Ugandan agritech startup Sandi AI is helping smallholder farmers buy solar irrigation equipment without taking a loan. It builds on the savings groups that farmers already belong to, Disrupt Africa reported.
How it works
A group leader registers the group and its members through WhatsApp, USSD or Sandi AI’s app, and each member picks the equipment they need. Instead of one member taking home the pooled cash each round, as in a traditional savings group (similar to ajo or esusu in Nigeria), the money buys equipment for one member at a time until everyone has theirs.
Because Sandi AI does not lend, there is no collateral, no credit score and no risk of equipment being repossessed over missed payments.
“Banks wanted collateral and land titles, while suppliers wanted full payment upfront and digital lenders wanted credit histories.”
Douglas Albert Kikonyogo, founder
Scale
Founded in 2021 by Douglas Albert Kikonyogo, the startup says it has registered more than 10,000 farmer groups, representing hundreds of thousands of people, across Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. It plans to expand to Zambia and Malawi. Revenue, from transaction fees, supplier commissions, product sales and advisory services, has grown to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, largely without outside funding.
Limited internet access among farmers pushed the company to rely on WhatsApp, USSD and field officers, and to build its own supplier and installation networks in rural areas.
Why it matters
Irrigation can let farmers grow crops through the dry season, but most smallholders across Africa, including in northern Nigeria, cannot afford the upfront cost. Using trusted community savings instead of debt is a model that could travel well to other markets where group savings are already common.
Source: Disrupt Africa.
