Brastorne Enterprises, a Botswana-based technology startup focused on connecting Africans without reliable internet access, is set to begin operations in Côte d’Ivoire by the end of the first quarter of 2026.
Brastorne’s platform today runs three core services. mAgri provides farmers with market information, trading opportunities, and agricultural advice. Mpotsa delivers localised content on health, education, and employment through interactive voice and SMS. Vuka offers a social communication service built specifically for feature-phone users.
While USSD remains central to its offering, the company is now preparing to introduce a web-based platform designed to work on low-cost smartphones with limited storage capacity.
“We chose a web app instead of an app because when we look at the farmers that we’re reaching, they do have smartphones, but entry-level smartphones where space becomes an issue,” Magowe said. “If you’re coming with an application, it’s going to be uninstalled very quickly because they want to save space.”
What You Need to Know
The new platform is expected to allow farmers to ask questions in local languages using text, voice, or images. An artificial intelligence system trained on agricultural data, weather patterns, and market information will generate responses, escalating unresolved queries to human agronomists.
“We want the farmer to be able to, for example, if they’re noticing some kind of pest or disease on their plants, just take a picture, upload it on the web app, and the AI gives diagnostic information and links them to an expert,” Magowe said.
According to the company, the platform will integrate live weather updates, pest and disease surveillance, and market pricing data to provide context-specific recommendations.
It will also feature training modules, certification programmes delivered through university partnerships, farmer-to-farmer video content, and a digital marketplace where users can list and discover agricultural products.
Expanding amid Uneven Connectivity
The move marks the company’s latest expansion as it rolls out a lightweight web platform tailored to smallholder farmers using entry-level smartphones, the company told TechCabal.
The Côte d’Ivoire launch will be carried out in partnership with Orange, a long-standing collaborator, as Brastorne deepens its footprint across Francophone West Africa and scales services designed for users at the margins of the digital economy.
Brastorne’s planned expansion comes at a time when agritech platforms across Africa are increasingly adopting hybrid delivery models that combine USSD, SMS, and web-based services.
The shift reflects the continent’s uneven connectivity landscape, where smartphone adoption in sub-Saharan Africa remains below 55%, with the widest gaps in rural communities that are home to most smallholder farmers.
What This Means
Several agritech players have taken a similar approach. Platforms such as Kenya’s DigiFarm, M-Kulima, and Farm.io built early traction through USSD and SMS services for farmers using basic phones, before gradually introducing online platforms as mobile internet access improved.
The strategy underscores a broader industry trend: moving users online without abandoning low-bandwidth channels that remain critical for market access, advisory services, and agricultural information.
Founded in 2013 by Martin Stimela and Naledi Magowe, Brastorne has positioned itself squarely within this hybrid model. The company currently operates in Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Guinea, and Zambia, reaching nearly six million users.
It targets Africans without smartphones or reliable internet access, a population it estimates at about 760 million and works with partners including Heifer International in Zambia, alongside mobile operators such as Orange, Mascom, and MTN.
AI Ambition Meets Talent Constraints
Artificial intelligence is set to play a growing role in personalising user experiences and improving operational efficiency across Brastorne’s services. However, the company acknowledges that building robust AI capacity remains a challenge.
In parallel, Brastorne plans to introduce financial services, including credit and insurance products for smallholder farmers through partnerships with mobile money platforms such as Orange Money and MTN MoMo.
As it prepares for its Côte d’Ivoire launch, Brastorne says localisation will be central to its strategy, a factor Magowe describes as critical to the company’s success in multiple markets.
While partnerships with mobile network operators have enabled Brastorne to scale rapidly, they have also slowed expansion timelines. Integrating systems, aligning incentives, and navigating regulatory environments often take longer than anticipated.
Brastorne says its long-term ambition is to operate in at least 19 African countries and reach more than 45 million users.
Talking Points
It is notable that Brastorne is resisting the temptation to go fully app-based and instead prioritising a lightweight web platform alongside USSD, a decision that reflects a deep understanding of how rural African farmers actually use technology.
This approach directly addresses one of the biggest barriers to agritech adoption across the continent: limited smartphone storage, high data costs, and unreliable connectivity, particularly in rural communities where most smallholder farmers live.
At Techparley, we see Brastorne’s hybrid model as a practical response to Africa’s digital divide, ensuring that farmers using feature phones are not left behind even as the company introduces AI-powered tools for those gradually moving online.
The planned use of AI for pest diagnostics, weather insights, and market intelligence is especially significant, as it shifts agritech from generic advice to more personalised, context-specific support that can directly improve productivity and incomes.
Brastorne’s emphasis on localisation, through local languages, tailored content, and partnerships with in-country organisations strengthens its credibility and increases the likelihood of adoption in markets like Côte d’Ivoire, where farming conditions and practices differ widely from Southern and Central Africa.
As Brastorne expands into West Africa and beyond, there is a clear opportunity to deepen its impact through stronger partnerships with financial institutions, agribusinesses, and development organisations, particularly around credit and insurance for smallholder farmers.
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