Botswana based agritech startup Brastorne Enterprises has announced plans to commence operations in Côte d’Ivoire by the end of the first quarter of 2026, as it deepens its push to use technology to bridge Africa’s rural connectivity gap. The company, which is known for transforming feature phones into internet enabled tools, said the expansion will be driven by a partnership with mobile network operator Orange and supported by a new lightweight web platform tailored for farmers using entry level smartphones.
The move reflects a wider shift across Africa’s agritech ecosystem, where platforms are blending USSD services with web based solutions to respond to uneven internet access. With smartphone adoption in Sub Saharan Africa still below 55 percent and rural communities lagging far behind, Brastorne said it is maintaining its low bandwidth services while gradually moving users online. This hybrid approach mirrors strategies adopted by agritech platforms across East and West Africa that aim to keep farmers connected while preparing them for a more digital future.
Founded in 2013, Brastorne currently operates in Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Guinea and Zambia, reaching nearly six million users. The company focuses on Africans without reliable internet access or advanced devices, a population it estimates at about 760 million. Its services include mAgri, which delivers market information and advisory services to farmers, Mpotsa, which provides voice and SMS based content on health and livelihoods, and Vuka, a social communication platform designed specifically for feature phone users.
As part of its Côte d’Ivoire rollout, Brastorne is introducing a web based platform instead of a traditional mobile application, a decision the company said reflects the realities of rural smartphone usage. The platform will allow farmers to submit questions in local languages using text, voice or images, with artificial intelligence analysing agricultural data, weather patterns and market information to provide practical guidance. Queries that cannot be resolved automatically will be escalated to human agronomists, blending automation with expert support.
Brastorne said localisation will be central to its success in Côte d’Ivoire, with content and services adapted to local crops, climate conditions and farming practices. While partnerships with mobile operators have helped the company scale across multiple countries, they have also slowed expansion timelines. Despite this challenge, the startup said it remains committed to extending its AI driven agritech model, with plans to expand into several other West African markets and eventually operate in at least 19 countries, helping millions of farmers access information, markets and financial services through technology.