Open research
We commission and publish independent research on trade finance infrastructure, smallholder financial inclusion, and the measurable outcomes of verified digital trade data. All research is freely accessible.
FOUNDATION · 2026
Impact & Research · AXK Network Ecosystem
The infrastructure is public. The impact is shared.
The Afrikabal Empowerment Foundation supports the open data, research, and digital inclusion work that makes AXK Network's impact measurable and its benefits equitably distributed. We publish, we fund, and we measure.
- Millions
- Smallholder households we exist to serve
- $2.5T
- Annual trade-finance gap
- 5 SDGs
- We measure & report against
- Open
- Research, data, and access
Mission
Research, data, and access for those the network exists to serve.
AXK Network is built as Digital Public Infrastructure — shared, neutral, and open to all qualifying participants. But infrastructure that is technically open can still be practically inaccessible if knowledge required to participate is not freely available, if initial costs are prohibitive, and if outcomes are not independently measured. The Foundation exists to close these three gaps.
Open data
We maintain publicly available datasets derived from anonymised, aggregated verified trade activity on AXK Network. Researchers, policymakers, and international organisations can access this data without restriction.
Access grants
We fund initial network participation for smallholder cooperatives and farmer groups who meet our impact criteria but cannot self-fund the onboarding cost. Grants are awarded by an independent selection committee.
Research
The questions we are designed to answer.
- R-01 · TRADE FINANCE GAP
The trade finance gap at the farm level
How large is the trade finance gap for individual smallholder farmers and cooperatives in Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Tanzania? What is the current rejection rate for trade finance applications from cooperative-level entities? What would access to verified trade data change about these rates?
- R-02 · EUDR COMPLIANCE
EUDR compliance economics
What is the current cost to a smallholder cooperative of generating EUDR compliance documentation through manual means? What is the opportunity cost of EU market exclusion? What is the verifiable economic impact of automated compliance generation?
- R-03 · CREDIT ACCESS
Verified data and credit access
What is the measurable relationship between access to verified trade history and first-time credit access rates? How does a verified credit profile change the terms — interest rate, collateral requirement, repayment period — offered by microfinance institutions?
- R-04 · SDG OUTCOMES
SDG outcomes from trade verification
How do the SDG 8, 9, 13, 16, and 17 outcomes supported by AXK Network translate into measurable indicators? What methodology should be used to independently verify and report on these outcomes?
Open data
Anonymised, verified, publicly accessible.
The Foundation publishes anonymised, aggregated datasets derived from verified trade activity on AXK Network. All datasets are stripped of personally identifiable information. All data originates from cryptographically verified network events — making it the most reliable source of ground-truth commodity trade data available from the Global South.
East Africa commodity trade flows
Monthly volumes, commodity types, origin-destination corridors — aggregated across Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia.
Smallholder credit access outcomes
Anonymised credit application outcomes correlated with verified trade history — the empirical relationship between verified data and credit access.
EUDR compliance rates by region
Compliance documentation generation rates and coverage gaps. The first ground-truth dataset on EUDR compliance preparedness in Global South commodity corridors.
Supply chain verification coverage
Percentage of East African commodity export volume covered by verified custody chains — refreshed quarterly from XRPL data.
Access grants
Funding participation for those who need it most.
- 01Step 1 · Apply
Apply
Smallholder cooperatives and farmer groups with at least 20 active members and at least one verified export in the prior 12 months are eligible to apply. Applications are reviewed quarterly by an independent selection committee.
- 02Step 2 · Assessment
Assessment
The selection committee assesses applications against three criteria: number of farmers whose economic output would become verifiable, estimated trade finance gap currently faced, and likelihood of sustained network participation beyond the grant period.
- 03Step 3 · Award
Award
Successful applicants receive a grant covering their initial AXK Network onboarding cost and first 12 months of network access fees. Grants do not create equity or commercial obligations.
Partner with the Foundation
Partner with the Foundation to measure what matters.
We welcome research partnerships, data use agreements, grant co-funding, and institutional collaborations. All Foundation activities are governed independently from the commercial AXK Network.