Women farmers in Cote d’Ivoire will more easily
find markets for their crops, thanks to a digital platform recently launched by
UN Women. Blaatto, part of the UN agency’s Buy From Women
Initiative, is targeting women smallholder farmers and members of women-led
agricultural cooperatives in the country’s central region where access to the market
is relatively poor.
The word ‘blaatto’ means ‘come and buy’ in the region’s
Baule language.
Buy From Women is an open-source, cloud-based enterprise and
e-commerce platform that can be customized to specific market products. It also
offers women information and finance. In Cote d’Ivoire, UN Women is rolling out
the initiative with African Development Bank support and with funding from the
Bank-managed Korea Africa Economic Cooperation Trust Fund.
The platform is
part of a UN Women project in Cote d’Ivoire to strengthen women’s agricultural
resilience to climate change and quality of life by incorporating ICT into
agricultural production.
Blaatto launched
during a ceremony held on 25 March 2022 in Abidjan, attended by Mr. Felix
Anoblé, Minister for the Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises, Handcrafts
and Informal Sector Transformation of Cote d’Ivoire.
Mrs. Antonia
Ngabala Sodonon, UN Women’s country representative for Cote d’Ivoire and Ms
Esther Dassanou, Coordinator of the African Development Bank’s Affirmative
Finance Action for Women in Africa initiative also participated.
Before an audience
of government representatives, development partners and women farmers, Anoblé
and Sodonon signed an agreement for the management of Buy From
Women.
Minister Anoblé
said, “The Buy
From Women platform will ensure long term results for
beneficiaries.” He urged its adoption, saying, “Please take the opportunity to
use it and uplift locally produced crops.”
Sodonon said, “The Buy From Women platform will connect women producers to all categories
of buyers of agricultural products: wholesalers, retailers and consumers across
Cote d’Ivoire. It is an opportunity for women farmers to sell their products to
a large market of buyers.”
Esther Dassanou
said: “We appreciate the support from the Government of Cote d’Ivoire in
various interventions, especially in women’s economic empowerment. For the African
Development Bank, UN Women is a strategic partner to implement the gender
equality and women’s empowerment agenda.”
She added, “this
platform will serve as a one-stop shop for producers, buyers, sellers and
investors. Not only will it help women farmers gain access to markets but will
also elevate their expertise and improve the quality of their farming
products.”
