Key Takeaways:
- MazaoHub secured $2 million in Seed financing: $1.5M equity led by Catalyst Fund with participation from Nordic Impact Fund, Mercy Corps Ventures, elea Foundation, Impacc, and DOB Equity, plus $500k in non-dilutive capital from the Livelihood Impact Fund.
- The round validates growing investor appetite for blended finance in climate adaptation.
- The company’s hybrid Tech & Touch model combines soil sensors, AI-powered farm management software, and on-the-ground agronomists with direct market access.
- Funds will accelerate soil kit production, expand Farmer Excellence Centers, and scale CropSupply.com.
- Investors emphasize MazaoHub’s potential to cut emissions, improve traceability, and increase smallholder resilience.
MazaoHub secures blended Seed financing
MazaoHub announced the close of a $2 million oversubscribed Seed round, consisting of $1.5 million in equity led by Catalyst Fund with contributions from Nordic Impact Fund, Mercy Corps Ventures, elea Foundation, Impacc, and DOB Equity, along with $500,000 in non-dilutive capital from the Livelihood Impact Fund.
“This round validates a system that turns data into execution,” the company stated, highlighting its model that integrates diagnostics from sensors, AI-powered recommendations, agronomist support, and verified sourcing via CropSupply.com.
A hybrid Tech & Touch model
MazaoHub’s platform fuses portable soil kits, AI-driven dashboards, and offline-first farm management tools with human agronomists delivering advice through “Farmer Excellence Centers”—agricultural clinics designed for low-connectivity environments.
CEO and Co-Founder Geophrey Tenganamba explained, “Farmers become data-driven decision-makers, buyers gain trusted traceability, and agribusinesses operate as climate-smart franchises. This is where sustainability meets scale.”
At harvest, CropSupply.com connects farmers directly to buyers with end-to-end traceability from soil diagnostics to shipment.
Climate and productivity impact
MazaoHub reports that its model reduces fertilizer use by up to 30%, increases organic manure adoption fivefold, and optimizes irrigation, enabling farmers to boost productivity while lowering emissions and saving resources.
Investors see this as Africa leapfrogging into a data-driven agricultural future.
- “MazaoHub is showing that African agriculture can blend data insights with local agronomists to enable sustainable farming at scale,” said Maelis Carraro, Founder and Managing Partner at Catalyst Fund.
- Lisbeth Stausholm Zacho, Managing Director at Nordic Impact Funds, added, “Our investment is driven by its profound climate impact. MazaoHub is cutting emissions, building resilience, and ensuring millions of smallholders are included in the digital transition.”
Building financial rails for farmers
CRDB Bank Foundation has joined the ecosystem to link financial products with MazaoHub’s agronomic and sourcing systems.
“By linking financial products to MazaoHub’s soil intelligence and sourcing systems, we can ensure that the benefits farmers achieve with data actually reduce lending risks and drive systemic change,” said Tullyesther Mwambapa, Managing Director of CRDB Foundation.
MazaoHub's Next steps
The new capital will support scaling soil kits and sensors, expanding the Farmer Excellence Center network, and accelerating the rollout of CropSupply.com, which began piloting earlier this year.
With food systems facing climate shocks, MazaoHub positions itself as a defensible, scalable model combining AI, hardware, and agronomy to deliver productivity gains, climate benefits, and supply-chain transparency.
