Luvo Gugwana, the brains behind Green Arch Innovations, leads a company that is at the forefront of providing smart farming systems for entrepreneurs aiming to find a breakthrough in the agriculture space.
Green Arch Innovations is in the business of designing agricultural systems such as infrastructure, tunnels, hydroponics systems and aquaponics systems that enhance the capacity of farmers to achieve significantly higher yields.
They are also involved in providing agriculture-based training for farmers to bring them up to speed with the industry’s modern methods.
A Passion for Agriculture
Born and raised in Ntambankulu – located in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa – Luvo grew up in a predominantly rural community where he was actively involved in agriculture for a livelihood.
“I did my education there before going to Durban to study for a Bachelors of Health Sciences in medical orthotics and prosthetics,” Luvo recalls.
It was while he was still at university that the entrepreneurship bug bit him.
“I was really actively involved in community outreach programmes from the research office where we would go out to communities to address community challenges through entrepreneurship,” he added.
The Birth of Green Arch Innovation
With very little financial resources, Luvo took a giant leap of faith when he single handedly established a company that he hoped would become a foundation upon which to help farmers increase their yields.
“And that is where my journey for my company Green Arch Innovation started. I was still pursuing my qualification so I would use my spare time to do research around the agricultural space to see how I can find my place there.
“This came naturally for me since I was someone who was coming from a rural community that was really agriculturally intensive. So that was my interest, and I founded the company Green Arch Innovations that focusses on smart farming systems.
“We design greenhouse tunnels to irrigation systems, and I think our I would say our flagship project that we’re known for in South Africa is our aquaponics systems.”
Superior Farming Systems
Luvo recalls how Green Arch Innovations was able to make an impact primarily because of the need by farmers to embrace modern agricultural methods and more efficient and productive means of growing food.
“Food is something that people will always need forever. And what really inspired me in this agricultural space, especially with the solutions that we are providing, was that we are trying to address serious operational issues that are faced by farmers.
“These issues come from infrastructure, systems and processes that we are trying to improve so that farmers can get better yields and get better production levels. We are also introducing alternative farming methods, systems that would allow farmers to grow produce at any time of the year and at any season.
“So that’s really what inspired me because we need to look at which areas have untapped potential.”
Embracing Modern Trends
With an ever-evolving agricultural landscape, Luvo and his team at Green Arch Innovations have realized the need to keep up with the changing modern trends that have come to characterize the industry they are operating in.
“We really try by all means to align our company with the modern trends, to align our company with the new emerging technologies in the market. We use AI in some of our systems and we are also now in the process of exploring how we can integrate blockchain into agriculture.
“It is very important for us to stay ahead of the curve. To us, this means constantly updating our systems, constantly improving your services to our clients so that we can offer better service to our clients and also cement our market share as well within the market.”
From Challenges to Successes
Like many businesses, penetrating the market was something that proved quite difficult for Luvo and his company, especially during their formative years. They managed to overcome this challenge through innovation and an unyielding spirit.
“Market penetration and market access are one of the challenges that most entrepreneurs face and for us it was no different. As we continued pushing hard, new markets started opening up and we were able to consolidate markets.
“Additionally, financial challenges can also present many challenges. It is for this reason that we cannot really expand at the rapid rate that we really want to so that we continue to grow our company,” Luvo added.
Along the way, however, the successes have overshadowed the challenges and have given them the impetus to keep striving to achieve their goals.
“We won the Engine Pitch and Polish in 2021 and then we also won the South African Climate Adaptive Award (SACA) as well as more accolades. These are some of the milestones that have validated our work and have given us a reason to keep on believing that we are on the right track
“We are currently working on an initiative where we are doing an aquaponics system for schools, and this is something that me and my team are very passionate about.”
