The Interledger Community 🌱: Tabi Bonney

ITADI Digital Sustainable Farming Initiative — Final Grant Report

Tabi Bonney — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 15:19:05 +0000

Project Update

During the grant period, the ITADI Digital Sustainable Farming Initiative was able to achieve its goal of designing and piloting the first direct-to-consumer farm that leverages the power of web monetization to address issues of transparency, sustainability, and equitable market access in the coffee and cash crop industry. We are proud of the progress we have made during this time, and we believe that it is just the beginning of our journey towards achieving our long-term vision of connecting communities and promoting financial inclusion through Interledger Protocol, mobile monetary systems and digital wallets when conducting business internationally with different currencies.

As we move forward, we will build on the foundation we have established and explore new ways to leverage technology and innovation.
Our long term vision is to expand this initiative to reach more farmers and consumers in the coffee and cash crop industry. We recognize that many small-scale farmers lack the resources and infrastructure to effectively market and sell their products, which often results in low incomes and economic instability.

In addition, we will continue to collaborate with local communities, organizations, and governments to address the root causes of poverty and inequality in the agriculture sector. This includes advocating for policies that promote sustainable farming practices, equitable market access, and fair prices for farmers.

We are also exploring new ways to use technology to enhance our initiative and promote greater financial inclusion. This includes developing mobile applications and other digital tools that can help farmers manage their finances, access credit, and connect with buyers and consumers more efficiently.

While there are still many challenges to overcome, we remain committed to our vision and will continue to work towards creating a more just and inclusive global marketplace for all.

Progress on objectives

Objective 1:
We successfully implemented a web monetized marketplace on both of our websites - www.itadicoffee.com and www.itadibody.com. Through these platforms, consumers were able to access high-quality coffee products sourced directly from our farms, creating a seamless farm-to-table experience. Micropayments from these transactions were processed using web monetization and deposited directly into our company digital wallet. However, to ensure that our farmers were fairly compensated, we developed a streamlined process for dispersing these funds using another method, which was simply through Moneygram to our farm manager who then had to disperse the money individually to our farmers. This is the roadblock we stated in our 1st report and have been talking with the ILP team about finding inroads in Togo to possibly pilot a money app situation that will solve this issue for the majority of West Africa.

Objective 2:
To promote greater financial inclusion and accessibility, we developed a comprehensive plan to educate, encourage, and onboard our followers and customers to sign up for a Coil account. As an incentive, we offered first access to the Itadi marketplace, creating a sense of exclusivity and excitement among our community.
Given that the majority of our followers are on Instagram, we utilized this platform to funnel traffic to our blog on our websites. In addition to social media, we also utilized direct email marketing to reach out to our customer base. Our emails included educational content on the benefits of digital wallets, as well as a clear and concise call-to-action to sign up for Coil.

Objective 3:
Our commitment to providing our customers with a unique and meaningful experience extended beyond just offering direct farm-to-table products. To further differentiate ourselves in the market, we provided exclusive monthly and, at times, weekly creative content to our monetized sites.
This content included captivating stories about our farmers, our land, and the vibrant culture of Togo. By showcasing the people and places behind our products, we were able to build a deeper connection with our customers and help them appreciate the importance of sustainability and ethical practices.
Through this approach, we not only provided our customers with high-quality products but also a window into the rich history and traditions of our region. This unique and immersive experience helped to set us apart in a crowded market, and we are proud to have been able to provide such a high level of value to our customers.

Objective 4:
Our data analysis has revealed that it is a challenging process to persuade customers and followers to opt in to paying for another subscription. Despite our efforts to promote the launch of our merchandise and coffee harvest, the timing was not ideal due to Coil's discontinuation of its partnership with Interledger. Realistically, with our existing business model, we would need to reach millions of people in order to make a significant impact. Here is a link to our research.

Key activities

We have successfully established a strong foundation in creating content on our farms and bringing it to the world digitally by monetizing it on the backend through Interledger Protocol.

We have continued our meetings with the US Ambassador and have contacted key Togo government officials to further the goal of financial inclusion worldwide. Our plan is to collaborate with the ILP team to identify new opportunities to tackle the digital wallet roadblock of apps and access in West Africa, a goal that has the potential to revolutionize the economic landscape of doing business.

We have also been able to secure a celebrity endorsement which has vastly increased our website traffic and exposed a wider audience to our message.

We have been able to collaborate with artists and companies, cross promote, and launch exclusive merch in conjunction with a new coffee harvest from our farm. This has further reinforced our vision of utilizing digital content and monetization to bring these products to the world.

Communications and marketing

We've actively shared our progress and insights through a multitude of channels, leveraging the power of social media to connect with fellow industry leaders and drive meaningful change in the consumer goods space across the US. Through multiple social media accounts, we've engaged with our followers, building a community of like-minded individuals who are passionate about our mission. We've also leveraged the real-time nature of IG Live to share our story, participating in interviews on podcasts, radio shows, and other media outlets to reach a broader audience. We are thrilled to have received support from celebrities who have amplified our message on their social media channels and YouTube, underscoring the importance of our work and the potential impact it can have on the world.

