How We Work

Human center design approach

  
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Farmers

Ethiopian and African smallholder farmers have limited access to technologies that will increase their productivity, one of which is mechanization technology. Due to the fact that these farmers have small land sizes owning such big machinery isn't economically viable. Agropreneurs in the rural area buy and rent tractors and combine harvesters to these farmers. However, due to lack of a structured market and coordinated service provision model, most farmers aren't accessing the service. The challenge even worsens for women farmers. 

     
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Tractor/Combiner Owners

The mechanization service providers who are currently operating have no proper way of organizing and handling bookings. Because of lack of clustered demand aggregation, high amount of fuel and time is lost due to travel between farm fields. Besides, the tractor owners, who mostly live in towns, don’t have any real-time information about their tractors or combiners making them vulnerable for fuel theft, under reports of revenue, and miss protective maintenance schedules.

     
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Call Center

The centrally located call center is dedicated to link smallholder farmers with mechanization service providers. Our operators are trained to understand the needs of the farmers and are ready to serve with high valued service and customer satisfaction attitude.

  

Ground Impacts

We strive to

Simple and Equal Access

95.2% of farmers who use mobile phone prefer to call instead of features like SMS or other. Our platform integrated different technologies to simplify how farmers and service providers get connected. Hence, it will accommodate most mobile user farmers who prefer to call instead of other complicated activities. It also avoids discrimination against women and other disadvantaged groups which currently are struggling to negotiate and hire service providers. Women led farming households will be equally benefited as their male counterparts.

Profitable Service Providers

Mechanization service providers will increase their efficiency by aggregating orders and coordinating based location. Real time tracking and monitoring tools will help service providers have control over their business. Efforts will be made to increase farmers awareness to motivate them to use mechanization services. Service providers will harness this promotion by the equal market access opportunity from Hello Erf. This all collectively increase their profitability and their business expansion.

Rural Job Creation

The ground work of Hello Erf will create many different job opportunities for youth in the rural area. They can serve their community by coordinating demand and supporting service providers locally. Trained operators and mechanics can setup mechanization service centers and oil shops. Hello Erf can support these youth by promoting them to service providers.

Founder Of Company

Alazar Michael (Co-founder and Business Development Manager)

Electrical engineering (BSc) educational background and 10 years multi-disciplinary expertise of technology and agribusiness with a proven track record of project implementation and agricultural market development. Leading the successful commercialization of an improved grain storage technology which now is widely being used by smallholder farmers. Using ICT as a tool to promote and link agricultural input suppliers and smallholder farmers are some to mention. 

Gizachew Mesfine (Co-founder and General Manager)

With 10 years of in-depth experience in marketing, management, and coffee export in the private sector Gizachew understands both local and international business dynamics very well. Having been involved in many different sectors including hospitality, logistics, and coffee production and export and with a BA degree in marketing management from Addis Ababa University Gizachew has gained a strong reputation and trust among the people and companies he has worked with including the current coffee exporting client Arfassa General Trading PLC who is one of the top 10 coffee exporting companies in Ethiopia.

Mobile Platform

Hello Erf Mobile App

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Features We Offer

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Easy To Manage

Service providers can easily manage their machinery and operators under them. Gives them the flexibility to manage one or more tractors, combiner harvesters at a time.  

Analytics Tool

Service provision will be analyzed from different perspectives that help actors of the value chain could make informed decisions. 

Cost Reduction

Hello Erf reduces the transaction cost of accessing mechanization for farmers and reduces the costs for service delivery. Service providers manage their income increasing profitability.   

Foster Productivity

Increasing the efficiency of mechanization service provision will promote farmers' productivity and service providers' profitability. 

Our initial inspiration

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Recent Activity

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Hello Erf – Tractor Hiring Tool

Hello Erf is a call center based mechanization hotline that leverages Mobile apps, web app and ca

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Winners of 2018 GIS Innovation Idea Award

Hello Erf was one of the winners of the Green Innovation Slam award in 2018. 

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