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From Ibanda to Impact: Emmanuel Twesigye’s Agrotech Revolution

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Emmanuel Twesigye, the CEO and co-founder of Everlend, knows firsthand the struggles of smallholder farmers in Uganda. Born and raised in Ibanda District, in the western part of the country, Emmanuel’s story is one of resilience, vision, and transformative change. “I studied from local schools within Ibanda district from primary to university,” he shares.

Coming from a family of nine, Emmanuel grew up witnessing the challenges of agriculture-dependent livelihoods. His mother, a peasant farmer, worked tirelessly to provide for the family but was met with poor harvests, subpar seed quality, and limited access to lucrative markets.

“She would do a lot planting but unfortunately reap very poorly due to poor quality seeds, limited resources to support her farming and poor farming practices. Even the little she would harvest was always bought at very low prices by middlemen who would take almost 40% of her profits,” Emmanuel recalls.

The financial strain on his family forced him to miss two years of schooling, a difficult period that ultimately became the seedbed for his entrepreneurial journey.

“I thought hard about how best to help smallholder farmers like my mom to increase their farm yields and access markets,” he says. It was from this deeply personal motivation that Everlend was born, a platform designed to empower smallholder farmers by addressing the very barriers Emmanuel’s family faced.

A Platform for Prosperity

At its core, Everlend offers smallholder farmers access to quality, climate-resilient seeds on credit, with payments deferred until after harvest. It leverages data and mobile technology to provide low-income earners, especially youth and women, with access to credit. It offers digital green loans, affordable farm inputs on credit, and real-time market information. Through a network of agents, microfinance organizations, and savings groups, Everlend delivers affordable financial services to underserved communities.

“The platform also acts as an online farmers’ marketplace where agro-produce buyers are matched with sellers,” Emmanuel explains.

This innovation is more than a tech solution; it’s a lifeline for farmers who have long been excluded from formal financial and market systems. Emmanuel’s ability to blend technology with grassroots understanding has been a cornerstone of Everlend’s success.

However, the journey to building Everlend was far from smooth. In the early days, Emmanuel and his team made a costly mistake. “The biggest challenge we faced, especially when we had first begun, was building hard-to-navigate technology for farmers,” Emmanuel admits. “We were building it from our office, thinking that is what farmers want. Reaching the ground, it was different.”

The misstep was costly, consuming 70% of the company’s initial startup capital. But rather than concede defeat, Emmanuel and his team demonstrated the humility and grit that define great entrepreneurs. “We were humble enough to restart and redesign, now this time building what the farmers’ demands were,” he says.

This pivot proved crucial. With just 30% of their capital remaining, Everlend rebuilt its platform with farmers at the center. They adopted a blend of technology and manual solutions, ensuring their tools were simple yet effective a pragmatic approach that resonated with their target audience.

Trust as Currency

But technology is only part of the equation. Everlend’s success hinges on its ability to build trust within the farming community. The platform acts as a mediator, ensuring that both buyers and sellers are authentic and reliable. “The platform is a matching platform, and all these buyers and farmers trust Everlend,” Emmanuel says. “It’s our role to do due diligence and have two authentic parts transact.”

One of Everlend’s most innovative strategies is its hybrid model, which combines cutting-edge technology with on-the-ground support. Recognizing that many smallholder farmers lack access to smartphones or the internet, Everlend employs a B2B model with agents who support farmers remotely. “We look forward to attaining a USSD code as well,” Emmanuel adds, underscoring the company’s commitment to inclusivity.

The platform’s innovative partnerships have further bolstered its impact. Everlend collaborates with local seed sellers to identify the best seeds for different regions, ensuring high-quality inputs are readily available to farmers.

In a bid to embrace cutting-edge solutions, Everlend is also leveraging artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) to revolutionize farming. “We are in partnership with an AI-powered mobile application called PeDD App that supports farmers on early detection of pests and diseases,” Emmanuel says.

A Vision Beyond Profit

For Emmanuel, entrepreneurship is not just a career; it’s a calling. “Being an entrepreneur is a full-time job that requires your full attention,” he acknowledges. His dedication is evident in the long hours he spends ensuring that Everlend not only retains its existing customers but also attracts new ones. Yet, his passion extends beyond business. He is deeply committed to climate action, recognizing the dual role of agriculture as both a victim and a contributor to climate change.

“We are working on various partnerships, especially the most recent one with Redsalt Angel Investor Network (R.A.I.N.),” Emmanuel shares. The company is also in talks with Nic Agronomist Services to support farmers with agro-inputs aimed at boosting productivity.

Emmanuel’s vision for Everlend is as ambitious as it is inspiring: to increase farm yields, improve household incomes, and ultimately transform the lives of smallholder farmers across Uganda.

A Legacy of Resilience

Emmanuel’s story is one of resilience and ingenuity, qualities that are as vital to entrepreneurship as they are to farming. From the fields of Ibanda to the digital platforms of Everlend, he has sown the seeds of change, ensuring that the struggles of his past are not the future of Uganda’s farmers.

As Everlend continues to grow, its impact serves as a testament to the power of vision, adaptation, and unwavering commitment. Emmanuel Twesigye is not just a farmer’s son; he is a harbinger of hope, planting the promise of prosperity for generations to come.

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