New Online Platform to Support Agriculture
Credo Bank and Traktor Technologies have launched www.kalo.ge, an online shop and service platform for farmers. The platform was funded by a grant provided by the Development Facility of the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE DF) with the purpose of promoting agricultural businesses across the country. To ensure support for rural households, USAID Zrda Activity in Georgia was also intensively involved in the platform development from start to finish.
Kalo represents a modern approach to providing services to farmers, who will benefit from the portal’s enhanced functionality. In addition to disseminating educational news and video instructions, the platform gives farmers access to agro-consultations and an agro-calendar to promote a more precise understanding of crop cultivation timelines. The portal will also feature a convenient online shop and service delivery option for agricultural products, pesticides, fertilizers, and equipment, with the ability to fill orders remotely using Credo Bank’s Online Credit Purchase function.
“In view of such a successful launch with our partners, I strongly believe that Kalo will incentivize more and more farmers in subsequent years with its advanced services, therefore further promoting agricultural activities and contributing to the entire sector development in the country,” says Zaza Pirtskhelava, Chief Executive Officer of Credo Bank.
Credo Bank works in Georgia’s agriculture sector, offering loans and other financial instruments. Kalo is one of the most successful projects implemented under Credo Bank’s digital strategy, representing a significant step towards a more productive and flourishing agriculture sector in Georgia.
“With this partnership, we’re delivering on our shared commitment to help farmers in emerging markets improve their yields and livelihoods. Together with Credo, we are making an important step towards realizing this goal, as we will now extend our services to up to 100,000 additional customers,” stated Jonne Catshoek, Chief Executive Officer of Traktor.
EFSE DF Chairman Markus Aschendorf commented, “The agricultural sector represents a significant proportion of the overall Georgian economy, and yet there is still great potential for this branch to grow in production and efficiency. Kalo’s targeted service offering aims to fill the gap in relevant and up-to-date agricultural information for farmers and connect them across the country, providing a boost not only to this sector, but to the economy as a whole.”
Chief of Party for the USAID Zrda Activity, Brian King, said that he believes “the content and tools of the Kalo platform will be of great benefit to Georgia’s farmers.”