AWARD YEAR
2015
CATEGORY
Work
GOALS
Balance Human & Artificial Intelligence
KEYWORDS
food, mobile phones, micro entrepreneurs
COUNTRY
Kenya
DESIGNED BY
The SokoText model was first designed by 5 students at London School of Economics, who were challenged by the Hult Prize 2013 to create a business model improving food security in urban slums. Two of them are taking the idea to market in Colombia: Carolina Medina and Verena Liedgens are social scientists who combine experience in food security, business model design, social innovation and entrepreneurship. And they love fruits!
WEBSITE
http://colombia.sokotext.com/?lang=en
Sokotext
SokoText uses mobile tech to empower small-scale food vendors – for better business and easier live
Small-scale food vendors are the gatekeepers to what millions of people at the Base of the Pyramid eat everyday.In Colombia alone, there are 340.000 such vendors, providing over 70% of the food consumed.Caught in a cycle of small quantities and low capital, they’re forced to travel to faraway markets to stock up at retail prices.That’s why SokoText uses mobile phones to aggregate demand via App or SMS and provide access to wholesale prices currently inaccessible to the vendors, making their lives easier and their business better.
The system is simple: 1.Affiliated vendors pre-order fresh produce using their mobile phones. 2.Our software aggregates demand into a daily collective order. 3.Sourcing in bulk directly from farmers, we offer cheaper prices. 4.Vendors receive the orders at their doorstep.
Vendors who use SokoText save the time and money spent travelling to markets and access high quality produce at better prices, all thanks to the simple technology already in their hands.