The agri-food sector, valued at $9 trillion, is pivotal to the global economy. In the Philippines, small rural agriculture is fundamental; over 10 million smallholder farmers and fisherfolk feed the nation's people. Yet, these providers grapple with poverty exacerbated by a number of factors.

Among the challenges that face growers and fishers are three fundamental issues that continue to persist: a lack of direct market access, post-harvest inefficiencies leading to significant wastage, and a lack of reliable data that intensifies supply chain instability. In response to these pressing concerns, the Mayani Digital Value Chain Platform is the key to addressing all of these issues and unlocking the $20 billion potential of the agri-fisheries sector in the Philippines.

The founders of Mayani, including CEO JT Solis, Executive Chairman Jeff Barreiro, and the other co-founders whose diverse expertise includes entrepreneurship, e-commerce logistics, agriculture, software engineering, and law, are driven by a shared passion for addressing the challenges faced by Filipino farmers and fisherfolk.

As a team, Mayani has developed a modern and holistic approach to address the root causes of agricultural inequality. By consolidating farm-level production data, Mayani optimizes distribution channels to minimize wastage and bridge the gap between farmers and consumers. Through the innovative use of technology, Mayani has also digitized the entire supply chain, empowering farmers and fisherfolk with valuable insights into market demand and pricing dynamics. The recent launch of Mayani Agri-Inputs and Mayani FinAssist further reinforces Mayani's commitment to decarbonize the agri-value chain and provide crucial financial support to empower these rural entrepreneurs.

Solis explains, "Our end-to-end value chain platform intervenes at critical nodes of the agricultural process, facilitating access to markets, inputs, and credit. Downstream, we build market channels towards large institutional buyers and customers, ensuring efficient post-harvest distribution. Upstream, we provide access to climate-smart inputs, enabling farmers to optimize resource use and adapt to environmental challenges like drought (i.e. El Nino). Additionally, we offer production credit solutions, leveraging proprietary supply chain data to assess farmers' creditworthiness and enable access to high-quality inputs even without capital. Through these interventions, our platform supports farmers across the entire value chain."

While the agri-food sector faces perpetual challenges, with food security at the forefront, Mayani is putting solutions in place to minimize the impact of geopolitical events and other disruptors of supply chains and turn these vulnerabilities into advantages. "Because we are involved in food, agriculture as a vertical has the largest consumer base on the planet, which speaks volumes to the size of the opportunity. But at the same time, we think that the biggest issue of our time will always be about food security. Nowhere, at any point in history, have we been at this point wherein the agrifood sector has become so glaringly crucial. It has come front and center. And we are creating solutions that will always be relevant," explains Solis.

Along with answering the call to optimize the agricultural supply chain and empower rural entrepreneurs, Mayani is all about promoting sustainability. Consumer preferences are shifting towards food sources that support eco-friendly approaches, and they want to be able to trace their food sources back to responsible producers. Mayani's solution is pivotal in not only fostering that transparency and trust with their data-driven traceability but they are also advocates of the sustainability mission. Silos adds, "We are co-championing the responsible seafood sourcing standards here, and we are partnered with USAID Fish Right's Better Seafood Philippines, that is working with the Philippine government."

Mayani's impact is growing quickly and globally. With an operating presence in more than 23 cities and municipalities, along with a revenue growth hitting more than three times for the past 12 months, Mayani is driving tangible change. By building partnerships with large global brands like Hilton Hotels and some of the largest supermarkets in the Philippines, they are empowering over 144,000 smallholder farmers and fisherfolk with the solutions they need and access to financing in order to expand their operations and break intergenerational poverty cycles. Mayani's transformative impact is evidenced by a 30% attributable rise in farmer income, a 38% representation of women farmers, and a 20% reduction in food loss.

Mayani's upward trajectory has been supported by a global coalition of impact-focused backers and VCs. With a successful $1.7 million seed round and ongoing pre-Series A funding, Mayani is set to revolutionize not only the Philippines' agri-food landscape but also global agritech by creating solutions that improve sustainability and transparency while ensuring resilience against climate change. Ultimately, Mayani is boosting prosperity for all stakeholders and paving the way for a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable agri-food future.

Explore Mayani, the Philippines' fastest-growing, impact-driven agri-tech platform empowering smallholder farmers and fisherfolk.