Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu

Mastercard Foundation 2021 - 2022

Foundry Fellow

From:

Nigeria

Sector:

Agriculture

Location:

Nigeria

Nnaemeka grew up in an agricultural family and developed a passion for engaging the rural population about agriculture and helping farmers understand agriculture as a business. He founded Smallholders Foundation, an organization that uses radio to deliver daily agricultural, environmental, markets, and social development programs to smallholder farmers in their local language. The foundation later created The Smallholders Farmers Rural Radio Station (FARM 98.0 FM) Nigeria’s first and only rural radio solely dedicated to agriculture.

As a community radio broadcaster, Nnaemeka traveled to several remote villages and witnessed the impact of post-harvest losses due to a lack of refrigeration. As a result, he founded ColdHubs, a venture that designs, installs, and operates plug and play” modular, solar-powered walk-in cold rooms, providing farmers with off-grid storage and ensuring the preservation of perishable foods. ColdHubs offers farmers a flexible pay-as-you-store subscription model making it accessible and affordable. Nnaemeka intends to continue to expand ColdHubs to eliminate the impact of food spoilage on 470 million smallholder farmers globally, and ultimately increase the income and success of farmers and retailers.