Developers in Vogue (DiV) has been very instrumental into becoming who I am today. The first day I came in contact with them was my turning point; this was at DIVA Festival 2018. I was introduced to the Kosmos Innovation Center AgriTech challenge for the first time at this program. Through mentorship and guidance from the DiV team, I applied and got selected into the competitive program.
Through the Kosmos Innovation Center (KIC), I own a company now! I had always wanted to start a business but didn’t know how to; so I’m very excited to be living in the reality of my dream now. Today my company, Farmkode uses green technology and IoT in pest management in the Agriculture sector. We provide a cost effective and environmentally friendly alternative to pesticides, by targeting adult insect and preventing them from laying eggs on crops. We have built an IoT automated pest trap system that uses solar light rays in controlling insect pest on crops. This is to prevent the use of chemical pesticides, which causes harmful emissions that are detrimental to the climate as well as causing other harm to the environment and crops. Through our innovation, the farmers will increase their yield, reduce their cost on pesticides, produce quality food free from chemical residue and to increase their revenue.
The KIC program was a life transforming experience for me. We started the journey at Shai Hills Military Training School, where I developed perseverance, courage and essence of team work. I understood that the entrepreneurship journey is like going for war, knowing how to lay your plans, executing them and when to say there’s no turning back is a vital key to success. Subsequent sessions of the KIC program included workshops on diverse topics relevant to an entrepreneur. I learnt how to network with people to create lasting relationships, the essence of branding, knowing who your clients are and their preferences. These skills acquired have helped us as a team to come this far. The KIC journey is a real opportunity for self development.
Our journey wasn’t smooth; the competition was tough and standard was high We kept embarking on market research, kept improving on our business concept and model until we got to where we are. One key thing I will say is the Kosmos Innovation Center trains you to became a problem solver who can survive under any condition.
A big thank you to the Kosmos Energy team for investing so much in me. I would also like to thank Ivy Barley and the Developers in Vogue team for exposing me to this life-changing opportunity.