Mr. Frederick Koomson said: “It is my distinct honor and privilege to induct Mr. Tendai Chitapi, a highly experienced Agritech Specialist with a Corporate Finance and Project Management background, to the 10,000 Points of Light in recognition of his contribution to provoke, inspire and ignite awareness on the urgency and importance of building an African bank of hope.
Africa is dark at midnight and the few actors in value chains even in this exciting digital era, remain hidden in small and inward-looking groups when the continent’s majority inhabitants are divided on the real causes of the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment, and inequality.
We are privileged to be endowed by the creator with the earth’s greatest treasures yet in terms of output the personality of the majority of indigenous people rarely shines.
When I look at Mr. Chitapi’s impressive resume, I am comforted that represents a rare breed of actors who see the need to aggregate, accelerate outcomes and optimize process and efficiency issues to make African people live up to the promise intended by the creator.
When I was inducted into the 10,000 POL, I understood that there is nothing that stops us from organizing instead of agonizing about so-called foreigners in creating chains of diverse actors all connected by a single thread of being part of the solution and not part of the reason why things are not done.
I am excited to have Mr. Chitapi in our midst as we seek to be problem solvers through converting idle and sterile connections into community power.”
Mr. Chitapi said: “I am so excited to be surrounded by persons who share a common belief that the best days for Africans are yet to come. I believe that if we all put our hands on deck, there is no problem that can escape our individual creativity and innovation.
I was co-Founder at Kuronga, an award-winning agritech startup, that is using A.I. to build technology that validates crop quality and optimises market access for small farmers in Africa.
My passion lies in understanding and improving food systems, locally and globally, particularly using technology to enhance market efficiency and bring maximum value to small farmers.
In addition, I am also interested in researching and developing orphan crops and new crop varietals/cultivars that are specifically adapted to resist the increasing effect of climate change.”
Mr. Chitapi holds an MBA from HULT International Business School, having studied at their Shanghai campus.
He is fluent in English, French, Shona, Zulu and has professional knowledge of Portuguese and basic Mandarin.
In 2020, he co-Founded Kuronga in 2020, along with former high schoolmate Oliver Windram.
They are committed to using technology and A.I. to disrupt and revolutionize the agricultural value chain.
Having originally built a digital logistics solution, they have spent the last year on the ground with farmers in South Africa understanding the grassroots needs of farmers, and taking a human-centered design approach to developing their solutions.
This discovery process led to an evolution of their business to focus on optimizing quality validation to maximize value to farmers, by connecting them directly with buyers, and reducing post-harvest crop losses.
They were recently selected as a Finalist in the prestigious Milken-Motsepe Prize in Agritech where they are competing for a USD 1 Million grand prizes to be awarded in 2023. https://milkenmotsepeprize.org/agritech-prize/
Their work at Kuronga, particularly their engagement with a diverse range of farmers, has given rise to the creation of a non-profit farmer organization named Demeter Agricultural Coalition Africa, currently at over 200 members, whose purpose is to be a platform that brings together farmers to share knowledge and experiences and, in this way, collectively advance and shape the future of farming in Africa.
Please follow this link to learn more about Mr. Chitapi in action: https://kuronga.com.
Mr. Chitapi is one of the founders of the Diameter Network group that is converting individual operators into a community of shared wisdom and knowledge in the agri-value chains:
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