RUSSEL LUCK H’24
SaaS Auction Software Layering Fintech, Insuretech & Data Products - Leaders in African Livestock Trading
swiftVEE is a SaaS auction software company providing third-party Fintech, Insuretech and Data Products across its online platforms. swiftVEE software is used in over 15 different industries but enjoys a competitive moat in Agriculture as the largest online livestock trading platform on the continent. It operates in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and the USA.
SwiftVEE positions itself as an excellent investment opportunity who have delivered 18x on capital in under 5 years. However, they pride themselves on the immense social impact they have generated in the spheres of Financial Inclusion / Climate Change / Sustainability / Gender Equity (53% female team / 75% leadership positions female / female co-founder)
Livestock trading in SA is valued at $200bn annually. Traditionally, farmers had to travel to physical auctions to buy livestock as they needed to see the quality of the animals in real-time. Due to massive geographical distances between farms, this created a fragmented market where sellers couldn’t reach the right buyers. During periods of drought, cattle died on the land before they could be given away due to a lack of local buyers. The problem of disconnected markets is a global problem and not only a South African/African challenge.
Luck is a technology attorney who, in 2016, believed that AI would take most of the jobs in the world but that as populations grew, there would be a growing need to produce food more efficiently. Africa has the best opportunity to produce food due to the abundance of space and excellent biodiversity. He started researching agritech opportunities that could make an impact and solve a big problem and in 2019, after 3 years of R&D, launched swiftVEE as the first agritech platform for the livestock trading industry.
“I aspire to solve the world's biggest problems by creating profitable technology companies.”
Incorporating AI with human ingenuity to revolutionize agriculture for Africa and the world
Luck set about developing a technology solution made for Africa, instead of white-labeling something from overseas that wasn’t fit for purpose. Their real-time livestreaming platform offers online auction advertising, livestock and game insurance and online auctions. It also works in areas where there is virtually no internet connection with almost zero latency. Buyers from anywhere in the world can purchase livestock in real-time from farms anywhere in Africa.
Since launching in 2019, the company has grown 100% year-on-year and has expanded from South Africa into Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe and they are looking to enter the USA, Europe and China in the next 3-5 years. They have 100 000 users across their platform and sell approximately $100m worth of livestock online annually. The company generates wealth for Africans and has created a digital sales channel where African farmers and stakeholders can reach international buyers. The company generates revenue via SaaS – fee per use with a capped commission on sales.
LEARN MORE ABOUT swiftVEE
swiftVEE is the world’s first multi-disciplinary agritech platform for the livestock trading industry.
Reinventing agriculture through technology
ABOUT RUSSEL LUCK
Luck has a BA in law, politics and history, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Cape Town and a Master of Laws in Information Communication and Technology law from the University of South Africa.
swiftVEE has won several awards, including Google Launchpad winner in 2018, Facebook-MEST Most Innovative SA Company in Africa 2018, GSA Startup of the Year 2018, TT100 Winner 2019, United Nations Best E-Agri Platform in the world 2020, Startup Grind Top 25 Companies 2021 and Standard Bank Rise Above the Noise Series 2022.
I AM A HARAMBEAN
Luck believes that his future learnings will come from peers with experience who have traversed a similar journey. He wants to learn from peers doing business in Africa and believes that the Alliance will build a better Africa for all entrepreneurs trying to make a difference and tackle big challenges on the continent and beyond.
“I hope that swiftVEE is able to make a modest contribution towards empowering African farmers to reach new markets.”