PanXchange Concludes Successful Pilot Launch for Web-Based Grain Trading in East Africa

October 16, 2014. Denver, CO.  PanXchange concluded a successful pilot launch for the online negotiation and matching of physical maize and wheat in East Africa. The pilot fine tuned the customization of the Kenyan domestic grain market and illustrated the system’s benefits for the regions’ major physical market participants. Julie Lerner, PanXchange’s Founder and CEO stated, “The program exceeded our expectations. Within the first three weeks we had numerous farmers, millers and warehousing entities registered and endorsing the system. We even had large commercial players in Uganda and Tanzania logging in and trading.” The pilot comprised commercial users representing roughly a million tons of regional volume.

The PanXchange pilot was made possible through a contract with a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) project: Kenya Financial Inclusion for Rural Microenterprises (FIRM). States Mark Rostal, FIRM’s project manager: “So many donor-funded programs focus on yields and pre-harvest development. We are pleased to support a venture that offers commercial and smallholder farmers the opportunity to improve their revenue with both spot and forward negotiations.” He continues, “The PanXchange interface is simple and intuitive, yet provides all players with equal market access, price discovery and operating efficiency.”

Lerner states, “We’re proud to offer a workable solution that could help improve the region’s agrarian economies.” She continues, “It’s an essential step before we can see robust and liquid futures markets while providing an accessible system that will extend quickly to the smallholder level.”

“Garnering support of those trading a million tons of grain in such a short time is remarkable,” Rostal added. “At USAID FIRM, we consider this to be a successful proof-of-concept demonstration of the system and demand for the same. Next, we hope to support PanXchange to launch, expand and commercialize their operations throughout Kenya and the region. We’re confident their system will improve the economic livelihoods and resiliency of millions upon millions of smallholder farmers and their families through this important innovation.”

PanXchange provides a patented web-based negotiation and trading platform specializing in regional and international physical commodities. The system addresses the complexities of cash markets while also facilitating price discovery (transparency) and liquidity and allowing for an efficient transfer of risk. Built by a former Cargill physicals trader, it offers real-time negotiations of multiple fields, granular counterparty management, pricing mechanisms to avoid unwanted influencing of market values, and all of it anonymously in real-time. Combined, these features create a trading platform that obviates the need for clearing services and offers an unprecedented opportunity for objective, real-time, and historical cash market values. For further information, please email info@panxchange.com. Investor relations: Julie@panxchange.com