Tanzanian agri-tech company MazaoHub has secured $2 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed round to expand its AI-driven farming solutions across Africa.
The funding, comprising $1.5 million in equity led by Catalyst Fund alongside Nordic Impact Fund, Mercy Corps Ventures, elea Foundation, Impacc and DOB Equity, plus $500,000 in non-dilutive capital from the Livelihood Impact Fund, will help the company boost production of its low-cost soil sensors, grow its Farmer Excellence Centres and roll out CropSupply.com, an online produce marketplace piloted earlier this year.
“Farmers become data-driven decision-makers, buyers gain trusted traceability, and agribusinesses operate as climate-smart franchises.
“This is where sustainability meets scale,” said Geophrey Tenganamba, MazaoHub’s CEO and co-founder.
MazaoHub Profile
Founded in 2021 in Dar es Salaam by agronomist-turned-entrepreneur Geophrey Tenganamba and a team of data scientists, MazaoHub blends artificial intelligence with hands-on agronomy to help smallholder farmers increase yields while cutting costs.
Its “Tech and Touch” model provides AI-powered soil intelligence, precision farm-management tools and local farmer-support centers.
The company has already served more than 15,000 farmers across Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, according to internal figures, and has seen a fivefold rise in organic manure adoption among its clients.
The Newly Secured Funding
The $2 million pre-seed round demonstrates a growing appetite for climate-adaptation investments in Africa. Catalyst Fund led the equity raise, calling MazaoHub a “proof point that data-driven farming can scale sustainably.”
About $500,000 of the capital comes as non-dilutive funding, meaning the company will not give up ownership stakes for that portion.
This financing follows earlier angel investments of roughly $250,000, bringing MazaoHub’s total funding to $2.25 million.
Plans for the Future
With the new capital, MazaoHub will accelerate production of its low-cost soil kits and deploy thousands of new sensors designed to monitor soil health and guide irrigation. The company also plans to expand its network of Farmer Excellence Centres from 25 to 60 across East Africa within 18 months.
Another key priority is scaling CropSupply.com, a digital marketplace that connects farmers directly with bulk buyers, giving them better prices and traceable supply chains.
“Our goal is to equip every smallholder with actionable insights and market access that can double their income within three years,” Tenganamba said.
How Does MazaoHub’s Farmers Excellence Center Operate?
MazaoHub’s Farmer Excellence Centre (FEC) serves as a community hub where smallholder farmers receive on-the-spot agronomy advice, AI-powered soil testing, and direct market connections.
Farmers bring soil samples for rapid analysis with MazaoHub’s low-cost sensors, then get personalized crop and irrigation plans designed to boost yields while cutting fertiliser use by up to 30 percent.
The centres host training sessions and demonstration plots on climate-smart practices, and staff help farmers register on CropSupply.com to sell produce directly to buyers.
Field officers also track crop performance and feed results back into MazaoHub’s system, creating a continuous loop of data and support that helps farmers increase productivity, lower costs, and adapt to changing climate conditions.
Why It Matters
Agriculture employs more than 60 percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s workforce but remains highly vulnerable to climate change.
MazaoHub’s platform reduces fertilizer use by up to 30 percent while optimizing irrigation, cutting water use and lowering energy costs.
By helping farmers grow more with fewer inputs, the company also reduces greenhouse-gas emissions linked to conventional farming practices.
Maelis Carraro, managing partner at Catalyst Fund, said, “MazaoHub is showing that African agriculture can blend data insights with local agronomists to enable sustainable farming at scale.”
Growing Market for Climate-Smart Solutions
The African agri-tech sector is expanding rapidly, with market value projected to reach $1 billion by 2030, according to a 2024 report by the African Development Bank.
Climate-smart agriculture investments on the continent grew 23 percent year-on-year in 2024, reflecting a global shift toward sustainable food systems. MazaoHub’s model aligns with these trends by offering both economic and environmental gains.
Farmer Impact and Adoption
Early data from MazaoHub indicates that participating farmers have increased crop yields by an average of 25 percent while reducing input costs by nearly one-third.
Farmers who benefited from MazaoHub’s products endorse the project when one reported that:
“Before MazaoHub, I relied on guesswork. Now I know exactly what my soil needs and when to irrigate. My maize harvest nearly doubled last season.”
Such outcomes illustrate the potential for technology to transform livelihoods and bolster food security across the continent.
Talking Point
MazaoHub’s “Tech and Touch” model, combining AI-driven soil analysis with local agronomy expertise, offers a scalable path to stronger food security, rural prosperity, and climate resilience across Africa.
By helping farmers cut fertiliser use by up to 30 percent while raising yields about 25 percent, it can boost food production without expanding farmland, a crucial step for feeding a population expected to hit 2.5 billion by 2050.
Direct market access through platforms like CropSupply.com lifts farm incomes and stimulates local businesses, creating jobs in logistics, data services, and equipment maintenance.
At the same time, its climate-smart practices, optimized irrigation, lower emissions, and wider adoption of organic manure, align with Africa’s sustainability goals and attract climate finance.
If MazaoHub maintains quality as it scales, its model could transform smallholder farming from subsistence to market-driven enterprise, strengthening both economies and ecosystems across the continent.
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