KIGALI, Rwanda
Ugandan technology startup SANDI AI Technologies has won the top prize at the 2026 GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize after developing an artificial intelligence-powered platform designed to help smallholder farmers overcome one of agriculture’s most persistent challenges: access to finance.
The startup, founded by Ugandan entrepreneur Sandra Nabakka, emerged as the Grand Prize Winner, earning US$50,000, equivalent to about Shs190 million, in growth funding.
The award was presented during the Africa Food Systems Forum 2026 Summit in Kigali, which brought together entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and agricultural leaders from across Africa to explore solutions to the continent’s food and agricultural challenges.
SANDI AI was recognised for its use of artificial intelligence to help connect farmers with collateral-free financing opportunities, targeting smallholder farmers who often struggle to secure credit through conventional financial institutions.
The victory gives Uganda a major spotlight in Africa’s rapidly expanding agritech sector, where startups are increasingly using technology to tackle challenges ranging from agricultural financing and market access to productivity and climate resilience.
For Nabakka, the award represents recognition of an approach built around a fundamental problem affecting farmers across the continent: conventional financial systems often fail to account for the realities of smallholder agriculture.
“Farmers should not be limited by systems that were not designed around their realities,” Nabakka said. “Technology gives us an opportunity to understand farmers better, recognise their potential, and create pathways that allow them to access the resources they need to grow.”
Agriculture remains a major source of employment and income for millions of African households, but limited access to affordable capital continues to constrain many smallholder farmers.
Farmers without formal employment records, fixed assets or traditional collateral can find it particularly difficult to obtain loans, even when they have productive land, farming experience and established markets for their produce.
SANDI AI is seeking to address this gap by applying artificial intelligence to the agricultural financing process.
The startup’s technology is designed to generate a more comprehensive understanding of individual farmers and their circumstances, potentially enabling financial service providers to identify viable borrowers who may otherwise be excluded by traditional lending requirements.
The model places technology between farmers and financial institutions, seeking to improve the information available for lending decisions while opening alternative pathways to finance.
Nabakka said her interest in the sector stems from a desire to apply emerging technologies to challenges affecting African communities.
With a background in artificial intelligence and sustainable development, she identified agriculture as an area where technology could have a significant impact, particularly given the financing challenges confronting smallholder farmers.
The Shs190 million prize will provide SANDI AI with resources to strengthen its technology, expand its operations and reach more farming communities.
The recognition could also increase the startup’s visibility among investors, development partners, financial institutions and organisations involved in Africa’s growing agritech ecosystem.
SANDI AI’s success comes as artificial intelligence, financial technology and agriculture increasingly converge across the continent.
While Africa has a large population of smallholder farmers in need of affordable financing, financial institutions continue to face difficulties in assessing agricultural borrowers and managing the risks associated with farming.
Agritech companies are consequently developing new technologies intended to improve the information available about farmers, support credit assessment and make financial services more accessible.
The GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize recognises African entrepreneurs developing businesses aimed at addressing challenges in agriculture, food systems, sustainability and rural development.
SANDI AI’s victory places the Ugandan startup among a growing group of African technology companies seeking to build commercially viable solutions around some of the continent’s most pressing economic challenges.
For Nabakka, however, the award is not the end goal.
The company plans to use the funding and international exposure from the competition to strengthen its platform, expand into new markets and increase the number of farmers able to access financial opportunities.
“Our ambition is to make access to finance smarter, fairer, and more inclusive,” Nabakka said.
As African countries seek to raise agricultural productivity, improve food security and expand economic opportunities in rural communities, SANDI AI’s emergence illustrates the growing role technology could play in addressing structural barriers within the sector.
The Ugandan startup is now betting that better use of artificial intelligence and agricultural data can help unlock financing for farmers who have long remained on the margins of formal financial systems.
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