Kenya - Business creation project

Describe your project or startup in a few words

E-Dairy is a dairy management system is a software that allows farmers to keep and track all their livestock records. It enables historical data tracking, facilitating informed decision-making and optimizing dairy management on the go.

01.01 Describe your project in more detail

E-Dairy is a dairy management system is a software that allows farmers to keep and track all their dairy cow records. The software can offer accessibility across multiple devices, allowing farmers to update and retrieve records on the go. Moreover, it enables historical data tracking, facilitating informed decision-making and optimizing dairy management strategies and make well informed decisions. It also can be integrated with local ecosystems in that it offers the ability to integrate with other local agricultural services and platforms, such as veterinary services, feed suppliers, and milk processors, this will make it easier for farmers to request services from veterinary officers and feed suppliers and reach out milk processors, who offer the market for their dairy products, at the comfort of their farms thus making their work easier.

01.02 What is the main problem you are trying to solve?

Lack of record keeping in dairy farming is a great challenge to most farmers. A lot of farmers do not keep records and information about their dairy cows and those that do, they do it by writing them on books which can easily get lost or damaged. Manually entering and organizing animal data might take a lot of time. Time and effort that may be used for other crucial activities are wasted on this. Also farmers may find it challenging to manage a large number of paper-based records. Inaccessibility of documents when needed at anytime. Lack of an integrated system that offers a one stop shop for everything they need.

01.03 Tell us the major benefits and/or advantages of using the product/service that your project intends to provide (at least 3).

Integration with Local Ecosystems: Ability to integrate with other local agricultural services and platforms, such as veterinary services, feed suppliers, and milk processors. Localization: How well the system is adapted to the specific needs of Kenyan dairy farmers, including language, local dairy farming practices, and climate conditions. Ease of Use: The simplicity and ease of use of the software, given that many users may not have advanced technical skills.

01.04 Please describe who exactly your project is aimed at serving. Who are the targeted beneficiaries?

The target market is the smallholder farmers who keep dairy animals. Kenya has an estimated 1.8 million dairy farmers, with 80% of them being smallholder farmers. Smallholder farmers typically own 1–3 cows and have farms that are 3–5 acres in size. These farmers produce about 10 liters of milk per day, which accounts for 56% of Kenya's total milk output. The remaining 44% of milk comes from large commercial farmers.

01.05 When did you start working on your project?

2024-06-01

01.06 How many other partners are associated with your business venture?

1

01.07 Among the other partners, how many are female?

1

01.08 Please describe the profile of each of the other partners (skills, experience, etc.)

Sales and Marketing consultant, with one year experience

01.09 If you have a website, a social media page (Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin…), or app, please provide the link here:

01.10 Which industry best describes your project?

h) IT (digital services, equipment and software)

02.01.01 My project contributes to the No poverty goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.01.02 No poverty - Justification

With E-Dairy farmers will be able to access veterinary services from the software which makes them receive the service minimizing loss of their dairy cows which in turns leads to healthy dairy animals which means more output(dairy product) hence an income to the farmer. Also the ability to communicate to milk processors who offer ready market to the farmer, and the market means that the farmer will be able to earn an income thus reducing poverty

02.02.01 My project contributes to the Zero hunger goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.02.02 Zero hunger - Justification

E-Dairy enables a dairy farmer to keep record and track of his or her dairy cows, this means that the farmer will be able to notice any decline in production and seek assistance from a veterinary officer, who will assist the farmer to find the solution to the decline in production, which means the farmer will contribute to zero hunger goal by increasing production of dairy products to meet the market demand.

02.03.01 My project contributes to the Good health and well-being goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.03.02 Good health and well-being - Justification

E-Dairy enables a farmer to maximize the output(dairy produce) which provide a great health benefit, for example milk is a good source of calcium, which is essential for building healthy bones and reducing the risk of osteoporosis. Milk also contains vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium and promotes bone growth. Milk can improve dental health by protecting tooth enamel from acids and reducing the risk of cavities and bleeding gums. Studies have linked including low-fat or fat-free dairy in your diet to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and lower blood pressure. Milk contains nutrients like vitamin B2 and B12 that contribute to a healthy immune system.

