Edison Gbenga Ade believes agriculture will transform Africa. That faith, however, was not born overnight.
Born in Nigeria to a father who was a cocoa exporter, the information technology major from the prestigious Berkeley, in California, United States, was once told that he was too short to be a pilot. Undeterred, he knew he wanted to help society, no matter what career path he took. After graduation, Gbenga went on a journey of self-discovery, which took him to India.
“I wanted to know what to do with my life. I was interested at the time in solving problems and adding value to people’s lives,” says Gbenga.
The first service he started was a healthcare center in the heart of India that helped those who could not afford medical care. After six months, the business could not be financially sustained and closed down. However, the short experience sparked a desire for business, which Gbenga didn’t know existed.
Edison tried his hand at his own modeling management agency and also opened an internet café providing ISP services. Edison also dabbled in the training space, providing free ICT training to schools around Africa. Six years ago, Gbenga arrived in Ghana to attend a religious camp; he now calls the country home. The first thing he did when he arrived in Ghana in 2009 was to organize a summit called the Kumasi Economic Summit. It attracted around 400 people.
“I think Kumasi will become one of the most sought after cities in the world in the next 15 years, don’t ask me how I know, I just do,” says Gbenga.
The Youth Alliance for Leadership and Development in Africa conference was set up by Harvard University graduates in 2004 to bring together young people passionate about Africa’s development.
“Agriculture is not the way to solve Africa’s problem, the best way to solve a problem in Africa is through the creative economy. I think that agriculture is slow-paced and hence very difficult to provide solutions to develop any economy,” Gbenga told his peers at the conference in Nigeria.
Six months after that speech, Gbenga started an agribusiness company in Ghana.
“I think, psychologically, I was against the idea of agriculture because my dad failed at it. He was a large exporter of cocoa, exporting millions of tons but did not make a lot of money from it due to the large overheads associated with the business,” says Gbenga.
His outlook changed when a chance agricultural opportunity came his way. There was a conference in Senegal that was looking to sponsor young people interested in agriculture. Edison decided to find some budding agriculture entrepreneurs who could benefit from this opportunity. After searching the country, the closest person he could find was a young man who had inherited a cocoa farm from his father but did not have a passport to travel to Senegal.
“I realized that food security in the next 10 years will be a problem, simply because young people were not interested in agriculture,” says Gbenga.
He decided to lead by example. He entered a business competition in Ghana and pitched an innovative idea, which finished in third place. The idea was simple – connecting investors to farmers and buyers to sellers. That idea has evolved over time.
“We realized that if you do not have professional farmers who understand their numbers and their books, investors would not trust their money in their hands. You also have to prove to investors that you are an expert in your field.”
Most of the local farmers could not meet these criteria. There needed to be a long-term plan to address these challenges for the business model to work. In the process of identifying their strategy, which would set them apart from other agribusinesses, Gbenga decided to focus on the niche market of organic farming. In 2013, Gbenga and his team organized the first organic food market in Ghana, which was covered by the Guardian newspaper in Britain. The article gave the company worldwide publicity.
“I remember getting emails from India and all over the world and I thought to myself ‘what do we do now?’ People think we know everything about the organic market in Africa and this was just our first try.”
After this initial success, he returned to his original model but refined the process.
“We now have a cluster of people who are interested in agrobusiness and we crowd fund and crowd source knowledge, investment and experience. The idea is that people have money but want to share the risks, so it’s easier for 50 people to invest GHC10,000 ($2,600) in a business than one person.”
Using the expertise and resources from various people, Gbenga attempted to reduce the risk of investing in agriculture. He expanded his business into another brand, Just Fresh. It is an organic fruit and vegetable delivery service for people who do not want to go to the market. Last year, they added a smoothie making delivery service to local businesses and residents in Accra.
The organization is now focusing on pig and poultry farming. They supply market access and give advice on the farming system for around 25% of the farmer’s sales. Unlike his father, Gbenga is determined to be successful in agriculture. He aims to generate $100 million in investment in agriculture within the next 10 years, helping 100 businesses make $1 million in revenue.
Lofty ambitions for an entrepreneur who now believes agriculture can solve Africa’s poverty.