Mind the (urban-rural) gap
- The rural-to-urban migration trend, and the abandonment of places that become economically unviable, ghost towns are increasing. In Asia, companies such as 500-backed aquatech company eFishery in Indonesia are taking steps to improve lives and livelihoods of people living in small rural communities.
- In a country where fishing is one of the biggest industries, the team is helping countryside fish farmers become more efficient and profitable. The result? More Indonesians can choose to be fish farmers while enjoying the comforts of rural lifestyle and the convenience of technology.
- By leveraging automation and AI, eFishery aims to also reduce the environmental impact of the fishing industry while addressing the country’s food security issues.
- “[Feeding the fish manually] is really hard work. With our device, the farmers can just stay home, and the system will report to them on their phones,” shared Co-founder & CEO Gibran Huzaifah.
- Even buying fish feed has been made simple. Instead of having to make a trip down to the store, fish farmers can do so through eFishery’s app. With convenience, comes more opportunities — the time saved can be used to focus on scaling their businesses.
- With the smart feeder, the team helps fish farmers save feed costs by up to 23%! Farmers can increase their annual yield and almost double their profits.
- “The only way that the industry can grow is when the farmers grow. If the farmers don’t grow and expand their businesses, we can’t really produce more fish,” Gibran explained.
- “Inclusive digital economy is important because it helps people in rural areas be part of the economic growth so they can have better lives,” he concluded. “The benefit of doing that as a whole for the country is better prosperity.”
- Watch RADII’s amazing mini-documentary: How Tech is Closing One of the World’s Widest Urban-Rural Gaps.
Other stories you may have missed:
- Involve Asia raises US$10M to strengthen marketing technology offerings for advertisers and influencers across Southeast Asia
- Proglix raises US$1.35M to make raw materials shopping easier for Indonesian SMEs
- XING Mobility’s game-changing EV batteries are set to make electric vehicles cooler, literally
- Lingokids’ user base grew by 20 million last year, bringing the total audience to 60 million around the world.
- Grab is expanding its coverage of mom and pop shops in Indonesia via a new partnership with local conglomerate Sampoerna.
- Aereo is featured as one of Techiexpert’s top 10 agritech companies to look out for in 2023.
