AllianceBlock, AgriFi and TóróNet Partner to Bring Accessible Funding to Smallholder Farms and Entrepreneurs in Nigeria
AllianceBlock’s partnership with AgriFi and Tórónet as a key technology provider will see our DeFi infrastructure utilized in a high-impact industry.
We are pleased to announce that we will be a key technology provider for the AgriFi platform built on TóróNet. The AgriFi marketplace harnesses the power of DeFi to create meaningful change around the world, specifically for smallholder farmers in Africa, by starting in Nigeria.
The AllianceBlock partnership and the extended collaboration between ToróNet, Voriancorelli Corporation and USAID aim to achieve sustainable access to markets and capital for smallholder farmers (SHF) and agribusiness micro, small, and medium entrepreneurs (MSMEs).
The Voriancorelli marketplace connects buyers, sellers, commodity aggregators, logistics partners, financiers, and food processors in Nigeria. They solve the problem of market linkage within the agro commodities value chain by bringing buyers and sellers together. The ToróNet Layer-1 blockchain infrastructure lets community-driven economies leapfrog and develop their own path for well-being with infrastructure, frameworks, and toolkits.
AgriFi will be built on the TóróNet network and utilize Voriancorelli as an intermediary. Its primary purpose is to connect small-holding farmers left behind by traditional financial institutions with people around the world to provide easy and fair access to the capital they need to grow their crops. By providing high-level KYC and farm monitoring, loan guarantee protections, and agricultural insurance through vetted partners on the ground, AgriFi has created the conditions for decentralized finance to create an impact in the real world.
The project has partnered with The Feed the Future Agricultural Extension & Advisory Services Activity, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). USAID acts as a convener bringing together trusted extension service providers on the ground and credit guarantee providers. Locally, the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) will also assist. These combined efforts are aimed at rapidly, effectively, and sustainably expanding access to agro-inputs and services and disseminating extension messaging to at least 2 million smallholder farmers in Nigeria.
A recent Mckinsey Report revealed that over 60% of sub-Saharan Africa's population is smallholder farmers, and about 23% of sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP comes from agriculture. Furthermore, a recent World Bank Report calculates that between 55 to 68% of formal SMEs in emerging markets are either unserved or underserved by financial institutions. According to further Investment Climate surveys, in over 70% of countries, SMEs cite access to finance as the biggest obstacle to doing business. In Nigeria alone, there are 38 million smallholder farms, and 70% of them have reported that they face challenges in building wealth and expanding their businesses due to limited access to capital.
AgriFi leverages Nexera ID to enable the creation of a digital yet verifiable business profile for farmers, solving the problem of access to capital, inputs, and off-take all in one place. Aggregate lending pools powered by smart contracts enable farmers to get funded while providing industry-standard insurance and KYC solutions for liquidity providers. Farmers can only use the money from the lending pools to purchase the inputs needed for their crops, and at the end of the harvest cycle, the off-takers sell the produce and credit the smart contracts that distribute the revenue to all parties involved.
“Here at TóróNet, we have always envisioned a world of financial access where technology can serve communities so they can fulfill their aspirations for a better life. By partnering with AllianceBlock and using their DeFi infrastructure and impressive Nexera ID solution, we are making this a reality,” said Arkan Akin, Co-Founder at TóróNet.
AgriFi also leverages Nexera Protocol to build the underlying infrastructure for the AgriFi funding platform, powering the smart contracts that facilitate the funding functionality through lending pools and the KYC process for liquidity providers through Nexera ID and TIDV. Nexera ID is an identity verification platform that enables companies to easily onboard users to Web3 using self-custodial wallets and integrate complex compliance workflows, all while preserving the security of users’ identities and assets. AllianceBlock TIDV is a core Nexera ID layer that allows for trustless on-chain sharing of encrypted authenticated data, such as verifying a user’s identity and generating Verifiable Credentials that are compliant with W3C standards. This combination allows institutions and builders to promote self-sovereign identities that adapt to KYC requirements; in this case, the potential 300,000 farmers envisioned to use the platform will have their information processed through these solutions.
“The adoption of decentralized technology means removing barriers to utilizing it, especially in high-impact industries. This is an integral part of our mission, and we are thrilled to be the core technology provider to TóróNet for its AgriFi platform. The AgriFi platform democratizes funding opportunities for solving problems that are more cost-prohibitive and less efficient with incumbent systems. By using Nexera ID, users can have their verified digital identity, provide liquidity compliantly and participate in agricultural funding for the farmers the platform will service through Voriancorelli. This lowers barriers for both liquidity providers and stakeholders who might not otherwise have access to traditional funding systems.” said Rachid Ajaja, Founder and CEO at AllianceBlock. “This is the first use case, among many, of how AllianceBlock’s DeFi infrastructure and Nexera ID can power real-world use cases and potentially reshape the development industry. This partnership with AgriFi and TóróNet shows how AllianceBlock technology bridges TradFi and DeFi and can generate a meaningful impact around the world.”
Using AllianceBlock’s solutions to make a positive impact on the world has always been a guiding principle for the company. DeFi can potentially democratize participation for individuals and small businesses through platforms that can be built more cost-effectively and efficiently. This partnership with AgriFi and TóróNet is an ideal example of how bridging DeFi with TradFi using our solutions can solve real-world problems at scale.
AllianceBlock, AgriFi and TóróNet are committed to providing innovative ways for smallholder farms and agribusiness entrepreneurs to achieve sustainable access to markets and capital, generating a meaningful impact on their communities.
About TóróNet
TóróNet is the first layer-1 blockchain protocol native to the African continent. It has a value-driven approach to leverage finance and technology to serve people.
TóróNet strives to create a world of access where finance and technology serve the people and communities can fulfill their aspirations.
It enables community-driven economies with the infrastructure, frameworks, and toolkits to leapfrog and create their own path for well-being.
You can also find TóróNet on:
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About AllianceBlock
AllianceBlock is an infrastructure provider for decentralized tokenized markets. It empowers businesses with liquidity provisioning and allows them to compliantly issue, manage, and trade tokenized, digital assets including real-world assets (RWAs).
The AllianceBlock ecosystem of partners, clients, and ventures consists of top stakeholders from the financial industry, as well as the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. Their unique product suite complies with global regulations and seamlessly integrates with legacy systems.
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