As part of our marketing strategy, we allocated a budget towards social media advertising, primarily promoting posts on Instagram and Facebook. In addition, we partnered with influencers and content creators who align with our brand values and target audience, which expanded brand awareness and increased traffic to our websites. By investing in these initiatives, we were able to effectively raise awareness of our brand and mission, reaching a wider audience and generating greater engagement with our followers.

What’s next?

We believe that ILP is a game-changer for the world of commerce and can create unprecedented levels of financial inclusion, transparency, and sustainability. Our experience with ILP has taught us valuable lessons on the power of digital wallets, micropayments, and web monetization. As we continue to grow and expand, we will look to leverage these tools and technologies to create a more equitable and sustainable global economy.

In addition to our work with ILP, we are exploring new partnerships and collaborations to further our mission of promoting fair and ethical trade practices, supporting local communities, and protecting the environment. We believe that by working together with other like-minded organizations and individuals, we can create positive change at scale.
As part of our ongoing efforts to raise awareness and promote sustainable and ethical practices, we plan to continue producing creative content that highlights the stories and experiences of our farmers and the communities we work with. By sharing these stories with a wider audience, we hope to inspire more people to join us in our mission and become advocates for a more just and equitable global economy.

Finally, we are committed to measuring and reporting on our impact, both in terms of our financial performance and our social and environmental impact. We believe that transparency and accountability are critical to building trust with our customers, partners, and stakeholders and we are committed to upholding these values in everything we do.

What community support would benefit your project?

We are eagerly anticipating the opportunity to remain actively engaged with the vibrant and innovative Interledger community, and to contribute our expertise and insights to this dynamic space. We recognize the tremendous value of the community's collective knowledge, and believe that our ongoing collaboration can yield exciting new possibilities for digital financial inclusion and sustainable agriculture. By harnessing the power of our shared resources and working collaboratively, we can push the boundaries of what is possible and continue to drive positive change on a global scale. We are committed to staying at the forefront of this rapidly-evolving field and leveraging our experience to help shape the future of digital payments and agricultural sustainability.

Additional comments

Relevant links/resources (optional)

Tabi Bonney/ITADI — Travel Grant Report

Tabi Bonney — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 01:22:37 +0000

Introduction

I am Tabi Bonney, founder of Itadi, LLC. We are a coffee and skin care company that has farms in Togo, West Africa. We import our raw ingredients to Los Angeles, CA our US home base. Itadi is a current grantee of ILP and were looking to expand our knowledge in open payments and web monetization. We also wanted to meet the wonderful Interledger community in person.

Key highlights about your participation at the Summit

The key highlight was getting a chance to meet the ILP team in person. It was such a pleasure meeting Ayesha, Briana, and Chris amongst others. The human connection was truly appreciated especially post pandemic lockdown. The team was warm, gracious, and full of energy and optimism about the future. The other highlight was being able to sit on the Community Building for Sustainability and Innovation panel. I was happy to share the space and insight with Karl Carter from Snake Nation, Erica Hargreave and Lawil Karama which was moderated elegantly by Ayesha Ware. It was the perfect topic because I would not be in this ILP community if it was not for Kokayi Walker who gave an intro via zoom which set a great tone for the panel. Having a global community is the only way forward for a better world, to push the boundaries of what we can do as a human race, and I feel ILP will do that with financial inclusion.

Highlight your key takeaways from the Summit

The key takeaway for me is that the current space of Interledger Protocol, Web Monetization, and new Open Payments tech is a big experiment where we are all trying to figure it out through research and connect the dots. Enthused to know that we are a community on the forefront of a vast landscape that will make access to payments seamless globally. I am happy to be in a community of problem solvers. The detailed tech talk of Rafiki and TigerBeetle was above my head but I am appreciative that those talks took me out of my comfort zone…how else are we going to grow?

The two presentations that really hit home for me were actually back to back. The 5 P’s of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion by Erin Brown and DFS Lab Work by Jake Kendall. The 1st encouraged me to seek out this space more and know that my voice and point of view does matter. And the DFS Lab presentation spoke specifically to the challenges that I am facing as an entrepreneur having businesses in West Africa.It was great to know that I am not alone.

Indicate topic(s) if any, you thought could have been covered but were not.

Nothing that I can think of. The Summit covered many topics. I thought it was more than enough info for the 2 days.

Let us know how you might be interested in participating in ILPSummit2023.

I am completely open to participating in the next Summit! I am not sure what that looks like yet but would love to be involved in any capacity.

What have you done post-Summit to showcase your participation in the Summit?

I shared my participation via my personal Instagram page @tabibonney. I have also been sharing in personal circles with other entrepreneurs in different spaces.

Any next steps and/or leads emanating from your participation at the Summit?

I really connected with Erin Brown from USAID. I thought her presentation at the Summit was great! I definitely see alignment with what Itadi is working towards and USAID. Meeting with her in DC soon to see what we can do together. Also it was great reconnecting with Karl Carter. I plan on visiting him in South Africa in 2023 and he plans on coming to Togo as well to see how we can work with each other and assist with each other’s future plans.

