App developed in Glasgow aims to help African farmers

The app aims to help vets and farmers quickly and diagnose livestock illness

A new mobile app developed in Scotland could help millions of African farmers save their animals from disease.

Glasgow-based company Cojengo has teamed up with software giant Microsoft to provide "innovative diagnostic tools and disease surveillance data".

The VetAfrica app is targeted for Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania.

Cojengo managing director Craig Taylor said: "We feel we can make a huge impact across Africa and genuinely change lives for the better."

The app aims to enable vets, animal health workers and rural farmers to quickly and accurately diagnose livestock illness and identify which drugs are most effective to treat disease.

'Improve growth'

Cojengo predicts that, with more than 100 million farmers spread across thousands of square miles in East Africa, there will be a massive growth of mobile and cloud tech solutions in its African markets.

It received support and advice from Business Gateway Glasgow, Scottish Enterprise, University of Strathclyde's Entrepreneurial Network and the Gabriel Investment Syndicate.

Mr Taylor said that the support was vital, along with the partnership with Microsoft and the Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative, in getting the app "into the hands of those who need it most very quickly".

Microsoft public sector general manager Derrick McCourt said his company was "proud to help take Scottish innovation to the global stage with smart use of technology that will improve economic growth and support the livelihoods of rural African communities".

The development was announced by Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who praised the way Cojengo had "embraced and tapped into the mobile revolution sweeping Africa" as a way of tackling animal health issues.