Finances News Hebdo: What are the Deeptech solutions developed by Deepleaf and what is their particularity, in particular in terms of agricultural diagnosis compared to other tools available on the market?
El Maahdi Aboulmadel: Our approach to Deepleaf is to democratize access to advanced agricultural technologies for all farmers. We have created a whole ecosystem of solutions based on artificial intelligence to quickly identify plant diseases from simple photos. Concretely, we offer an easy -to -use mobile application, a WhatsApp chatbot that works in several languages, and an API that can be integrated into all applications, websites and chatbots. The idea is simple but powerful. So you take a photo of a sick sheet, and Our tools immediately give you a complete diagnosis with the name of the disease, the symptoms, how to prevent the disease, and what treatments to use, whether organic or chemical. We have also developed a drone analysis solution that really changes the game for large farms. Drones fly over the fields, capture videos of all cultures, then this data is analyzed by our platform which spots with precision where the problems, diseases are also found and also suggests treatments with explanatory images. Our solution also detects nutritional deficiencies, pests, fungi and insects. What motivates us deeply is the potential impact of our technology on global food security. Today, around $ 290 billion in food is lost each year due to plant diseases. Our solution directly aims at this problem by allowing early and precise detection, considerably reducing these losses.
FNH: The distinction obtained in the Gitex Africa positions Deepleaf as a very potential startup. What does this recognition reflect in terms of visibility, opportunities or credibility in the ecosystem?
EMA: It is a pride for We. Indeed, Deepleaf won the first prize at the Gitex Supernova Challenge, dethroning 200 African startups. We have won a reward of $ 50,000! This historic consecration marks a turning point for Moroccan innovation, because it is the first time that a startup of our country has won this international scope trophy. This distinction to the Gitex Africa has truly transformed our trajectory. Beyond the simple price, it opened doors to us both in Morocco and internationally. We were able to meet potential partners, discuss with investors interested in our vision, and above all, gain the confidence of institutions and farmers. What is particularly rewarding is the validation of our approach.
FNH: Funding is often a challenge for innovative startups. What types of support seem to you today the most decisive to accelerate the development of solutions such as yours?
EMA: For a Deeptech startup like ours, funding is important, but it is only part of the equation. What really makes the difference is a full support ecosystem. We need a balanced mix, namely investors who include the time necessary to develop advanced technologies, special acceleration programsSES in Agritech which can guide us strategically, and above all access to the field to test our solutions under real conditions. This last point is crucial: having partner farms, quality agricultural data and direct user feedback. It is this combination that will allow us to go to scale and reach the thousands of farmers who could benefit from our technology. Moreover, we are delighted to announce that we recently concluded, during SIAM, a partnership with Crédit Agricole du Maroc to democratize the detection of plant diseases among the thousands of small Moroccan farmers. This is exactly the type of institutional support that helps us accelerate our deployment.
-FNH: Beyond funding, what ecosystem conditions in regulation, access to data or collaboration with the agricultural world are essential to bring out DeepTech solutions really transformative?
EMA: In order for DeepTech and Deepleaf solutions to be able to truly transform agriculture, we have identified three fundamental ecosystem pillars. First, our current collaborations with Zniber agricultural partners and Dakhla agricultural areas have already allowed us to access precious data. This collaborative approach seems to us to be the model to encourage nationally. The second pillar concerns training and awareness. The most advanced technology remains ineffective if end users are not equipped to adopt it. We seek to establish collaborations with agricultural training centers and cooperatives to integrate digital literacy in the courses farmers. This educational dimension is often overlooked in agricultural innovation strategies. Finally, we are convinced that open and collaborative innovation is the key. Platforms that facilitate interactions between startups, farmers, researchers and public institutions create a fertile ground for the emergence of relevant solutions. I would like to emphasize that Morocco has already made remarkable advances in several of these areas, in particular with the Green 2020-2030 generation strategy which integrates digitalization as a priority axis. But to truly release the transformer potential of agricultural Deeptech, we must collectively speed up on these three fronts.
FNH: Your solution is based on artificial intelligence and imaging. How do you adapt your algorithms to local realities of Moroccan agricultural territories, often marked by a great heterogeneity of cultures and practices?
EMA: The adaptation of our technology to Moroccan specificities is at the heart of our approach. Morocco actually presents an extraordinary agricultural mosaic, with various microclimates, cultures diversified and traditional practices that coexist with modern agriculture. To take up this challenge, we are currently working with Zniber domains and Dakhla agricultural areas for data collection and testing of our solutions in the field. These partnerships allow us to refine our algorithms according to cultures actually present in Moroccan farms. A particularly innovative aspect of our solution is our WhatsApp chatbot, which works in Arabic and Darija, with the possibility of interacting by voice messages. Our interface is designed with simple language and recommendations that take into account the available local resources.
FNH: What are your main ambitions today for Deepleaf, both national and international, and how do you envisage your contribution to the transformation of the agricultural sector?
EMA: Our wish for Deepleaf is to become an actor Unavoidable in precision agriculture, not only in Africa, but worldwide. We have a vision that goes beyond the borders of the African continent, while keeping our fundamental difference. In Morocco, we work to democratize access to the diagnosis of plant diseases with simple tools that work on any smartphone or even by WhatsApp, in Arabic, French or local dialect. Internationally, we have already started to deploy beyond Africa. I am happy to announce that we have started collaboration with the Qatar government, via Hassad Food, which now uses our API. It is an important first step towards our global expansion. Our international strategy primarily targets regions that share our agricultural challenges, such as sub -Saharan Africa, tropical areas and southern countries, but our ambition is truly global. Our mission is to reduce this technological gap that exists in agriculture on a planetary scale. Basically, our vision is deeply linked to food sovereignty. By giving farmers the means to better protect their cultures through AI, we help reduce food losses and promote more sustainable practices.
