Shamba Kijiji + PaygOps: Scaling a Layaway Model for Smallholder Farmers in Rural Tanzania

In the heart of rural Tanzania, Shamba Kijiji is on a mission to eradicate poverty among smallholder farmers by transforming subsistence farming into thriving agribusinesses. Through a combination of high-quality agri inputs, mobile-based training on agronomic techniques, and an innovative “Little by Little” financing model, Shamba Kijiji is helping thousands of farmers boost productivity, secure food for their families, and grow income, season after season.

Their vision is ambitious yet focused: a future where every farmer, no matter how remote or underserved, can afford the tools, knowledge, and support they need to succeed.

Shamba Kijiji’s work focuses on a segment of the population often overlooked: farmers managing less than two acres of land, many of them women and youth, living in rural communities and relying on agriculture for both food and income. These farmers face multiple challenges: access to affordable, quality inputs is limited; agronomic knowledge is often outdated or unavailable; traditional loans are either inaccessible or unaffordable; and climate unpredictability, pests, and poor market access further threaten their livelihoods.

The “Little by Little” Financing Model

At the core of Shamba Kijiji’s approach is its financing mechanism known as the “Kidigo Kidogo” (Little by Little model): a layaway system adapted to agriculture. While the concept of incremental payments isn’t new, Shamba Kijiji has uniquely tailored it to the needs of smallholder farmers. Through this model, farmers make small payments via Mobile Money before the planting season, allowing them to reserve essential tools and inputs in advance.

Unlike products like solar home systems (SHS) or phones, where delays might be inconvenient, missing a planting window can mean losing an entire harvest and, with it, a whole season’s income. That’s why “Little by Little” isn’t just convenient; it’s essential. And because Shamba Kijiji’s model doesn’t stop at helping farmers access inputs, the ‘Little by Little’ system is far more than a financing model; it also fuels Shamba Kijiji’s ability to grow.

This is made possible by a network of community-based agents who guide farmers through their payment journeys, onboard new clients, deliver training, and monitor performance. These agents earn performance-based commissions and are instrumental in helping the organisation scale without the burden of high operational overhead. In fact, Shamba Kijiji has kept internal staff to just 2% of its total workforce, demonstrating how lean operations can have a broad and deep reach.

The Impact So Far 

Since its launch in 2023, Shamba Kijiji has reached more than 15,000 farmers across southern regions like Mtwara, Lindi, and Ruvuma. And the impact has been striking: farmers engaged in the Shamba Kijiji model have seen average income increases of 50–70% per season compared to peers outside the program. The organisation envisions scaling this model to more than 200,000 farmers over the next decade, building not just a client base but a resilient agricultural ecosystem that serves rural Tanzania at large.

The Challenge

Until recently, this entire system (inputs, training, financing, and field operations) was managed through an in-house CRM integrated with a mobile app for agents, Mobile Money APIs, and a mix of manual tools like Google Sheets and Excel. While this setup served its purpose in the early stages, it had certain limitations. As the business grew, so did the strain on internal development teams. Updates to the CRM and mobile app often lagged behind operational needs, and during development cycles, staff sometimes had to revert to manual processes, creating inefficiencies. The lack of real-time dashboards made it hard to monitor agent activity or performance trends, and scalability became a recurring concern.

Recognising the need for a more flexible and scalable digital infrastructure, Shamba Kijiji turned to PaygOps.

Empowered by PaygOps

Shamba Kijiji’s journey with PaygOps began through the Premier Program, an exclusive opportunity designed to help high-impact organisations scale their operations. As part of the program, PaygOps offered Shamba Kijiji full access to the platform features at no cost, along with dedicated onboarding and support from the software solutions team. This experience not only fast-tracked their team’s understanding of the platform but also empowered them to explore its full potential, ultimately accelerating both decision-making and adoption.

More than a technical upgrade, this was a strategic turning point for the agritech provider. Through in-depth collaboration with PaygOps solution specialists, Shamba Kijiji was able to co-design and implement powerful custom workflows tailored to the realities of rural Tanzania and the specific needs of their “Little by Little” model. According to the team, one key insight quickly became clear: in low-tech, high-impact environments, offline-first tools are not a luxury; they’re essential.

“PaygOps has helped us transform from a manual, reactive system to a digital-first, scalable operation. We’re excited about the future.” — Kervin Bwemelo, Managing Director – Shamba Kijiji Ltd

Beyond agricultural inputs, Shamba Kijiji has also expanded into distributing paygo-enabled smartphones as part of its offer to farmers. These devices, integrated with PaygOps through our compatibility with NuovoPay, give farmers affordable access to digital tools and training videos that strengthen the agronomic practices taught in the field. By managing paygo contracts and activations directly in PaygOps, Shamba Kijiji can expand digital inclusion, helping farmers not only secure inputs but also access the knowledge needed to make the most of them.

Today, Shamba Kijiji is implementing PaygOps system-wide to:

• Automate real-time tracking of agri inputs delivery and layaway instalment payments

• Send instant SMS receipts to farmers for increased transparency

• Use agent tools that operate while offline and sync later once connection is found, ideal for low-connectivity areas

• Access custom dashboards with data-rich insights that help the organisation identify high-performing crops, regions, and agents, unlocking smarter, more targeted planning.

• Manage the distribution of paygo smartphones, including contract management and device activations.

  
  

“The partnership with PaygOps gives us the confidence to expand faster and serve more farmers without compromising accountability or data accuracy.” — Chrisant Lyimo, Head of Technology, Shamba Kijiji Ltd

By removing technical barriers and offering real-time visibility into its operations, PaygOps is enabling Shamba Kijiji to focus on what matters most: the farmers. With this foundation in place, the organisation is now better equipped than ever to scale its impact. The future they envision, where no farmer is left behind due to lack of access or opportunity, is becoming a reality, one season, one payment, and one training session at a time.

“Our agents are our boots on the ground—they turn ‘Little by Little’ into life-changing harvests. With PaygOps, they now have the tools to do it faster, smarter, and at scale.” Edgar Ayenda —Head of Field Operations, Shamba Kijiji Ltd

What's next?

Looking ahead, the Shamba Kijiji and PaygOps partnership exemplifies how digital infrastructure, when thoughtfully tailored, can multiply impact across underserved communities. The organisation is also exploring ways to strengthen its operations with PaygOps tools, streamlining after-sales processes such as payment reminders and supporting their Call Centre activities, integrating with accounting software like QuickBooks, and even piloting new models such as off-taking.

At PaygOps, every feature we build—from offline agent apps to custom dashboards and SMS automation—is driven by stories like this.  Want to learn how PaygOps can help you scale agritech or last-mile distribution models? Contact us to see how your impact story can be powered by our flexible technology solutions.

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About PaygOps:

We empower suppliers of essential products and services with flexible, inclusive IT solutions that amplify their mission to serve the unbanked worldwide, even in the most remote areas. PaygOps seamlessly integrates with enterprise applications, payment systems (Mobile Money), and API services, enabling the smooth management of lease financing (for both Paygo and non-Paygo products) and operations across key sectors including solar, agriculture, clean cooking, access to water, e-mobility and microfinance. Designed for modularity and interoperability, PaygOps simplifies access to credit, streamlines distribution, and provides investors with critical financial data and insights.