Ugandan agritech startups connect with investors, businesses in the Netherlands
Uganda grows a range of crops and food on its fertile land, and its agricultural potential is immense. Yet, only a third of arable land is being used and many processes are outdated. Modernizing the sector and helping small holders access financing would increase productivity for sustainable economic growth.
To that end, The Netherlands Trust Fund V at the International Trade Centre (ITC) invited two agritech startups from Uganda to join a solution-sharing experience with farmers, agricultural suppliers, and investors in the Netherlands.
The visit was organized by the Uganda Netherlands Business Convention and included field trips designed around the relationship between farmers, the industries that supply them and processes driving agricultural innovation.
Eric Nana Kwabena Agyei, managing director of Uganda-based MobiPay AgroSys, said meeting the Dutch firms was an ‘amazing experience’.
Agyei spent his childhood holidays on his grandparents’ farm. Today he grows bananas, cassava and potatoes on his own land. He was fascinated to see how deeply technology has penetrated Netherlands agriculture.
‘Everything on the farm is automated. With a click of a button on their phone the farmer can see which cow has gone for milking, its feeding times, when the cow needs to be treated, and so on,’ said Agyei. ‘It’s all done automatically. One dairy has 170 cows on 50 acres, and only four adults running the entire operation,’ he said.
MobiPay AgroSys was created to bring innovative solutions and financial services to African farmers. The platform has 100,000 active users out of 400,000 farmers registered on their mobile phone platform.
Agyei now aspires to adapt some of the technology he saw to Uganda. ‘We may not be able to do everything, for example chipping the cows and using satellite systems, but we can use some modules to build on what we have,’ he said.
‘Exchanges like this one helps us build systems that can help Ugandan farmers. If we could take even just 50 farmers a year and expose them to the US and European Union agriculture, we could bring about a huge change in Uganda,’ said Agyei.
Incorporating technology into farming
The business visits and networking also energized Uganda-based fintech Ensibuuko, a company focused on financial inclusion for underserved communities, including farmers.
CEO Gerald Otim said interacting with Dutch businesses let him understand their strategic thinking. ‘We saw how they built success across generations. It was great to see into the minds of other entrepreneurs in a different market.’
‘It was also interesting that businesses in the Netherlands grow by investing heavily in technology. In Uganda we grow by adding more employees. We need to find ways to automate repetitive tasks, keeping recurring expenses low and increasing production and revenue.’
Otim saw particularly positive outcomes. Ensibuuko won 25,000 euros in commitments from investors for a new product launching in January. That service will allow individuals to invest into savings groups in Uganda, with as little as $60-1,500.
‘We were surprised at how big the Ugandan community is in the Netherlands, and their appetite for investing back home,’ said Otim.
Exclusion from financial services is a perpetual problem in Uganda, Otim explained. Some nine million people in Uganda access funds through informal savings groups and cooperatives rather than banks. Ensibuuko provides digital platforms that automate transactions and provide mobile payment options and capital.
Otim also discussed investment opportunities with Rabobank, a cooperative bank that embraces innovation, growth, and sustainability. The bank has since sent a team to visit their company in Uganda.
Agyei of MobiPay AgroSys also strives to tap into Netherlands investors and businesses on what Uganda has to offer. ‘We have tech platforms for them to see and directly source what Ugandan farmers are producing, such as organic sesame and sunflower oil, chia seeds, avocado, pineapple and mango.’
NTF V also guides tech and agritech startups on how to enter regulated markets such as the EU with training on governance and structure, ISO certification, business strategy models, and creating critical business linkages.
‘Uganda is a young country with a high unemployment rate, yet most businesses are unprepared and they fail. And when they fail young people fall back into unemployment and poverty,’ Otim explained.
About the project
The Netherlands Trust Fund V (NTF) (July 2021 – June 2025) is based on a partnership between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands and the International Trade Centre. The programme supports MSMEs in the digital technologies and agribusiness sectors. Its ambition is two-fold: to contribute to an inclusive and sustainable transformation of food systems, partially through digital solutions, and drive the internationalization of tech start-ups and export of IT&BPO companies in selected Sub-Saharan African countries.
