How Tech founder's vision is elevating livestock farmers in seven countries
Animal Hub IQ founder and CEO Shalom Ndegwa.
What you need to know:
- Shalom Ndegwa founded Animal Hub IQ after discovering farmers couldn't properly account for their production costs or pricing strategies.
- Her platform now operates in seven African countries, providing cutting-edge analytics for livestock management that has reduced feed costs by 50 per cent.
- Despite facing gender discrimination in the male-dominated field, the 40-year-old has persevered through challenges to build a company that transforms farmers' lives.
The exchange of one million shillings should have been a moment of satisfaction. Instead, as Shalom Ndegwa counted out the cash to hand over to the rice farmer, a question nagged at her: How had he determined this price? The farmer's shrug and casual reply—that he simply charged what others did—sparked something profound in Shalom. Standing there in his dilapidated home, witnessing his poor health despite the substantial sum changing hands, she felt an old childhood moniker resurfacing in her consciousness: "Mutetiri wa Athini"—lawyer for the less privileged.
"There was no system whatsoever guiding his pricing," Shalom recalls, her voice still carrying traces of the disbelief she felt in that moment. This chance encounter in Mwea would catalyse her journey toward founding Animal Hub IQ, a venture that's now transforming livestock management across seven African countries.
Shalom's mother had bestowed the prophetic Kikuyu nickname upon her first-born child, recognising her daughter's innate sense of justice. Little did she know that this designation would shape her daughter's career path and ultimately lead to a business solving deep-rooted problems in Africa's agricultural sector.
"Animal Hub IQ brings farmers a system powered by cutting-edge analytics that transform livestock management across the world," Shalom explains. "It helps them in monitoring their animal health, tracking their inventories, resources, and have accurate data on their livestock."
The troubling interaction with the rice farmer prompted Shalom to investigate further. She visited other farmers around Mwea and discovered that his experience wasn't an anomaly—it was the norm. None could properly account for their production costs or explain their pricing strategies with any semblance of business acumen.
Animal Hub IQ founder and CEO Shalom Ndegwa at a cattle shed.
"I also spoke to a livestock farmer who told me she sold her livestock according to what she felt was worth, and rough estimates," she says.
For Shalom, armed with a master's degree in international business from the London School of Commerce, this represented both a crisis and an opportunity. The disconnect between farmers' hard work and their financial outcomes was glaring.
"At this point, my vision was crystal clear, even if the 'how' and 'when' were still blurry," she chuckles. "My mother was right after all, as I felt a strong urge to protect the farmers and their earnings."
The seeds of Shalom's entrepreneurial spirit were planted early, in a family that valued innovation and hard work. Growing up in Thika town in the 1990s, she witnessed first-hand how her mother tackled systemic problems with direct action.
"My mother realised that the public schools around had subpar standards and decided to start a private school of her own, King Solomon Academy. My siblings were the very first students in that school," she explains with pride. That institution still stands decades later, now managed by the family—a testament to sustainable problem-solving.,
From her father, who served as a production and maintenance manager at Del Monte for 26 years, Shalom absorbed crucial lessons about diligence and dedication.
"He taught me the value of hard work, time management and loyalty," she reflects. Her father's side projects in small-scale farming would also provide early exposure to agricultural challenges.
The family's diverse business portfolio extended to a flower export enterprise, which Shalom herself managed while pursuing her education at Cooperative University.
"While studying cooperative business, I managed the business and interacted very closely with farmers. I knew of their triumphs and challenges. That experience sparked my interest in working with the community, especially farmers," she explains, revealing how these early experiences were laying groundwork for her future endeavours.
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Her professional trajectory further solidified this connection. Between 2008 and 2012, she worked as a senior credit officer at Eclof-Kenya, a microfinance institution providing loans to farmers. Here, she gained crucial insights into the financial struggles facing agricultural workers.
"I saw how business people would make profits of up to 200 per cent from products from farmers while the farmers made very little and it was very triggering for me and it exposed me to the harsh realities of farming," she recalls with lingering indignation. "I resolved to do something about that one day."
That "one day" would arrive nearly a decade later with the founding of Animal Hub IQ.
Today, Animal Hub IQ operates with agents across Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Zambia, Tanzania and Rwanda. The organisation is currently negotiating potential expansion into the Netherlands, signalling its first move beyond the African continent.
"We register farmers on our website," she explains, outlining their approach. "It doesn't matter whether the farmer has a smartphone or not, because we work through agents in various regions. Once the farmers' accounts are opened, they can key in their livestock records, access profit and loss accounts and other services through their accounts. This way, they can keep track of their production costs, profit margins, and any other data."
Male-dominated spaces
Conscious of economic realities, Animal Hub IQ charges only a modest flat rate for farmers to access the platform. Beyond data management, the company has introduced tangible benefits like their "product 101A" animal feed, which has dramatically reduced costs for livestock farmers.
"Our feed has brought down the cost by 50 per cent," Shalom says with evident satisfaction.
While the business operates primarily through a network of local agents, the core Animal Hub IQ team comprises specialists including software developers, sales and marketing personnel, a project manager, and accountants—a diverse group united by her vision of agricultural transformation.
At 40, her journey as a female founder and CEO in the intersecting male-dominated fields of agriculture and technology has been far from smooth. Her research into the sector uncovered additional gender disparities that further fuelled her mission.
"Traditionally, women in Africa are not allowed to own livestock, even though they shoulder the burden of taking care of them," she explains.
The professional challenges have been personal as well. "While my biggest win has been to develop a novel solution to an existing, unsolved problem, this has also come with undue scrutiny and discrimination," she says, recounting experiences that would have deterred many others.
"I've been asked to go and call my boss several times when attending meetings, as they would be in disbelief that my petite self could be the owner of such a big idea," she explains with remarkable composure.
"I've also been in conversations with male technology experts keen on pinning me down by asking for very technical details about our platform, knowing full well that my background is not in technology. They ask me what I'm bringing to the table, completely disregarding my expertise and experience. The message is: you are a woman; you are young and this was not even your field."
Rather than allow such treatment to deter her, Shalom developed resilience, partly through experience gained in another traditionally masculine sector. "As I've also been in the male-dominated construction business for eight years, I've learnt how to stand my ground," she says.
Her approach has been methodical and deliberate: "I developed the confidence I needed and worked on my communication skills. I also learned to remain focused, firm and objective in my interactions with men."
Beyond gender biases, maintaining the integrity of Animal Hub IQ has presented additional challenges. "Shielding the organisation from political interests has been an uphill task," she admits, "but I'm determined to maintain its independence, impartiality and usefulness to farmers."
Securing funding presented yet another hurdle, though she found creative solutions. "Raising capital for the business was immensely challenging as well, but I went in with support from my other businesses and the help of business partners who believed in my product offer and were willing to join me as partners."
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As a mother of two, Shalom's vision extends beyond immediate business success. She hopes Animal Hub IQ will serve as both a practical solution for current farmers and an inspiration for future generations considering careers in agriculture.
In many ways, she has come full circle—from a child nicknamed for defending the disadvantaged to a business leader creating systemic change for some of society's most economically vulnerable members.
"I want Animal Hub IQ to not only transform the lives of farmers but also help inspire a new generation of farmers by demonstrating the profitability of farming," she says, her voice filled with purpose.