Africa’s farmers are often described as “too risky” for banks and investors. But Alexander Zanders, founder and CEO of UfarmX, sees a different story: they are not risky, they are invisible. His mission is to change that. By digitising farmer profiles, using AI to build credit scores, and deploying trusted local youth agents, UfarmX is proving that farmers are underserved. The platform connects farmers directly to lenders, buyers, and input providers, turning once “invisible” communities into financially visible clients.

Operating across Nigeria, Senegal, and beyond, UfarmX is helping women’s groups, widows, and smallholder communities unlock capital, reduce post-harvest losses, and build generational wealth. In this interview with AgroCentric, Zanders shares his journey from tech entrepreneur to agrifintech leader, and why he believes farmer data itself is becoming a financial product.

You started out in exports and crypto. What was your early journey like before agriculture?

I’ve always had that entrepreneurial drive. Back in 2011, when I was at Temple University, I came across an article about Apple’s upcoming iPad 2. It explained how a tsunami in Japan had disrupted a factory that produced the chips. Apple had to ration the U.S. release, and since they didn’t do global launches then, I knew demand overseas would skyrocket.

So I started camping outside Apple stores at three in the morning, buying the maximum two iPads allowed per person, and reselling them the same day to buyers in China for nearly double the price. As I made more money, I paid other students a hundred dollars to wait in line too. Soon, I was running a small arbitrage business.

When that boom slowed down, I shifted into exporting mobile devices and electronics more broadly to Dubai, Nigeria, and the Dominican Republic. Around that time, I began using Bitcoin to settle payments. This was back when a coin was $10. Moving money across borders was tough, but crypto made it easier. That period gave me two things: the ability to spot hidden opportunities and the experience to operate across different markets. Both turned out to be essential when I later entered agriculture.

What led you from that world into agriculture?

My daughter was born in 2015, and I always joke that she either saved or ruined my life; the verdict’s still out. But after her birth, I started looking for something more meaningful. I moved from New York to Maryland, and around that time, a Nigerian friend invited me to the Sunbelt Agricultural Expo in Moultrie, Georgia. That trip changed my perspective. It showed me that food production is something resilient, an industry that matters in any economy. It was eye-opening because, in Georgia, I saw people picking cotton by hand in 2015. That shocked me.

Later, I travelled back to Nigeria with my family and told my grandmother about my new interest in agriculture. She gifted me 2,000 acres of land in Oyo State. But that gift created family conflict. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I bought 100 acres separately and used that land for my first proof-of-concept farm. We planted cassava, maize, and soybeans. That was really the start of my journey into agriculture.

What was the one thing that stood out for you, especially in the sector?

When I first visited the land my grandmother gifted me, I noticed a white powder along the roads everywhere I went. After asking questions, I found out it was cassava. The traditional way of processing it into garri or other products is to grind the tuber and let it dry in the sun. Coming from a Western academic background, I grew up and studied in the States, so I assumed it would be simple. I saw that cassava was abundant and that local farmers were producing it, so my initial idea was to build a cassava processing plant. I thought farmers would supply it, and I’d essentially be printing money. 

But as you know, the thesis and the reality on the ground in Africa are two very different things. I first invested in what I thought was a bankable business proposal and even looked into loans. But during that time, the naira kept weakening by the day. That’s when I realised I needed to slow down, learn more, and take my time. Still, what initially stood out to me was the clear opportunity in cassava processing.

Was there a specific moment when you realised this was your path?

Yes. After our first harvest, I noticed our yield was significantly higher than that of the local farmers around us. I’m not a professional farmer, so I wanted to understand why. We spoke with the farmers and realised the problem wasn’t knowledge. These farmers have been farming their whole lives. There’s a misconception that farmers are uneducated, but they know their business well. The real issue was access. I’ve always believed farmers don’t need aid; they need access.

We started small, working with 15 farmers. I dug deeper and learned about the broader opportunity: Africa has nearly 70% of the world’s remaining arable land, and about 80% of its population works in food production. That’s nearly 600 million farmers, yet less than 3% of commercial lending goes to agriculture. Over 90% of farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa lack access to institutional finance. As a result, they produce at a rate 11 times lower per acre than American farmers. None of this made sense.

