Digital Development
The goal of digital development at Nuru is to mainstream disruptive and appropriate technology services into the farmer organizations we serve. We do this by delivering technology skills training to rural communities that bridge the digital divide and create feedback loops for Nuru’s innovative technology partners, which improves the impact and sustainability of our services and theirs. As an endorser of the Principles for Digital Development, we are committed to co-designing, testing, and mainstreaming technology-enabled tools that can reach more people, achieve greater impact, and produce stronger and more sustainable outcomes.
Highlights
Digital Financial Inclusion
In 2021, we advanced our digital development strategy by delivering digital financial services to even more households. Through the introduction of mobile money and digital wallet platforms, Nuru is creating more secure, efficient and innovative ways for rural farmers to participate in the larger economic system. Furthermore, by replacing paper-based systems and eliminating long travels to banking institutions, digital financial inclusion also promotes improved saving behavior, thereby building farmers’ resilience to shocks.
Cooperative Computer Skills Training
This year, Nuru Kenya began to help farmer cooperatives incorporate digital solutions into their business operations and management through a computer skills training program offered at the newly launched Nuru Regional Training College. Targeting women and youth leaders but open to all farmer entrepreneurs, the training course was designed to enable efficiency in using digital applications to collect and analyze data. By the end of 2021, over 90% of Nuru-supported cooperative board members were proficient at using computers to carry out their cooperative operations, such as preparing minutes and reports, financial management, and email.
Here, a cooperative leader speaks to the benefit of the skills training:
