H.M. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, meets myAgro Smallholder Farmers in Senegal

On Wednesday, June 15, Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, in her capacity as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA), visited with myAgro in Touba Toul, Senegal. The purpose of her visit was to learn about myAgro’s innovative mobile layaway model and how it is increasing financial inclusion and positively impacting the lives of smallholder farmers, particularly women, in West Africa. 

During her visit, UNSGSA Queen Máxima met with Anushka Ratnayake, Founder, and CEO of myAgro, Thierno Faye, myAgro’s Interim Country Director, and three myAgro farmers, Samba Dione, Badjane Diouf, and Madame Colly Diouf.

“It was an honor to welcome UNSGSA Queen Máxima and to have the opportunity to share with her how our mobile layaway model works,” said Anushka. “I appreciated the time she took to meet some of our farmers and hear directly from them about how myAgro makes their farms more productive and resilient to climate change thus providing them with greater food security and the increased incomes to see their way out of poverty.”

The discussions during the visit included an emphasis on how myAgro offers an alternative to traditional financing solutions for farmers, which have typically been grants, subsidies, and credit. Both informal and formal credit only meet 25% of the global need for smallholder farmers. myAgro’s mobile layaway model unlocks the cash that is in farmers’ own pockets. 

During the visit, Badjane Diouf, a myAgro farmer since 2015, stated, “By making use of the layaway platform, I don’t feel the stress.” She highlighted that it has provided her with access to farming inputs, especially fertilizer, that she would otherwise not be able to afford. Badjane Diouf has also been meticulous in applying the agricultural training she receives from myAgro and has seen how it has increased her yield, which means she is able to support her family’s nutritional intake and pay for household needs. 

Another farmer, Samba Dione, discussed how his yield has doubled since he started planting myAgro seeds and fertilizer and applying their modern agricultural techniques. He proudly showed her pictures of his field, and stated, “Through myAgro’s layaway model, I am able to invest in my land in a sustainable manner.” Through his yield, he can support his family’s household needs and invest in livestock.

Another important aspect of the visit was to demonstrate myAgro’s technology, Connect, and how it streamlines the processes for enrolling farmers, collecting payments, and managing delivery. With this and other critical investments, myAgro’s model is poised to scale rapidly in the next five years to serve 1 million farmers in West Africa. 

Anushka also shared that one of myAgro’s objectives is to bring data and insights to bear and build the case for governments to direct funds already allocated to farming to include female farmers and layaway options. Creating such change in government policies and programs will take time, but this is the moment to lay the groundwork for growing relationships with national-level government ministries and multilateral donors to contribute to lasting change. 

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About myAgro: Founded in 2011, myAgro is a non-profit social enterprise that has pioneered a mobile layaway model that enables farmers to invest their own funds in high-quality agricultural products to significantly increase their harvests and income. myAgro has supported more than 100,000 farmers in becoming food secure by increasing farm yields.

About United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA): Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands has served as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA) since 2009. As Special Advocate, she is a leading global voice on advancing universal access to and responsible usage of affordable, effective and safe financial services for positive outcomes. The UNSGSA raises awareness, serves as a convener, encourages leaders and supports actions to expand financial inclusion at a global and country level, all in close collaboration with partners from the public and private sector.