Tanzanian startup Kilimo BaNDO is a digital marketplace that connects smallholder farmers to essential agricultural services, using technology to address inefficiencies in the agricultural financing ecosystem and empower farmers with resources to boost productivity, income, and sustainability.
Bizy Tech, the company behind Kilimo BaNDO, was formed in 2015 to digitise agriculture in Tanzania, and has rolled out a host of products. Kilimo Bora offers access to agronomy advice, Kilimo Akiba, Kilimo MKopa, and Kilimo Bina offer access to financial products, and Kilimo Soko provides market linkages.
“We identified inefficiencies in access to quality inputs, timely financing, and reliable market linkages for over nine million smallholder farmers in Tanzania. Current solutions lack integration and scalability, making our platform uniquely positioned to fill this gap,” said Rahim Shoo, chief of product and business development.
The platform has seen strong uptake, with 1.8 million farmers actively using KILIMO BaNDO’s underlying infrastructure for input access and financial services.
“Adoption is growing as we expand our network of agro-dealers, financial institutions, and rural agents,” Shoo said.
KILIMO BaNDO has raised funds through grants, debt financing, and partnerships with organisations like the MasterCard Foundation, CRDB Bank, UNDP Funguo Catalytic Fund, UNCDF Tanzania and the GSMA Innovation Fund. Expansion plans include scaling to neighbouring countries in the Great Lakes region, and eventually the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa.
“We generate revenue through subscription fees for KILIMO BORA and AgriMerchant services, a transaction-based model on inputs, and revenue share from partnerships with financial institutions. Current revenues are growing as we scale operations, with profitability expected within the next nine months with completion of expected fundraising,” Shoo said.
