Smallholder farmers produce much of the food eaten in Africa and Asia, but they face fragmented markets, volatile weather, limited credit and patchy information. Mobile phones and cheaper data have opened a path to reach them at low cost, and a new generation of agritech firms, cooperatives, banks and public programmes is building on it. The record so far is uneven: usage drops after the first season, revenues stay thin, and farmers often judge services as irrelevant to their real decisions.

The Strategy and Innovation in Digital Agritech for Smallholders Training Course helps strategic decision makers close that gap. Participants study how smallholder households actually farm, earn and decide, and use that understanding to define products with genuine value. They compare business models, pricing and distribution routes, learn how to structure partnerships and examine the data, regulatory and ethical issues that surround digital services. The course also treats innovation as a discipline: experiment design, rapid testing, evidence thresholds and criteria for deciding when to scale, pivot or stop.

Work is applied throughout. Delegates bring a real product, programme or idea and refine it through canvases, user interview exercises and financial modelling. They finish with a written strategy, an experiment plan and a partnership approach that can be taken into an investment or leadership discussion.

After the programme, participants will be able to:

• Segment smallholder farmers and map their needs, constraints and digital readiness.
• Formulate value propositions and product concepts through farmer-centred research.
• Evaluate business models and revenue paths that make services sustainable.
• Select channels and technologies, such as USSD, mobile apps, remote sensing and sensors, for specific use cases.
• Structure partnerships with telecom operators, financial institutions, cooperatives and input suppliers.
• Run structured experiments and decide when to scale, adapt or discontinue a service.
• Address data governance, inclusion and farmer protection in digital agricultural services.

The programme is intended for people who set direction for digital agriculture services or fund and support them, including:

• Founders and chief executives of agritech start-ups
• Product and innovation managers in agribusinesses
• Digital finance and mobile money managers serving farmers
• Programme managers in agricultural development projects
• Cooperative, farmer organisation and extension service leaders
• Ministry and county officers responsible for digital agriculture
• Impact investors and venture analysts
• Researchers and incubator managers supporting agritech ventures

Participants take with them:

• A farmer segmentation and journey map for their target group.
• A completed value proposition and business model canvas.
• A simple unit economics model for their service.
• An experiment plan with success measures and decision rules.
• A partnership map listing roles, incentives and terms to negotiate.
• A pilot-to-scale roadmap with farmer outcome indicators.

The course treats each participant's venture or programme as a live case. Delivery combines:

• Strategy canvases and business model clinics
• Simulated farmer interviews and journey mapping
• Spreadsheet-based unit economics exercises
• Case studies of agritech services from several African and Asian markets
• A closing investment panel where delegates defend their strategies

A Certificate of Completion, issued by Vision Reach Global Consultancy and accredited for CPD, is presented to participants who attend every session and complete their strategy work.