You're solving the wrong supply chain problem

It appears that you are addressing the incorrect supply chain issue

The logistics and agriculture sectors are currently experiencing a period of significant innovation. We discuss at length the optimisation of the final mile of the supply chain, with a focus on the delivery of goods to the end consumer in a timely and cost-effective manner. However, following a thorough analysis of value chains from the Rift Valley farms to the Durban ports, we have concluded that the focus on the final mile is misguided strategically.

The African supply chain is not experiencing issues at the final mile. The system is experiencing widespread failure. The system is a black box, a collection of disconnected data silos where farmers, transporters, distributors, and buyers operate almost completely blind. This systemic blindness is the source of the catastrophic inefficiency that sees up to 40% of food perish before it ever reaches a table.

The cost of a blind system is considerable

The financial implications of this data fragmentation are considerable. Smallholder farmers, who do not have access to real-time market pricing, are forced to sell to middlemen at a fraction of the value of their produce. Logistics companies, unable to anticipate disruptions, have experienced the loss of entire shipments of perishable goods due to a single roadblock. Retailers, who do not have sufficient visibility of supply, find themselves in a challenging position, unable to avoid costly stockouts and the resulting wasteful overstocking. The continued development of isolated applications to address specific aspects of this challenge is an ineffective use of resources.

The development of the industry's operating system is a race that is currently underway

The true, multi-billion-dollar opportunity lies beyond the creation of yet another logistics app. The objective is to construct a unified data platform that will function as the central nervous system for the entire industry. This forms the foundation of our core strategic belief.

Please imagine a single, integrated platform where harvest forecasts are visible to retailers, where the real-time location and temperature of every refrigerated truck are tracked, and where payments are settled automatically upon delivery. This is not about optimising one link in the chain; it's about creating a transparent, intelligent, and efficient ecosystem.

The construction of this platform represents a significant challenge in terms of business strategy and engineering. In order to proceed with this project, it is essential that all parties have a comprehensive understanding of the motivations of each stakeholder. Furthermore, the architecture must be designed with scalability in mind. However, the company that builds this "operating system" for the African supply chain will not merely be a participant in it. They will own the foundational layer upon which the future of continental trade is built.