The startup plans to launch a credit-scoring API for financial institutions and expand its lending model to Kenya during the fourth quarter
UfarmX, a Nigerian agricultural technology startup that uses a blockchain ledger to connect smallholder farmers with supply markets, has facilitated more than $6.8 million in commerce across Nigeria, Senegal and Liberia. The platform manages transactions for over 17,000 credit-scored farmers and a network of retail partners, providing agricultural workers with data to manage operations and secure inputs on credit.
The company bypasses traditional banking structures by using its insured retailer channel to issue collateral-free credit. This channel maintains a net default rate of 1.17 percent. The direct lending approach served as the initial proof of concept for the underwriting technology before shifting to the current partner structure.
“Farmers repaid, yields improved, revenues grew. But banks move too slowly to build a company around. So we built the retail model instead – local retailers extend credit to farmers using our data, without needing a bank in the loop at all,” Alexander Zanders, CEO of UfarmX, told Disrupt Africa.
Building on this lending model, the startup will release a credit-scoring API at the end of the year. The interface will allow banks to process agricultural loan applications using UfarmX’s underwriting infrastructure, operating similar to American credit bureaus Equifax and Experian. Ahead of the API release, the company is engaging with financial institutions and input producers to provide early access to the system.
The platform will also launch in Kenya, its first East African market, during the fourth quarter. The startup previously expanded its operations into Senegal in 2023.
Zanders views the platform’s data infrastructure as a mechanism to structure commercial investments in the region rather than seeking philanthropic funding.
“African agriculture gets looked at through the lens of impact, when the opportunity for capitalisation is immense. This isn’t charity. It’s the largest credit market still sitting untouched,” said Zanders.
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