Closing the Last Mile: How Digital Tools Are Fixing East Africa's Agricultural Supply Chains
Imagine spending months growing tomatoes only to watch them spoil because the buyer's truck arrived two days late. Across East Africa, that scenario is far more common than crop failure itself. Farmers don't only lose money because they produce too little. They lose it because too much can happen between the farm and the market. Between the field and the consumer sits a long chain of transporters, aggregators, warehouses, processors, exporters and retailers. When that chain lacks visibility, everyone loses. Farmers struggle to find buyers at the right time, processors face unpredictable supply, exporters grapple with inconsistent quality, and consumers ultimately pay more for food that may have travelled inefficiently before reaching their plates. For years, agricultural innovation focused on helping farmers produce more. That work remains important, particularly as climate change makes growing conditions increasingly unpredictable. But another challenge has quietly become ju...
