Farmers Now Have An Online Marketplace To Sell Produce

eMbare is a recently launched market place for vendors and before I even used the app I was impressed that this thing exists. I was impressed because this is inclusive technology. Apps of this kind prove that the internet is indeed for everyone and it’s just a matter of creating solutions that cater for Zimbabweans.

Moving agric forward…

The eMbare application is an online marketplace that allows farmers to upload goods they are selling on the applications. Potential customers can then view and purchase the products in a few clicks just like you would with any other product you buy online.

In terms of farm produce there are a number of different categories to pick from:

• Top-rated sellers
• Poultry
• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Grains

In these sections, you can then find particular products and add them to your cart. The top-rated sellers section is a good feature that will ensure that people are buying from sellers with a proven track record. There is also a verification badge for farmers that have gone through some type of vetting before being allowed to sell.

Once you have made a purchase the farm produce is then delivered to you and the costs of these deliveries are also affordable. The deliveries vary depending on the customer’s location but the rate at which customers are charged is 35c/Km. When a customer has ordered their goods and they’re being delivered a customer can also track their orders online.

Slight tweaks needed

On my device at least, try as I may I could not set my location and for some reason whenever I clicked the location prompt the map it was giving me was not accurately reflecting my current location. This may be a unique experience and you may not encounter the same problem so don’t let that stop you from testing out the application.

This is what the internet should become…

Apps such as eMbare are really impressive and they are vital to our ecosystem as they increase demand for the internet. One of the problems thus far has been that of creating use cases.

Yes, the internet is great and all but you can’t keep asking people who are above 50 to be going on the internet solely because of Whatsapp, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. There is no harm in people of this age using these services but just as these services cater to more youthful demographics it would also be great if we start making more useful applications that can genuinely add value to others’ lives. If people use the internet for eMbare (useful apps) they’ll discover other things that are on the internet.

If tech is used to solve real problems that Zimbabweans are facing it will take off. Simple as that.

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