Ep.02 S2 World Bank Ifc's Aliou Maiga On Agtech: Jobs, Data, And Connecting 5m African Farmers By 2030

According to Maiga, agriculture employs up to 80 percent of Africa's workforce and contributes as much as 40 percent of GDP in some countries. He stressed that no job creation strategy can succeed without improving agriculture.

"If you want to create jobs in Africa, the biggest employer in Africa is agriculture," he said.

While finance and manufacturing have already been transformed by technology, agriculture has lagged behind. AgTech seeks to close that gap. These companies function like fintechs but tailored to farming, providing services that reduce risk, lower costs, and improve yields. They not only connect farmers to credit but also to agronomic advice, inputs, insurance, mechanisation, and new markets.