Key Findings
- 1Why most agritech startups stall after pilot phase and the commercial strategies that drive sustainable scale.
Overview
The agritech sector has a pilot problem. Startups secure grant funding, run a pilot with 200 farmers, publish impressive results, and then struggle to convert that into sustainable commercial revenue.
I've seen this pattern across dozens of agritech companies. The pilot-to-scale gap is the graveyard of promising agricultural technology businesses.
"The pilot-to-scale gap is the graveyard of promising agricultural technology businesses."
South Africa loses 30% of fresh produce between farm gate and retail shelf — a R36 billion annual waste problem.
Solving post-harvest loss represents the single largest value creation opportunity in SA agriculture.
Why Pilots Don't Scale
1. **Grant-funded customers aren't real customers.** When farmers receive a service for free, their behaviour and feedback don't reflect genuine willingness to pay. 2. **Pilot economics don't translate.** The unit economics of serving 200 farmers with a dedicated team are fundamentally different from serving 20,000 through digital channels. 3. **The distribution challenge.** Reaching farmers at scale requires distribution infrastructure — agent networks, cooperative partnerships, aggregator relationships — that takes years to build.
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