02.04.01 My project contributes to the Quality education goal

4

02.04.02 Quality education - Justification

02.05.01 My project contributes to the Gender equality goal

4

02.05.02 Gender equality - Justification

02.06.01 My project contributes to the Clean water and sanitation goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.06.02 Clean water and sanitation - Justification

02.07.01 My project contributes to the Affordable and clean energy goal

3

02.07.02 Affordable and clean energy - Justification

02.08.01 My project contributes to the Decent work and economic growth

7 - Strongly Agree

02.08.02 Decent work and economic growth - Justification

E-Dairy enables a dairy farmer or a dairy manager to have an easy and decent work environment in that he or she just inputs data into the E-Dairy system instead of the manual type of writing records and data on books.

02.09.01 My project contributes to the Industry innovation and infrastructure

7 - Strongly Agree

02.09.02 Industry innovation and infrastructure - Justification

E-Dairy is revolutionizing the dairy industry by offering a one stop shop for everything, a farmer can access veterinary services, feed suppliers and milk processors at the same system, which is a great addition to innovation.

02.10.01 My project contributes to the Reduced inequalities goal

3

02.10.02 Reduced inequalities - Justification

02.11.01 My project contributes to the Sustainable cities and communities goal

3

02.11.02 Sustainable cities and communities - Justification

02.12.01 My project contributes to the Responsible consumption and production goal

6

02.12.02 Responsible consumption and production - Justification

E-Dairy ensures that maximum production of dairy produce is achieved by enabling the farmer to solve most of the problems from the software.

02.13.01 My project contributes to the Climate action goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.13.02 Climate action - Justification

E-Dairy is used to keep records digitally thus contributing to climate action goal because dairy farmers won't be requiring books for record keeping which are produced from trees. This means the demand for paper will be reduced and the number of trees cut for paper production will similarly decrease hence more trees and a better climate.

02.14.01 My project contributes to the Life below water goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.14.02 Life below water - Justification

02.15.01 My project contributes to the Life on land goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.15.02 Life on land - Justification

E-Dairy is used to keep records digitally thus contributing to climate action goal because dairy farmers won't be requiring books for record keeping which are produced from trees. This means the demand for paper will be reduced and the number of trees cut for paper production will similarly decrease hence more trees and more forests, which results to reduced desertification and increased biodiversity.

02.16.01 My project contributes to the Peace justice and strong institutions goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.16.02 Peace justice and strong institutions - Justification

02.17.01 My project contributes to the Partnerships for the goal

2

02.17.02 Partnerships for the goal - Justification

05.01 There are a large number of customers who already use a product/service very similar to the product/service we envision creating.

6

05.02 The product/service we envision creating represents an entirely new type of product/service.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.03 The product/service we envision creating could be described as a new technology.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.04 The product/service we envision creating is an improvement on an existing product or service.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.05 The product/service we envision creating could be described as an extension of a range of products or services.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.06 The product/service we envision creating responds to a demand or need that has not been satisfied by other products/services.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.07 The product/service we envision creating is a new version of an old product/service.

6

05.08 Justification

Dairy management system already exist and some of the farmers are using them. E-Dairy is an improvement of the existing products that are currently used by dairy farmers. E-Dairy is a stop shop, meaning that E-Dairy will be integrated with local ecosystems and local agricultural services and platforms, such as veterinary services, feed suppliers, and milk processors.

05.09 Who are your main potential competitors and what makes you stand out from them?

MaziwaPlus: Features: A dairy management app developed by Kenya-based developers that provides farmers with tools for managing milk production, tracking cow health, and monitoring feeding schedules. iCow: Features: A mobile phone-based platform that provides farmers with information on best practices in dairy farming, herd management, feeding, and health monitoring. Competitive advantage: Integration with Local Ecosystems: Ability to integrate with other local agricultural services and platforms, such as veterinary services, feed suppliers, and milk processors. Localization: How well the system is adapted to the specific needs of Kenyan dairy farmers, including language, local dairy farming practices, and climate conditions. Ease of Use: The simplicity and ease of use of the software, given that many users may not have advanced technical skills.

10.06 Are you initiating actions within your community to promote the role of female entrepreneurs?

none so far