ITADI Digital Sustainable Farming Initiative — Grant Report #1

Tabi Bonney — Fri, 17 Jun 2022 20:16:41 +0000

Background

The ITADI Digital Sustainable Farming Initiative will design and pilot the first direct to consumer farm that leverages the power of web monetization to prototype solutions addressing issues of transparency, sustainability, and equitable market access that plague coffee and other cash crop farmers around the world.

Project Update

We have had an interesting, exciting and adventurous couple of months. We hit the ground running in Togo, West Africa and had many logistic, technical and creative hurdles we had to navigate. That was expected but it’s always a surprise when things happen. Overall we are pretty much on schedule with our timeline. Our farmers are extremely happy to be involved in the project and their faces lit up when we put them in front of the camera to interview them, take their pictures, and film their farming techniques. They have never been interviewed in their entire lives so that brought much joy to see that they felt valued that someone wanted to hear what they had to say outside of the village.

One of the main goals is to connect communities worlds apart and to keep that communication going well into the future. We feel we are on our way to achieving this, we just have to readjust logistics that we thought would work and supplement them with other systems in the meantime.

Our websites are web monetized enabled by ILP and we have begun populating our sites with content from the farms on a consistent basis. We feel as though over time this will garner a beautiful community of people who come to learn, share, buy exclusive products and gain access to another world.

Progress on objectives

We feel enthused about our objectives that we put in place. Our sites are monetized and we have begun populating them with consistent content. Micropayments are going to our farmers but not in the simple way we had hoped for. Only one of our farmers has a bank account. Due to the extreme remoteness of our farms the rest of our farmers do not think it’s practical to have to go to a bank. We have put a system in place where our farm manager visits our farmers once a week and gives them their stipend/micropayment as well as captures content. Another note is that Uphold does not work with banks in Togo. They do not take the cfa/xof currency which means they do not work in France or any other francophone country. The Uphold team said they are working on adding additional currencies and suggested crypto as a substitute in the meantime.However we think there is an opportunity with mobile money. Instead of going to the bank our farmers and many people throughout Togo use a system/app called Flooz and TMoney. It’s similar to how people in the the US use Venmo and Cashapp, except it is not connected to a bank. They are little cash stands manned by a person where you can send and also receive money via mobile. They are populated throughout the country even in the most remote areas.
We are still developing an onboarding system for our current followers and consumers to convert them over to signing up for a Coil account and engaging more interactively instead of passively. This will really take effect once we have exclusive merchandise they can purchase. We have been encouraging them to sign up through our email blasts and story posts on social media…particularly Instagram and Facebook. We have been driving this through our blog posts on itadibody.com and itadicoffee.com.

We have been in touch with artists and influencers and are in the process of creating exclusive content and products which we feel will be the main driver in creating awareness by connecting cool things in the culture with having a social impact. This will in turn address the digital divide and equitable market access, which will begin disrupting the traditional economic structure granting consumers access to a community of farmers; creating a sustainable, healthy and mutually beneficial ecosystem never before seen in the coffee or beauty industry.

Key activities

We were fortunate enough to meet with the new US Ambassador Elizabeth Fitzsimmons. We talked with her about Grant for the Web and our current project and mission. She is extremely excited about it and wants to support in any way that she can. We have a follow up meeting scheduled to capitalize on the momentum and turn that excitement into tangible goals, support and action.

We have been acquiring content from the farms but didn’t take into account that some of our farmers would be shy and are uncomfortable with being videotaped or having their pictures taken while others absolutely love it and are thrilled to have this new experience. With that being said we expanded to acquiring content not only on our coffee farm but also our cacao farm to counter that shortfall.

We are working on collaborations and exclusive merch with artists and brands. We will be launching those collabs in 2 months. Our official PR campaign will kick off around the same time which will lead to a culmination of more visitors to our sites, bringing more awareness to our project and funnel new visitors into opting in to a digital wallet.

Communications and marketing

We are launching our PR campaign in 2 months. Our marketing will be a culmination of hiring a publicist, consistent email blasts, partnering with a brand we are collaborating with who will post on their social media as well as utilize their email list. This will continue for the remainder of our project. What will eventually sustain the project well after the grant period is once audience engagement takes full effect and supporters spread the news through word of mouth.

What’s next?

As we start to get into a good flow of acquiring, uploading and posting content to build a strong foundation for our visitors we will begin incorporating exclusive products/merch as well as this years coffee harvest giving first access to those who have signed up for a Coil account. We will continue to strategize the best onboarding process for our visitors and collect that data through our backend on Shopify, Google analytics and Klaviyo data.
We will launch our PR campaign which should bring major awareness and garner some local news press between LA and DC and some blogs and magazines.
We will also be meeting with the US Ambassador again and working on meeting with the head of the Agricultural department of the Togolese government.

What community support would benefit your project?

We would like to know if anyone is actively using digital tipping. We think this is a feature that would do well with our project. We are also open to any insight and suggestions the community may have and are down for collaborations.

Additional comments

We are beyond thankful to GftW for this opportunity to explore web monetization with farming and linking communities worlds apart.