Ugandan startup SANDI AI Technologies has won $50,000 at the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize 2026 for developing technology aimed at helping smallholder farmers access loans without traditional collateral.
Founded by Nabakka Sandra, SANDI AI received the award during the Africa Food Systems Forum 2026 Summit in Kigali, where entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and agricultural businesses gathered to discuss ways of strengthening the continent’s food systems. The Ugandan agritech startup will use the capital to expand its work connecting smallholder farmers with financing.
The company is building a financing platform that uses agricultural and farmer data to help lenders assess borrowers who may not have conventional collateral or extensive financial records.
That targets a longstanding problem in African agriculture. Smallholder farmers often have land, production experience and established markets but struggle to obtain working capital because they cannot meet the requirements of traditional lenders. SANDI AI is seeking to close that gap by giving financial institutions another way to evaluate farmers while helping producers gain access to credit.
“Farmers should not be limited by systems that were not designed around their realities,” Sandra 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.”
The $50,000 prize will be used to support product development, expansion and efforts to reach more farming communities.
Tackling the Agricultural Credit Gap
Financing is critical to farmers who need to purchase seeds, fertilizer, equipment and other inputs before generating revenue from their harvests. Yet agricultural lending remains difficult for many financial institutions. Farming incomes can be seasonal, records are often limited and conventional collateral requirements exclude a large portion of producers.
SANDI AI is developing tools intended to give lenders a broader view of farmers and their businesses. The company’s approach combines information about agricultural activity with financial assessment, creating a potential pathway for farmers who would otherwise struggle to qualify for credit.
For lenders, the opportunity is to reach a larger pool of agricultural borrowers while improving how risk is assessed. For farmers, increased access to capital could allow them to increase production and invest in their businesses. The model also places SANDI AI in a growing African market where financial technology companies are looking beyond traditional banking customers to serve informal businesses, farmers and other underserved segments.
A Ugandan Startup Takes the Stage
Sandra founded SANDI AI around the challenges faced by African communities, with agriculture emerging as a key area where technology could have a direct economic impact.
Her background in artificial intelligence and sustainable development has shaped the company’s focus on applying technology to practical problems rather than developing products solely for technical applications. The GoGettaz award gives the company both funding and exposure as it seeks to build a larger business around agricultural finance.
SANDI AI emerged from a field of African agrifood ventures competing for recognition through the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize, which supports young entrepreneurs developing businesses across agriculture, food systems and related industries. Its win also provides a boost for Uganda’s startup ecosystem, which has produced companies operating across financial technology, agriculture, logistics and digital services.
Expanding Beyond Uganda
SANDI AI’s immediate focus is on strengthening its platform and reaching more farmers, but the challenge it is addressing extends well beyond Uganda.
Across Africa, agricultural businesses require capital to increase production, while banks and other lenders need better information to determine which farmers can sustainably repay loans. That creates an opportunity for companies capable of connecting the two sides of the market.
For SANDI AI, the GoGettaz prize provides an early pool of capital to test and expand that model. The company will also need to demonstrate that its approach can translate into sustainable lending relationships and a commercially viable business as it expands.
“Farmers deserve financial systems designed around their realities,” Sandra said. “Our ambition is to make access to finance smarter, fairer and more inclusive.”
The prize comes at a time when investors and development institutions are paying closer attention to businesses working at the intersection of agriculture and financial inclusion. For SANDI AI, the next step is to turn the recognition in Kigali into wider adoption among farmers and financial partners. The company’s ambition is straightforward: make it easier for African farmers to obtain the capital they need to grow, while giving lenders better tools to serve a market that remains largely underserved.