MazaoHub, Tanzania’agri-tech startup blending artificial intelligence with hands-on agronomy to drive climate-smart farming, has raised $2 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed round to scale AI-powered Smart Farming across Africa.
The raise includes $1.5M in equity, led by Catalyst Fund with participation from Nordic Impact Fund, Mercy Corps Ventures, elea Foundation, Impacc, and DOB Equity. It also includes $500k in non-dilutive capital from the Livelihood Impact Fund, highlighting growing investor appetite for blended finance in climate adaptation.
According to Geophrey Tenganamba, CEO and Co-Founder of MazaoHub, “Farmers become data-driven decision-makers, buyers gain trusted traceability, and agribusinesses operate as climate-smart franchises. This is where sustainability meets scale.”
The new capital will accelerate production of MazaoHub’s low-cost soil kits and sensors, expand its network of Farmer Excellence Centers, and finance the rollout of CropSupply.com, which began piloting earlier this year. With food systems under increasing pressure from climate shocks, MazaoHub’s bet is clear: combine AI, hardware, and human expertise to make farming not just more productive, but fundamentally more efficient and climate-aligned—and for the first time, connect smallholder farmers to global markets with full farm-level traceability.
Investors see MazaoHub as an example of Africa leapfrogging into a data-driven agricultural future. “MazaoHub is showing that African agriculture can blend data insights with local agronomists to enable sustainable farming at scale,” said Maelis Carraro, Founder and Managing Partner at Catalyst Fund.
MazaoHub operates through a hybrid “Tech and Touch” model that combines soil sensors, portable soil kits, and AI-powered farm management software with on-the-ground support from agronomists and access to markets. Its offline-first platform equips farmers with crop dashboards, cost analysis tools, and daily checklists, built for environments with limited connectivity. At the same time, rural agribusinesses are upgraded into Farmer Excellence Centers—described as “agricultural clinics”—where professional agronomists provide in-person guidance informed by digital insights.
At the end of the cycle, MazaoHub connects farmers directly to buyers through CropSupply.com, a sourcing platform that ensures full traceability from soil data to shipment, tackling one of agribusiness’s toughest challenges: supply chain transparency.
The company’s model is designed to deliver both productivity gains and climate benefits. By reducing fertilizer use by up to 30%, boosting organic manure adoption fivefold, and optimizing irrigation, farmers grow more food with fewer inputs while lowering emissions, saving water, and cutting energy use.
“Our investment is driven by its profound climate impact. MazaoHub is cutting emissions, building resilience, and ensuring millions of smallholders are included in the digital transition,” said Lisbeth Stausholm Zacho, Managing Director at Nordic Impact Funds.
The round also brought in local banking partners. CRDB Bank Foundation has signed on to embed inclusive finance into the ecosystem, ensuring that productivity gains translate into improved livelihoods. “By linking financial products to MazaoHub’s soil intelligence and sourcing systems, we can ensure that the benefits farmers achieve with data actually reduce lending risks and drive systemic change,” said Tullyesther Mwambapa the Managing director of CRDB Foundation.
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