Kenya’s Juhudi Kilimo, a microfinance institution, has been recognised as one of the top global IT firms in 2013 due its remote credit assessment service.
Juhudi Kilimo generally offers financing to smallholder farmers and enterprises for a variety of income-producing assets.
Unlike traditional microfinance, which primarily provides loans for working capital to informal businesses, Juhudi finances specific agricultural assets that offer immediate and sustainable income for farmers.
Juhudi Kilimo emerged as the only African enterprise featuring on the CIO 100 Global winners list where it was named among companies such as Boeing Corporation, IBM, Intel Corporation and Verizon Wireless.
Its management system, Juhudi Kilimo Farmer Leads Management System (FLMS), operated by Samsung Galaxy Tablets, was also picked out for special praise.
FLMS provides Field Loan officers with an easy to use solution to capture and store real-time data such as scheduled meetings, credit appraisals and business assessments while visiting smallholder farmers.
Juhudi Kilimo, has also expressed plans to consider financing local farmers to assist them acquire tablet devices in its drive to encourage internet use in agricultural production.
The microfinance also uses mobile technology to collect payments and feedback and reduce the burden on clients and loan officers in remote areas.
The annual CIO 100 Awards program is organised by CIO magazine and recognizes 100 global organisations that have been outstanding through creating business and the innovative use of IT.
