Light Over Light Capital (LOLC) Finance Uganda, which offers finance and technological solutions to agriculture in rural areas is now spreading its wings across Africa. Based in Kisoro district – Uganda, the company now has more than 600 customers and 4000 users across Rwanda, DRC, Kenya and Nigeria.
“We saw a real need to supply a solution to agriculture because the world of agriculture had changed – the compliance associated with it, the paperwork, the management of it needed to be run like a professional business rather than a small family farm,” LOLC Finance Uganda CEO Trevor Uwimana told our reporter yesterday.
“There is a lot of pressure on holding ground as a small farmer; changing your mindset about how you run your business is the first step.
“We started with the small holder farmers and then we found we had larger farms coming to us because we had approached the problem with a focus on Agriculture.”
He said his company has a platform that delivers practical solutions that are strategically, technically and financially sound to help agribusinesses to grow.
Last year, the company launched LOLC Finance Uganda app to expand its accessibility by smallholder farmers in a much needed production management.
The app is a digital advisory service, designed to enable people take part in consultations while on the go. “Individuals can book appointments with advisors, among other solutions,” Uwimana said.
The app uses a cloud-based platform that can be accessed via a desktop computer or mobile app.
LOLC is currently in the process of securing USD$500,000 through select development agencies and philanthropists. This funding will allow it to increase staff as it prepares to ramp up development and increase functionality covering additional farmers’ needs. LOLC Finance was derived from the Kifumbira words Itara hejuru Itara. It operates in various areas including agriculture and financial services; soil health; food production systems; animal welfare; sustainable food supply; business appraisals, technical advice and value-added financial services such as agency banking and mobile money services.
