roll out their solution in the State.  Dalberg Advisors is helping curate this competition, and in addition has announced it will provide mentoring support to the winners, to help sharpen their business plans and go-to-market strategies that drive inclusive transformation.

The final round of the competition will be held during the AP AgTech Summit 2017:Progressive Farmer, Smart Farming in Visakhapatnam on November 15-17, 2017. More than 1500 delegates are expected to attend the event, including global leaders, business heads, start-up founders, policymakers, and technology experts. The Summit will be led by the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. Chandrababu Naidu. The co-chair and trustee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, will also be present at the event.

Varad Pande, Partner, Dalberg Advisors, commented on the initiative, “We are delighted to partner with the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and CII on this event. At Dalberg, we firmly believe that if we are serious about inclusive economic transformation, we have to solve the problems of the small and marginal farmer. This requires us to creatively bring together technology, policy, and business. The #SmartFarming4AP Pitch Competition aims to do exactly this – by catalyzing the next frontiers of AgTech innovation.”

Innovators are invited that are working on the following themes: Technology-enabled Rural Advisory Services (RAS); Technology-enabled market linkages; Digital Financial Services for agriculture; Data mining for agriculture.

Last date to submit an application is October 31, 2017.