Why are you participating for Based Africa?

Brú Finance is participating in the Based Africa program to enhance financial inclusion and economic empowerment for smallholder farmers and small businesses in Africa, a region rich in economic potential but facing significant barriers. We have built blockchain technology solutions connecting financial services with rural communities, enabling un/underbanked farmers and small businesses to be part of the financial mainstream.

Africa’s agricultural sector, employing most of the population, struggles with limited finance access, inefficient supply chains, and poor infrastructure, often forcing farmers to sell their produce at low prices due to inadequate post-harvest storage and cash flow needs.

Brú Finance has already made significant strides in addressing these challenges through our successful initiatives in India. With over $700 million in tokenized assets and partnerships with major institutions like the World Bank, Union Bank of India, Indian Bank, Bank of Baroda, MSC Bank, TVS Credit, DBS, and Mastercard, we have demonstrated our ability to drive impactful change through asset tokenization and the amalgamation of traditional finance (TradFi) with decentralized finance (DeFi). We have secured $150 million in credit lines, onboarded over 1,500 asset custodians, and provided services to more than 25,000 satisfied customers.
Building on this base of proven success in India, we have successfully launched our initiatives in African markets, starting with Kenya and South Africa in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Brú Finance has already taken significant steps toward expanding its footprint in Africa by forming key partnerships and securing important milestones in the region. One of our achievements is the MoU signed with ATRIA Trade Investments in South Africa, a crucial strategic partner in our efforts to establish a stronger presence on the continent
In addition to our existing efforts, we are in the process of establishing strateg

What challenges are you focusing on?

The key challenge we are addressing is the $8 trillion credit gap in emerging markets, that disproportionately affects the agriculture sector, small businesses, and rural communities. These sectors are often overlooked by traditional financial institutions, forcing them to rely on informal credit sources with high interest rates. This lack of access to affordable and formal financial services hinders their growth, stifles innovation, and keeps them in cycles of debt.
In addition to the credit gap, fragmented markets and low price realization for small farmers further compound the issue. Farmers often face significant hurdles in accessing fair markets for their produce, leading to poor returns and financial instability. These challenges create a systemic problem that limits economic progress and financial inclusion for millions in emerging markets.

How does your submission address this challenge?

Our submission, Brú Finance, addresses the challenge of financial exclusion by leveraging TradFi and DeFi using asset tokenization to provide affordable credit and financial services to underserved communities, particularly small businesses, farmers, and rural sectors.

Using Brú Finance’s innovative approach of tokenizing real-world assets like agricultural commodities, the project enables farmers to use their stored crops as collateral to access loans through a decentralized commodities-backed bonds platform. This allows them to avoid high-interest informal lenders and bypass the barriers of traditional banks.

By connecting these communities to global liquidity providers, the project ensures they receive loans at lower interest rates while maintaining transparency and efficiency. The platform also facilitates the trade of tokenized assets, enabling farmers and small businesses to sell their products at optimal prices in global markets, improving their overall profitability.
The impact of this project is evident in the numbers achieved so far. Brú Finance has empowered over 25,000 farmers and small businesses by providing access to critical financial resources and has created a robust network of over 1,500 asset custodians in India.

We are now leveraging our strengthens to work for the benefit of farmers and small businesses and farmers of Africa, by enabling access to affordable credit and reducing reliance on high-interest informal loans using a combination of Asset Tokenization, Blockchain TradFi and DeFi .

Challenges I ran into

Our submission, Brú Finance, addresses the challenge of financial exclusion by leveraging TradFi and DeFi using asset tokenization to provide affordable credit and financial services to underserved communities, particularly small businesses, farmers, and rural sectors.

Using Brú Finance’s innovative approach of tokenizing real-world assets like agricultural commodities, the project enables farmers to use their stored crops as collateral to access loans through a decentralized commodities-backed bonds platform. This allows them to avoid high-interest informal lenders and bypass the barriers of traditional banks.

By connecting these communities to global liquidity providers, the project ensures they receive loans at lower interest rates while maintaining transparency and efficiency. The platform also facilitates the trade of tokenized assets, enabling farmers and small businesses to sell their products at optimal prices in global markets, improving their overall profitability.
The impact of this project is evident in the numbers achieved so far. Brú Finance has empowered over 25,000 farmers and small businesses by providing access to critical financial resources and has created a robust network of over 1,500 asset custodians in India.

We are now leveraging our strengthens to work for the benefit of farmers and small businesses and farmers of Africa, by enabling access to affordable credit and reducing reliance on high-interest informal loans using a combination of Asset Tokenization, Blockchain TradFi and DeFi .

Additional Features

Our project had a strong foundation before the Buildathon, but we introduced several new features that enhanced both functionality and user engagement and made it more compatible with Base ecosystem:
Coinbase Smart Wallet:
We integrated the Coinbase Smart Wallet into our dApp providing users with a secure, custodian wallet that eliminates the need to worry about private keys. Users can log in through their email, making their wallets easily accessible. Additionally, for enhanced security during transactions, users must authorize each transaction using a passkey stored securely on their device. This setup ensures a user-friendly experience while maintaining a high level of security for farmers and small business owners managing their digital assets.
Coinbase Paymaster:
The integration of Coinbase Paymaster allows for seamless, efficient gas payment processing on Brú dApp. By simplifying transaction flows and reducing friction, users can easily manage payments and transaction fees, ensuring a smoother process when issuing or redeeming crop-backed bonds. This feature helps make the platform more accessible to both farmers and liquidity providers.

Improved User Interface and Experience:
The user interface (UI) was revamped for simplicity and ease of use, especially for non-tech-savvy users like farmers and rural business owners.

These new features have made our platform more comprehensive, scalable, and accessible, enabling us to better serve farmers, small businesses, and liquidity providers across emerging markets.