On 24 September, Releaf—a team of youth—visited IITA headquarters. Releaf is led by Ikenna Nzewi, operating the technology value chains of crops, including cassava, oil palm, soybean, maize, and cashew. The visit was to request support and explore possible areas of partnership with the Institute for agricultural sustainability on oil palm production.
The organization started in 2017 as an agricultural technology company that develops proprietary hardware and software solutions to drive the industrialization of food processing in Africa, starting with Nigeria’s $3 billion vegetable oil market.
Their proprietary hardware (Kraken) increases the availability and quality of raw materials for food factories, while the sourcing software connects them directly to 2,000 plus smallholder farmers. Releaf also uses digital technologies, including USSD and open banking, to work seamlessly with its network of smallholder farmers, who have supplied over 10 million kilograms of quality palm kernel nuts to food factories.