SustainableFinance.Live 2024, the event focused on innovative solutions for natural capital finance, bringing together experts from finance, agriculture, technology and environmental science to tackle sustainability challenges.stood out as a powerful tool for channelling green finance into agriculture, addressing the need for accessible, measurable finance solutions that promote sustainability and biodiversity while reducing financial risks.
“The hackathon allowed our team to concentrate on research and development for this solution, which we think fills the gap in green finance tools by seamlessly integrating smallholders, commercial farmers and financial institutions to ensure green finance is directed where it’s most needed,” said Rochelle Mountany, CEO of AfriGIS. “In addition to improving sustainable agriculture, the approach also supports biodiversity and – above all – makes sure that financial risk is reduced.
Team AgriEco comprises CF Haasbroek, Christopher Ueckerman, Dicky Thomas, Eddie Griffiths, Liesel Lange, Martemie Le Roux, Nicolas Kemp and Tondani Phaswana. The team pitched a platform that helps commercial and smallholder farmers optimise resource use, promote collaboration and access sustainability-linked funding.
By offering real-time tracking of water availability and usage, the platform enables farmers to manage resources more effectively and mitigate the pressures on water supplies. Additionally, its integration of weather forecasting and environmental data helps farmers plan better and enhance their resilience to unpredictable climate conditions.
Announcing the team’s win, Richard Peers, founder of ResponsibleRisk, said: “We were impressed with how much was done within 10 days. I couldn't believe the amount of content that the team put together, both in terms of the use cases, user journeys, business canvas and logical architecture for the technology. We were really impressed with the capabilities of the offering itself, and the way it was communicated.