When the GSMA Innovation Fund selected CoAmana for its climate resilience portfolio in late 2022, our goal was clear yet ambitious: prove that a digital marketplace rooted in Africa’s traditional trade hubs could help farmers thrive in the face of harsher, drier seasons. Eighteen months later, the results speak for themselves—86,000 people reached, 21,000 smallholders actively adapting, and yield gains reported by nine in every ten users.

With GSMA’s support, we expanded Amana Market from a web prototype into a truly omnichannel platform. A simple USSD code now locks twice-weekly SMS agronomy tips in Hausa and English; an Android app connects farmers to more than 250 vetted suppliers; and MTN MoMo integration puts cash in growers’ pockets within minutes, not days. Behind the screens, 251 trained local agents travelled village to village, translating tech into trust and signing up new users under the shade of mango trees.

Impact travelled fast. Ninety-one percent of farmers now rely on the platform’s hyper-local weather alerts to decide when to plant or harvest, while 86 percent report higher household income thanks to better prices and instant payments. Gender-focused pilots took root too: nine solar irrigation pumps leased to women farmers are already being shared among neighbors, slashing diesel costs and keeping tomatoes lush through the dry season.

The GSMA grant didn’t just fuel product upgrades; it unlocked confidence from our partners and investors, catalyzing an additional $756,000 in follow‑on capital. Most importantly, it validated a model where digital efficiencynd on-the-ground relationships work hand in hand to build climate‑smart markets.

Want the full story—including methodology, farmer interviews, and lessons for scale? Download the GSMA case study on CoAmana’s digital market hubs and join us in re-imagining resilience for Africa’s food systems.