So, we provided those 15 farmers with inputs on credit for their maize harvest. The results were powerful: Their yields tripled, and their revenues more than doubled. Beyond the impact, the model was profitable for us, too. We earned margins on the inputs by buying wholesale and selling retail, gained revenue from the credit facility, and secured purchase orders and invoices that generated additional sales income.

After that pilot, I returned to the States at the end of 2022 for the UN General Assembly in New York. There, I met a French wealth manager who connected me directly to an MD at a bank in Senegal. That’s really where the UfarmX story begins.

I’m really interested in UfarmX. What’s the core mission, and how does it work?

Our core mission is scaling access to finance for farmers, essentially making African farmers bankable. We digitise their profiles, use AI to score their creditworthiness, and then connect them to the inputs they need to maximise productivity.

When we first started, onboarding was done through local agents. Smartphone penetration in rural areas is still low, and trust is a big issue. By hiring agents directly from farming communities, we leveraged their social capital. Farmers already trusted them, which helped us build long-term relationships. Many times, when you enter a new village, the first question is whether you’re part of an NGO. NGOs are known for coming, taking photos, and disappearing. Our agent networks allowed us to remain engaged, which is essential for building something sustainable in Africa. Tech alone isn’t enough; you need personal engagement and boots on the ground.

These agents use our mobile application to collect farmer data. Each farmer then has a digital profile, which our algorithm analyses to generate a credit score. We collect geospatial and socioeconomic data: GPS location, proximity to roads and markets, farm photos, family size, input usage, smartphone ownership, and financial capacity. Our technology weighs all these factors to assess risk, and so far, our default rate has been below 10%.

So you help them build credit records. But how do they actually access finance?

We don’t give farmers cash directly. Instead, we provide in-kind support, seeds, fertilisers, and inputs. Initially, we funded this from our own balance sheets, distributing packages through our agent networks. Later, we signed agreements with cooperatives to onboard farmers.

Today, we’re scaling by deploying UfarmX software directly at points of sale, the retailers where farmers buy seeds, fertilisers, and equipment. This allows retailers to offer “buy now, pay later” services safely. Farmers approved by our system can access inputs, and we back them with guarantees. If a farmer defaults, UfarmX steps in to cover repayment.

Have you had issues with defaults or false information?

We do have a verification team that checks the accuracy of farmer data. While no system is perfect, verification has helped reduce risk. Defaults have occurred, but mostly due to challenges with perishable crops like tomatoes. Farmers wanted to repay, but poor transport infrastructure led to spoilage. At that time, we relied on informal logistics without insurance, often using horse-drawn carts called banabanas. When produce was lost in transit, it became a total loss for us.

Now, under the retailer-led model, we partner with insurers. If a farmer defaults, the insurance covers a portion of the loss, making the system more resilient and scalable.

How does that work in practice for farmers without collateral or credit history?

We don’t ask for collateral. Our system collects alternative data: GPS, plot size, crop cycle, historical yields, input purchases, mobile money patterns, and even observations from our field agents. That produces a risk score and a tailored input-credit limit. Disbursement is in-kind through local retailers, and repayment is post-harvest. Each season, the data updates its profile. Over time, their credit limits grow and interest rates improve, without needing a land title or a visit to a bank branch.

You also use local youth agents. Why is that important?

Because tech alone doesn’t build trust, people do. Our youth agents collect data, onboard farmers, and act as the human face of UfarmX. Farmers trust them because they come from their own communities. The AI runs in the background. We learned that the best systems don’t replace people, they empower them.

Success stories are always inspiring. Do you recall any farmer story that stayed with you and reinforced why you started UfarmX?

Yes. There was a widow in Senegal named Aminata. She got her first credit through UfarmX and was able to plant twice the land she usually could. She repaid the loan, and afterwards she told us she was able to buy a motorbike for her son and send her daughter to school. That’s not just yield growth, that’s generational change.

Another one that stands out is a women’s farmers group in the Vélingara region of Senegal, near the Guinea-Bissau border. They had never accessed credit before. We supported them with input packages on credit, and we also partnered with Africa Greentec AG to bring in solar-powered refrigerated containers for post-harvest storage. In Senegal, farmers can lose up to 45% of their produce due to a lack of storage, so this was a big deal. The women repaid in full, their losses dropped sharply, and their yields nearly doubled. This season, they now qualify for larger lines.

