Farmers & Traders	Businesses	NGOs & Projects	Government

Esoko is an information/media tool that can be used by a wide range of clients. Individuals (farmers, traders, researchers) can subscribe to Esoko for content advisories. Businesses (outgrower schemes, warehouse managers, agri-processors, buyers) may use Esoko for its toolset to be able to push out or pull information to and from the field.

NGOs and Organizations may use Esoko to advise their beneficiaries of best practices, training reminders, preventative activities, crop compliance.. or to track perceptions and attitudes and activities in the field. Finally, Governments may use Esoko to track data in the field, but also to advise citizens on specific data types like market prices, weather, or general extension services and advisories. In addition to all of the above 'subscribers', Esoko also has partners in countries who provide and support Esoko-as-a-service to others.

Here are a few examples of how Esoko works:

Sara Maunda, Maize & Groundnut grower, Malawi
Sara had an SMS telling her that the price for groundnuts in Lilongwe, less than 40 miles away, was about .75 cents – more than 4 times the price a vendor was offering. She travelled to Lilongwe and sold 150 kg earning about $130 dollars after costs – if she had sold to the vendor she would have made $27 dollars. “I would have sold to him if it weren’t for the fact that I knew what the price was in Lilongwe through the messages I got from Esoko.”

Chitsosa Trading, Agribusiness, Malawi
Chitsosa records a $450/month savings on operational costs after introducing Esoko into their business and projects an impressive 74% return on investment – $350,650 additional revenues - over the next five years.  The company now reports a smarter use of capital, combined with time and cost savings and better planning and accuracy when sourcing for goods in the field. With additional funds, they can expand their business and buy more grain over the harvest season, in turn benefiting producers who increase production to meet demands.

Victoria Odin, Soya Producer, Ghana
Victoria used to sell her Soya beans at Yeji market in the Brong Ahafo Region. She could get about GHc50 for 8 bags. When she started using Esoko she transported the same bags of soya beans to Ejura market in the Ashanti Region and sold it for GHc460. She was able to purchase a fridge from the additional income.

Mustapha Korantsir, Pineapple Grower, Ghana
Mustapha is from Esuehyia and was selling 2,000 pineapples to local traders at 25p (xxUSD) each.  Using Esoko SMS alerts, he realized he could get a much higher price..indeed he discovered the average market price was around GHC1.20.  Using this information, he was able to negotiate a better price, selling his pineapples for around 40p each -- a 60% increase.

ASNAPP, Natural Plant Association, Ghana
ASNAPP posted an Offer to Buy to their members on behalf of a local voacanga buyer, George Boateng. Collectors responded in droves, relieved to know the price they could sell at and have organized collection points to transport to. In the end, the collector’s revenue was increased by 25%, the agent’s by 50%, and the time to market reduced from 61 to 29 days.

Evaluation of the impact of Esoko MIS
CIRAD, France, May 2011
Surveying over 600 smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana on their trading behaviours over the harvest cycles of 2008 and 2009, the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) found that farmers dealing in maize, groundnut and cassava recorded a 10% increase in revenues after receiving and utilizing Esoko SMS market prices. More info...

Esoko has a diverse range of partners, including international organizations, businesses, NGOs, research institutions, and mobile network operators (MNOs), throughout the globe. Our products and services are currently being used and deployed in over 16 countries:

In seven of the countries listed above, we work with private enterprises through a reseller program. These resellers offer Esoko subscriptions and consulting services, providing local solutions for local clients.

In Ghana Esoko has deployed its own market information system (MIS) in order to test various deployment methodologies, perfect our data collection techniques and document MIS lessons learnt that can be distributed and replicated in other partner countries. Donor agencies and international organizations, like USAID, GIZ, FAO and IFAD, have partnered with Esoko on initiatives to improve inter-regional trade, increase smallholder farmers’ livelihoods, improve the flow of information and communication throughout the value chain, and bolster government’s capacity to collect and distribute timely information to beneficiaries.

Research institutions and universities, such as New York University, Georgia Tech, CIRAD and IFPRI, are conducting third party impact assessments on Esoko, evaluating the benefits that increased transparency and access to market information bring to small producers and their families. Private companies like Prestat are supporting Esoko through Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives to provide continual market information to farmers in the cocoa sector, while MNOs like MTN are working with Esoko to bring a farmer club and agricultural voice helpline services to thousands of smallholders in Ghana.