Ugandan technology startup SANDI AI Technologies has won the 2026 GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize, receiving US$50,000 in growth funding for its work at the intersection of artificial intelligence, agriculture and financial inclusion.
Founded by Ugandan entrepreneur Nabakka Sandra, the startup received the female-led Grand Prize during the Africa Food Systems Forum 2026 in Kigali, Rwanda. The award recognises African businesses developing commercially viable solutions to major challenges across agriculture and food systems.
AI targets one of agriculture’s biggest challenges.
SANDI AI is using artificial intelligence to address a problem that continues to affect millions of smallholder farmers across Africa: limited access to affordable financing.
Traditional lenders often require borrowers to provide collateral, formal income records, fixed assets or established credit histories. For many smallholder farmers, these requirements can prevent them from accessing the money they need to purchase inputs, improve irrigation, expand production or respond to new market opportunities.
SANDI AI is developing an alternative approach that uses technology to assess farmers and connect them with financial opportunities without relying exclusively on conventional collateral requirements.
Building financial technology around farmers.
The company’s approach reflects a wider shift in African technology, where startups are increasingly applying AI to sectors that have historically been underserved by conventional digital finance.
Agriculture is particularly suited to alternative financial assessment because farmers generate information through their production activities, land use, market relationships and farming practices. Turning relevant information into useful financial insights could give lenders new ways to understand agricultural businesses and manage lending risks.
For farmers, the potential benefit is significant. Access to working capital can determine whether a small farm remains focused on subsistence production or develops into a commercially sustainable enterprise.
SANDI AI is therefore attempting to bridge two traditionally separate areas of Africa’s digital economy: artificial intelligence and agricultural finance.
The prize gives the startup room to scale.
SANDI AI plans to use the US$50,000 award to continue developing its technology, expand into new markets and reach more farming communities.
The funding comes at a time when African investors and development organisations are increasingly looking for technology capable of addressing structural problems rather than simply creating new consumer applications.
For SANDI AI, the immediate opportunity is to turn recognition at a major continental competition into measurable adoption among farmers and financial partners.
The GoGettaz programme awards two US$50,000 grand prizes each year, one to a female-led venture and another to a male-led venture, alongside additional impact awards. The programme is designed to support young African agrifood entrepreneurs developing scalable businesses across the food value chain.
Uganda’s technology ecosystem gains continental visibility.
SANDI AI’s victory also highlights Uganda’s growing presence in Africa’s technology and agritech landscape.
The country has produced startups working across financial technology, agriculture, artificial intelligence and digital services, with entrepreneurs increasingly developing solutions for regional markets rather than focusing exclusively on domestic demand.
For Sandra and her team, the GoGettaz recognition provides both funding and continental visibility. It also places the startup in front of investors, agricultural organisations and policymakers who are looking for practical technologies capable of improving Africa’s food systems.
The award was presented at the Africa Food Systems Forum, which brought together entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and agricultural stakeholders from across the continent.
AI still faces an important test in agriculture.
While artificial intelligence offers new possibilities for assessing agricultural businesses, its effectiveness will ultimately depend on the quality of the data available and how accurately its models reflect the realities of smallholder farming.
African agriculture is highly diverse. Farmers operate under different climatic conditions, market structures, land arrangements and financial systems. A technology that works in one market may therefore require significant adaptation before it can be deployed elsewhere.
There is also the question of whether farmers can access the digital tools required to participate in AI-enabled financial systems. Connectivity, digital literacy and trust will remain important considerations as companies attempt to bring technology deeper into rural communities.
From recognition to real-world impact.
SANDI AI’s $50,000 prize is relatively modest compared with the scale of Africa’s agricultural financing gap, but the significance of the award lies in what it represents.
The startup is part of a new generation of African technology companies attempting to use artificial intelligence to solve problems that directly affect livelihoods. Instead of applying AI only to entertainment, customer service or general business automation, SANDI AI is directing the technology toward agricultural finance.
The next stage will be proving that its approach can operate at scale, attract financial partners and deliver better access to capital for farmers.
If it succeeds, SANDI AI could demonstrate how African-built artificial intelligence can move beyond experimentation and become a practical tool for financial inclusion, agricultural growth and rural economic development.
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