UfarmX was recently selected for the Startup World Cup Food & Ag Regional. What does that recognition mean for you and your team?

They mean validation. It shows we’re not just building a Nigerian or Senegalese experiment; it’s a global solution. For the team, it’s motivation. It proves that their long days in the field are putting UfarmX on the world stage.

But honestly, the biggest value isn’t the trophy. It’s the doors they open. The Techstars Chicago, powered by J.P. Morgan AI 2024 cohort, gave us global visibility and credibility with investors, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC ) gave us policy legitimacy with governments. My advice: don’t chase awards; chase the relationships they unlock. 

What have been the biggest obstacles in scaling across Nigeria, Senegal, and Liberia?

Logistics and trust. Moving produce reliably in frontier markets is very hard. Convincing banks to trust rural data is even harder. We faced defaults in the past, especially with perishable crops like tomatoes, because of bad transport infrastructure. Farmers were willing to repay, but the produce spoiled in transit. In those cases, it was a total loss for us. That taught us to find better logistics partners and add insurance. Today, our retail-led model also has insurance coverage, which helps manage that risk.

Another challenge is cultural nuances. There’s a difference between Anglophone and Francophone Africa. In Nigeria, people will tell you “no” at the door, or they’ll explain the cost of the “yes” right away. In Francophone Africa, “yes” can also mean “no.” We lost time waiting on promises that never came through. That taught us always to hire locally. People from those regions know their culture better than anyone else, and that’s key to building trust.

What’s next for you, UfarmX? Are there any upcoming projects, partnerships, or markets you’re most excited about?

Our new B2B retailer approach, which we launched at the end of May. I’m very excited about this opportunity. It has the potential to increase farmers’ access to finance without requiring direct involvement from banks, which could be transformative.

Beyond that, we’re also focused on expanding into new markets. Once we prove the retailer model, we’ll look at the Ivory Coast and Kenya. Bridging the gap into East Africa would be a big step forward.

If you could change one thing about how governments or banks engage with agritech, what would it be?

Stop treating us like NGOs. We’re not a charity. We’re infrastructure. Governments and banks should see agritech as a commercial partner that can de-risk and extend their systems, not as impact projects.

From your perspective, what key trends are shaping African agriculture?

With increasing mobile penetration, data is now everywhere, and that’s definitely important. Regenerative agriculture will also be big moving forward. It’s already gaining traction, and many funding sources now want to understand the impact of your work on the climate. Finally, embedding finance into agriculture is another key trend that will continue to grow. 

How do you see fintech and agritech converging in the next decade? 

Fintech will make agri-data liquid. Agritech will make farmers investable. Together, they’ll turn African farms into financial assets and help close the $75–100 billion agri-finance gap. Even for us at UfarmX, we now see our database as an asset that grows in value over time. Farmer data itself is becoming a financial product. And when farmers are visible, they’re respected.

As a leader, what values guide you as you build in this impactful sector?

I would definitely say persistence. I have a mentality of no surrender, no retreat. I’m also naturally defiant, especially in Africa, where you often hear, ‘This is how it’s always been done.’ Many people refuse to think outside the box, so I keep pushing forward with persistence.

Patience is another value, because agriculture works in cycles. Farming isn’t overnight, so you have to remain patient. I also remind myself that God orchestrates all steps. You may have your own timeline and feel disappointed when things don’t go as planned, but His plan is always bigger than anything you can imagine.

Even our journey with UfarmX was unplanned. I never set out to build an agri-fintech solution. It began as a passion project in farming, but God placed the right people along our path to help us grow.

Finally, what advice would you give young entrepreneurs who want to impact food and farming in Africa?

Don’t romanticise it. Agriculture isn’t charity or lifestyle, it’s infrastructure. If you want to help, build systems that farmers can rely on every season, not just a pilot project.

Thank you, Alexander Zanders, for sharing your vision and journey. Learn more about Alexander Zanders and UfarmX, and join in supporting a future where farmers are seen, heard, and financially empowered.