AUXFIN
AUXFIN is a Netherlands-based social enterprise that delivers financial inclusion, agricultural coaching, and community development services to rural smallholders and refugees across Sub-Saharan Africa and Nepal via its offline-first UMVA digital platform and G50 community-group methodology.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersTiel, Netherlands
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What AUXFIN does
AUXFIN is a Netherlands-rooted social enterprise founded in 2010 by Cornelis Heesbeen that delivers digital financial inclusion, agricultural development, and community services to vulnerable rural populations across Sub-Saharan Africa and Nepal. Its proprietary UMVA (Universal Method of Value Access) platform is an offline-first digital backbone deployed via shared tablets inside 'G50' community groups of up to 50 households, bridging the digital divide in markets where internet penetration is as low as 6% (Burundi) and literacy is limited. On top of UMVA the company runs a modular portfolio of coaching applications covering agriculture (AgriCoach), aquaculture (FishCoach), financial education (FinanceCoach), nutrition (NutritionCoach), health (HealthCoach), reproductive health (SSRCoach) and village savings and loans (VSLA App), supported by utility apps for registration, mapping and a rainfall observatory that supplies ground-truth data to WeatherImpact and ECMWF forecast validation.
The business combines grant-funded programme delivery with emerging transactional economics. The platform channelled approximately $4.4 million of transactions and 9.3 million kilograms of fertiliser sales in 2022, including 7.6 billion BIF (approximately 3.8 million EUR) of fertiliser volume, and disbursed over UGX 200 million in loans via partner financial institutions in Uganda. Applications are provided free-of-charge to G50 members; monetisation runs through input/output transaction flows, financial-services commissions via partners (UGAFODE, Finance Trust Bank, Jubilee Finance), and donor-funded institutional contracts with WFP, UNICEF, GIZ, NSO, RVO, ICCO, IFDC, Grameen Foundation, CABI Plantwise and others. The company operates through country subsidiaries in Burundi, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Nepal, employs more than 1,000 people, and reports reaching approximately 3.1 million people across Sub-Saharan Africa. Leadership transitioned on 1 January 2026 from founder Cornelis Heesbeen to long-tenured COO Marco van Andel as CEO, while the AUXFIN Foundation (Dutch ANBI status since 19 October 2021) operates as a related charitable arm based in Tiel, the Netherlands.
AUXFIN firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- AUXFIN
- Legal name
- AUXFIN
- Website
- https://auxfin.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- AUXFIN is a Netherlands-based social enterprise that delivers financial inclusion, agricultural coaching, and community development services to rural smallholders and refugees across Sub-Saharan Africa and Nepal via its offline-first UMVA digital platform and G50 community-group methodology.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
AUXFIN industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Financial Inclusion Platform for Rural Communities
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Circular Economy & Resource Efficiency (BPADALAM)
Keywords
Where AUXFIN is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tiel
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices6 records
Markets served
AUXFIN business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Digital input sales and transactions via UMVA: AUXFIN facilitates sales of agricultural inputs (e.g., 9.3 million kilograms of fertiliser sold in 2022) through its UMVA platform, generating transaction-based revenue. In 2022 total transactions through UMVA reached $4.4 million and sales of fertilisers through UMVA increased to 7.6 Billion BIF (3.8 million EUR) by 2022.
- Social enterprise funding and grants: AUXFIN operates as a social enterprise receiving support from public donors and multilateral organizations (e.g., Dutch government, RVO, NSO, WFP, UNICEF, GIZ, TMEA, CABI Plantwise, IFDC, Netherlands Embassies) to finance country expansion and product development.
- Digital financial services and remittances: UMVA Remittances (celebrated 10th anniversary in 2021) provides remittance and mobile money services; the platform links users to savings accounts and loans via partner financial institutions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | — | Free access for smallholder farmers via G50 groups; monetization via UMVA input/output transactions. |
| Other | — | Institutional/partner pricing (quote-based) for organisations adopting the technology stack. |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
AUXFIN product offering
Product offeringCore offering
AUXFIN develops and operates UMVA (Universal Method of Value Access), a proprietary offline-first digital platform deployed via shared G50 group tablets, combining secure digital identity, financial services integration (savings, loans, remittances), agricultural value chain management, and a suite of coaching apps (AgriCoach, FinanceCoach, FishCoach, HealthCoach, NutritionCoach, SSRCoach). It sells this technology stack to NGOs, donor agencies, governments and financial institutions while providing the applications free of charge to smallholder farmers and refugee communities across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Product overview
AUXFIN delivers a platform-plus-modules architecture centered on its in-house digital backbone UMVA (Universal Method of Value Access). UMVA runs on G50 group tablets and powers a portfolio of specialized coaching applications — AgriCoach (agriculture), FishCoach (aquaculture), FinanceCoach (financial education), HealthCoach (health), NutritionCoach (nutrition), and SSRCoach/SRHR Coach (sexual and reproductive health) — together with utility apps (REGISTRATION APP, MAPPING APP, VSLA App for village savings and loans) and a rainfall observatory (Rain Masters Network) whose observations feed external weather-forecast validation. All apps are designed to function in low/no-connectivity, low-literacy rural settings and are deployed through the G50 community-group methodology (up to 50 people per tablet), which bridges digital, gender, and affordability gaps. The AUXFIN Foundation (ANBI status since 19 October 2021, Tiel, the Netherlands) is the charitable arm that channels donations and humanitarian support (e.g., flood relief in Cibitoke, Burundi).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- UMVA: Universal Method of Value Access - core in-house digital platform connecting smallholder farmers to financial services, agricultural knowledge, and markets.
