Technological convergence and entrepreneurial opportunities

• Main Author: TAN, Wee Liang
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2018
• Subjects: Strategic Management Policy
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/6026
• Institution: Singapore Management University

There are opportunities for agri-entrepreneurshipenabled by the convergence in technology. The traditional means of businesssubject the consumers and farmers to regimes where the power of demand andsupply are affected by the intermediaries. These intermediaries developed overtime as the individuals or corporations who established supply lines and becamedominant players in specific crops or processed foods. Examples of these can befound in the rice trade, tea trade and commodities such as palm oil, wherethere is concentration of power in the hands of the traders. The convergence ininternet, telecommunications mobile computing and cloud computing technologiesin the last decade has permitted mobile computing where applications once onlyavailable on the desktop, laptop computers and television screens are availableon mobile phones using mobile applications(called “apps”). These technologies enable the suppliers toconnect with the demand side of food supply. Whereas in the past, the knowledge of the sources of supply or demandmight have been limited to certain individuals or organizations to which accessmay need to be obtained, there is great potential for improvements to the foodindustry and for disruptions of the traditional methods and means oftransactions in the food industry. It allows for entrepreneurship inagriculture. This chapter explores thepotential and provides two examples of how new ventures in food business areharnessing the technological convergence to create business opportunities.