CoAmana at the PricePally Impact Summit
IKEJA, LAGOS — May 23 2025 — Digital wholesale platform PricePally wrapped up its two-day PricePally Impact Summit on Thursday with a clear call to harness data and grassroots collaboration to unlock the productivity of Nigeria’s 38 million smallholder farmers. The summit gathered agritech founders, cooperative leaders, policy makers and financiers in Ikeja from 22–23 […]
Mapping Change: What UNDP Learned from a Participatory Pilot with CoAmana
Between November 2023 and March 2024, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Gates Foundation undertook a participatory Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation (MLE) pilot with CoAmana, a technology firm that supports traditional agricultural markets in West and East Africa. The exercise aimed to test a joint diagnostic framework that captures five structural drivers of market performance—Resilience, Inclusiveness, […]
Market Spotlight: Miharati Market
Located in Kipipiri sub-county in Nyandarua, Kenya, Miharati Market is a vibrant rural marketplace that plays a vital role in the region’s agricultural economy. Founded in 2002, this market has grown steadily and is now connected to more than three farming communities, supporting over 10,000 farmers and traders. Its strategic positioning and close ties with […]
Partnerships for Markets in Africa
When we first set out to digitize agricultural trade through Amana Market, we quickly learned something important: technology alone doesn’t fix inefficiencies. Markets are living systems—held together by trust, habits, relationships, and a constant flow of goods and people. If we were serious about making these systems stronger and more inclusive, we needed more than […]
Building Stronger Connections In African Markets
Yakubu is a hardworking farmer in Jigawa State. Every week, he loads his bags of millet and groundnuts onto a borrowed motorcycle and travels to his local market—a dusty, bustling hub that has served generations before him. There, amidst the noise and activity, Yakubu sells his produce, sometimes trading hundreds of thousands of naira in […]
Market Spotlight: City Park Market
City Park Market, located on Limuru Road in Nairobi, Kenya, has been a crucial trading hub since its founding in 1932. The market serves as a central point for small-scale traders and vendors who rely on its ecosystem for their daily business operations. It is directly connected to several farming communities, including Kinungi, Kimende, and […]
The Role and Rise of Women in Trade and Leadership in Africa
Markets in Africa are built on networks of small businesses, many of which are heavily populated by women. In agricultural markets signed up on Amana Market, women make up over 56% of traders, actively shaping local economies through their entrepreneurial efforts. Yet, despite their numbers, we observed that 98% of market leadership positions in these […]
The Impact of the Situation in Niger Republic on Local Markets
A quiet day at MaiGatari Market, Jigawa State, Nigeria The coup that took place in Niger Republic on 26th July 2023, has sent shockwaves rippling through West Africa. ECOWAS’ strong opposition to the self-declared military government has led to rising tensions within the bloc, with Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea breaking from the joint position […]
A New Frontier: Data and Trade in African Markets
In Africa, where trade holds immense potential for unlocking economic prosperity, harnessing the power of data is critical. Data and insights can play a pivotal role in facilitating seamless exchange and driving growth in markets. Unfortunately, Africa suffers from a general paucity of data, particularly when it comes to local trade. The lack of access […]
The Importance of Trust in Agriculture
by Ruth Kinuthia In the agricultural business, interactions between farmers and consumers, supply chains, and regulatory frameworks are just a few of the areas where trust is significant. For the following main reasons, trust is essential in agriculture: Building trust is crucial to guaranteeing food safety. Farmers and food producers are relied upon by consumers […]