Venture Spotlight: Shamba Data

During his participation in an African Artificial Intelligence (AI) Hackathon, Kondwani Ngulube was motivated to tackle the challenges that afflict the agricultural industry. To substantiate his findings, he conducted interviews with over 100 agricultural stakeholders and farmers. Notably, he discovered that obtaining clean and accurate data on the agriculture supply chain, such as market intelligence, crop inputs like feed and modern production techniques, was a significant issue across the industry.

As a result, Kondwani joined forces with Brighton Mboya to develop a prototype that would address this challenge. After winning the African AI Hackathon, they co-founded Shamba Data, a venture that employs AI to connect African farmers to the agriculture supply chain. At present, Shamba Data serves as an agricultural data hub for Zambian farmers, providing them with real-time market intelligence for the Zambian industry.

What is the accomplishment to date that your team is most proud of?  

Shamba Data has already onboarded over 350 farmers onto its platform, and the venture is scheduled to launch by mid-July 2023. The company is on track to generate nearly $2000 in revenue during its first month of operation.

If you could give advice to another founder getting started, what would that be?  

“First, find a great co-founder. Next, talk to users early to spot their problems. Then build an MVP fast to solve those problems. Keep iterating on your prototype using user feedback. Finally, figure out if they are willing to pay for it. In the beginning, I think this is what matters most.”

Looking forward, Shamba Data plans to acquire more than 2000 farmers to their platform by the end of 2023. They are also building an online platform that will connect farmers to buyers and agricultural input suppliers with ease. 


You can learn more about Shamba Data

More News & Events

Scroll with the left and right arrow keys

From Bedside to Big Data: A Nurse’s Transition to Health Informatics 

In today’s rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, the intersection of clinical expertise and technological innovation is where the most significant impacts are made. My journey from nursing to health informatics is a testament to this shift—a journey that began with hands-on patient care and led me to the forefront of digital health solutions. This transition wasn’t […]

African Women Innovating in Health Care

This year, FemSTEM Africa engaged over 200 health innovators and enthusiasts through a series of events, concluding in a pitch competition and interactions with seasoned entrepreneurs. The five-part event series was organized by the University of Toronto’s Health Innovation Hub (H2i) in partnership with Social Enterprise (SE) Ghana, Sustineri Attorneys,  supported by funding from the […]

Apply for the Mastercard Foundation Doctor of Public Health Scholarship

How to Apply: Step One Prospective applicants must first consult the admission requirements for the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) program of study. The link above will guide you in exploring this program. If you meet the academic requirements of this program, please follow through to step two. Step Two Review the recording of the […]

Attaining Connected Healthcare through a National Data Platform 

About the Speaker (Dr. Job Nyangena):  Dr. Job Nyangena is a medical doctor and seasoned digital health professional with a distinguished career spanning over a decade. Combining a strong foundation in medicine with a deep understanding of technology, Dr. Nyangena has been instrumental in shaping the digital health landscape both in Kenya and internationally.   With […]

Venture Spotlight: BetaLife Health

BetaLife Health uses artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionize blood supply management across Africa. Their platform uses predictive analytics to optimize blood inventory levels, distribution logistics and donor engagement, thereby improving the timeliness and availability of blood for transfusions.

Venture Spotlight: Remedius Mobile Health

Remedius Mobile Health aims to combat the identified problems by leveraging telemedicine through the Remedius Live platform. They seek to provide fast virtual appointment scheduling with doctors and specialists at affordable rates of about five dollars and provide comprehensive care to chronically ill patients. This is executed through an integral network of facilities that provide physical care to these patients if need arises.