Nonprofit myAgro’s novel financing model is transforming the way African farmers pay for their harvests. The winner of the 2018 Barry & Marie Lipman Family Prize at the University of Pennsylvania is myAgro, a pioneering mobile layaway saving model that enables smallholder farmers to invest in seeds to improve their harvests and move themselves out of poverty. The nonprofit organization stood out among more than 100 applicants globally because of its trajectory for growth and impact. Umi Howard, director of the Lipman Family Prize at Wharton, spoke with Liezl Van Riper, vice president for development at myAgro, about the organization’s work and future plans. *[This feature was originally published by Knowledge@Wharton, a partner institution of Fair Observer.] The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy. Photo Credit: Byelikova Oksana / Shutterstock.com
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