March 2021 agricultural “platforms” in a digital era

Figure 16: DigiFarm registrations and service usage by gender
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Platforms like DigiFarm are particularly well-suited to address women’s barriers to market and service access, in the process 
enhancing their livelihoods. This is especially true if they can facilitate offtake, enable e-learning, and leverage data for digital 
credit scoring and access to inputs. DigiFarm’s female customers report increased productivity, access to better quality inputs 
and advisory services, and increased income. For many women, who previously did not have access to markets, DigiFarm 
has made it possible to add a new income stream to the household. Women also report time savings—perhaps because they 
don’t have to spend so much time searching for service providers or managing transactions, or because their increased income 
allows them to hire extra help—freeing up time for other activities. This, combined with additional sources of income and 
control over their finances, have enabled DigiFarm’s women customers to boost their household decision- 
making power, self-esteem, and confidence.
Relative to men, women seem to be attracted by certain aspects of DigiFarm’s value proposition, including non-cash form of inputs 
on credit, access to higher quality inputs, and guaranteed offtake. Women are also eager to use market access services, as it assures 
ownership over additional income for their families—in fact, they are more likely than men to sell produce through DigiFarm vs. other 
channels. Women also place more value on the presence of field agents to support in product registration and delivery of advisory 
services. 
This evidence about women’s preferences and usage of DigiFarm offers lessons on how Platform operators can more intentionally 
target women customers. While these targeted acquisition efforts may require more upfront investment, the DigiFarm example 
demonstrates the potential of women to become attractive customer segments with high lifetime customer value. Particularly since 
Platforms tend to be able to capture more value from offtake-related transactions (services that women may be more likely to use 
than men) than from other lower margin services such as advisory, or inputs.