In 2011 with support from One Acre Fund, MyAgro founder Anushka moved to Mali to test her layaway payment model for seeds and fertilizer and training. In the face of these enormous challenges, farmers continued to make payments through their mobile phones in advance of planting season to pay for a comprehensive package of seeds, fertilizer and training that improve harvest yields. In 2014 the program began trialing approaches in neighboring Senegal and launching a similar program in 2015.
Today Anushka serves as Founder and CEO, leading a team of 400+ with headquarters in Bamako, Mali and a second office in Thiès, Senegal. In just a short 8-year period, Anushka’s unique idea to use mobile technology as a savings platform has evolved from a 240 farmer trial to a multi-country program that serves over 45,000 farmers. MyAgro is on track toward its North Star of reaching 1 million smallholder farmers and increasing their income by $1.50 per day by 2025 to move above the poverty line and into the middle class.