Did you know you can invest in agriculture right from the comfort of your home using just your mobile phone? That’s the innovative model being championed by Ghana-based agri-tech firm Grow For Me. The firm is leveraging digital tools to make it possible for anyone to participate in farming without ever getting their hands dirty, while simultaneously empowering farmers to scale up their productivity and earnings.
Grow For Me operates a web-based crowdfunding platform that allows individuals to invest in crop production and, in turn, share in the profits from sales at harvest. At the same time, the platform enables farmers to sell their produce at competitive rates, ensuring they remain motivated and financially secure to continue farming. This dual strategy has revolutionised agricultural finance in Ghana and is rapidly gaining traction.
In 2023, the firm partnered with MTN Ghana to launch a mobile-accessible version of its platform. The goal was to transform commodity financing, aggregation, and trading into a streamlined, digital experience accessible to both investors and farmers. The platform, now also available through other networks, enables investors and funders to support the purchase of essential farm inputs like quality seeds and fertilizer, as well as finance the aggregation and trading of commodities. In order to deepen transparency, investors receive monthly updates on the performance of farms or trades, while buyers and off-takers, including processing companies, exporters, and retailers, easily access quality agricultural commodities through the platform.
This digital marketplace benefits both sides. Farmers gain financial backing from individuals who believe in their potential, and sponsors earn a return when the crops are sold through the Ghana Commodity Exchange or certified off-takers. The system is helping businesses raise the funds they need to expand and innovate by connecting them directly with supportive investors, opening new doors for growth and prosperity in Ghana’s agricultural space.
Accessing Grow For Me’s services is simple. On MTN Ghana, users dial *170#, then select Option 5 for Financial Services, Option 4 for Pensions and Investment, and finally Option 3 for Grow For Me. This opens a menu of six services: “I want to Fund/Invest,” “Check my updates,” “I want to Buy,” “I want to Sell,” “I am a Farmer,” and “Training.” Choosing “I want to Buy” presents a list of available commodities such as cocoa / shea nuts, cashew, rice, soybean, and maize. After selecting a crop, the system prompts users to input how many units they want to purchase, shows the cost per unit, and provides the expected range of interest rates.
For instance, for the second quarter (Q2) of 2025, one unit of maize was priced at 1,050 Cedis, with expected returns ranging between 5.43% and 12.86%. After entering the number of units, the platform displays the investment duration (April 1 to September 30, 2025 in this case), and the anticipated payout date, which for Q2 was December 23, 2025. The platform connects investors with a trusted network of experienced farmers growing high-demand crops, ensuring that funded crops are cultivated, harvested, and sold to a ready market, allowing investors to reap rewards at harvest without ever stepping onto a farm.
On the flip side, the platform also supports farmers who want to sell their commodities. After dialing into the Grow For Me service and selecting “I am a Farmer,” users are guided through a process that allows them to sell their harvests, request farm services, or access training. After selecting the commodity and their location, the system shows a list of nearby warehouses, current prices, and available working capital. Farmers can either deliver the crops themselves or arrange for a trained aggregator to pick them up. Payments are made either in cash or through mobile money.
According to CEO Nana Prempeh, much of the company’s focus now is on building robust financial systems that support the platform’s growth and accessibility. “What we are spending more time on is our financial services offering. We are working a lot on that because it is scalable, it’s accessible, it doesn’t require a lot of boots on the ground,” he said.
Grow For Me is playing a vital role in transforming Africa’s food systems by integrating capital, technology, trade, regulation, and policy. It offers a unified platform where individuals and businesses can invest in crop production, support commodity aggregation, and provide off-takers with reliable access to traceable produce. The firm’s work supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), by creating opportunities for farmers in rural communities that are often hit hardest by labor shortages and the effects of urban migration. The firm equips farmers to increase their income, build resilience, and break free from cycles of poverty.
Since its inception, Grow For Me has made impressive strides. The firm reports on it’s website that it has traded over $1.1 million worth of commodities, raised $152,000 for input financing, impacted 19,000 farmers, cultivated 3,500 acres of land, and raised $450,000 in working capital.
Much of this success, Nana Prempeh emphasizes, is due to the company’s strategic partnerships. “Through AGRA, we’ve been able to reach out to thousands of farmers. We’ve been able to provide them with a ready market where they can move their produce from farm to market. And we are happy that we can work with our partners from Goldcoin to ensure there is no post-harvest loss. And thanks to AGRA for making that possible,” he noted.
Grow For Me says it is helping rewrite the narrative of African agriculture, one mobile phone at a time, by turning farming into a smart, digital, and scalable investment for the future.
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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