- AgriCoach
- FinanceCoach
- FishCoach
- NutritionCoach
- HealthCoach
- SSRCoach
- VSLA App
- AUXFIN Foundation
Products and services
- UMVA (Universal Method of Value Access) Platform Proprietary in-house digital platform that powers AUXFIN's G50 group tablets, supporting registration, identity, value-chain management, e-commerce, banking, remittances, input distribution, collection, validation and direct payment across Sub-Saharan Africa.
- AgriCoach Video-based agricultural training and decision-support app deployed on UMVA tablets, covering the full farming cycle plus weather forecasts, CropSelector, SeasonalOutlook, and pest/disease information via CABI Plantwise integration; targeted at smallholder farming households in G50 groups.
- FinanceCoach Offline-capable financial-education application using video-based learning in French, Mooré and Dyula, designed for low-literacy rural households in Burkina Faso and other markets.
- FishCoach Aquaculture management application with four modules (Guide, Education, Planning, Market) supporting fish farmers in rural Burundi with limited internet connectivity.
- HealthCoach
Quantifiable outcome
- 3.1 million people benefitting in Sub-Saharan Africa
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use AUXFIN
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
AUXFIN technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration14 records
Feature8 records
AUXFIN partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
26 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.
- FILAGRO GroupflagshipLed consortium for the Sustainable Smallholder Livestock Concept for Burundi project launched on 29 April 2026 in Bujumbura to strengthen the pig value chain. AUXFIN connects smallholder producers to the integrated value chain. RVO provides trust and support.
- HyporminorConsortium partner in the Sustainable Smallholder Livestock Concept for Burundi project.
- NusanaminorConsortium partner in the Sustainable Smallholder Livestock Concept for Burundi project.
- Technical Export BVminorConsortium partner in the Sustainable Smallholder Livestock Concept for Burundi project.
- Pig SignalsminorConsortium partner in the Sustainable Smallholder Livestock Concept for Burundi project.
- EMSA Emerging Markets AfricaminorConsortium partner in the Sustainable Smallholder Livestock Concept for Burundi project.
- PUM (Netherlands Senior Experts)minorNGO partner in the Sustainable Smallholder Livestock Concept for Burundi consortium.
- Netherlands–Uganda Trade & Investment Platform (NUTIP)coreAUXFIN joined NUTIP — a bilateral business network strengthening trade and investment ties between Dutch and Ugandan companies across agribusiness, finance, ICT, logistics, renewable energy, manufacturing and tourism.
- Netherlands Food Partnership (NFP)coreAUXFIN Foundation joined World Food Day 2025 (organised by NFP, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Agriculture) to connect with partners on food systems transformation.
- AgriterraflagshipSigning of a Global Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between AUXFIN Uganda Limited and Agriterra. AUXFIN Uganda Limited will serve as the digital transformation partner, supporting Agriterra in digitalizing their VSLA groups, farmer groups, and cooperatives and managing their data on a unified digital platform. Goal: collateral-free loans for smallholders.
- AVSI FoundationcoreAUXFIN Uganda and AVSI Partner to drive digital transformation in refugee communities — advancing financial inclusion and strengthening community resilience through digital innovation.
- Grameen FoundationcoreListed as partner in AUXFIN Uganda's refugee digital transformation project (AUXFIN Uganda project). Co-delivers secure digital identities and financial service connections.
- IFDC (International Fertilizer Development Center)flagshipIFDC's grant supports 3,000+ farmers across 50 groups in Rubanda, Uganda, with digital tools and financial inclusion opportunities; BRIGHT Project funds AUXFIN's exhibition at Food and Nutrition Security Marketplace in Jinja.
- Homa FarmsminorPartner in AUXFIN Uganda's refugee digital transformation project.
- World WaternetflagshipConsortium partner (with Agriterra and AUXFIN) implementing the ECDD-GIRE programme across Burkina Faso using the 3R approach (Retention, Recharge, Reuse) to combat desertification and restore degraded land in the Sahel region.
- WeatherImpactcoreValidated ECMWF weather forecasts using observations from AUXFIN's rain masters network (430 rain meters in Burundi) — uses WeatherImpact data to deliver forecasts into AgriCoach.
- eLeafcorePartner in the GAP4ALL project; provides smart farming geodata integrated into UMVA.
- NextViewcorePartner in the GAP4ALL project (GAP4ALL final report).
- CABI PlantwisecoreCollaboration started in 2021 to add pest and disease information into the AgriCoach app.
- WFP (World Food Programme)flagshipLocal sourcing further developed in 2020; WFP supported NutritionCoach rollout and sourcing from smallholders.
- CAREcoreCollaboration on the VSLA App launched in Burundi and Uganda in 2022.
- Tree AidcoreWon the Challenge Fund for Youth Employment in Burkina Faso together with AUXFIN (2022 milestone).
- Fair Agro FoodminorWon the Challenge Fund for Youth Employment to start digitizing the gum value chain in Sudan with AUXFIN and ECOSIA (2021 milestone).
- ECOSIAminorPartner with Fair Agro Food and AUXFIN to digitize the gum value chain in Sudan (2021 milestone).
- ICCO CooperationcoreCollaboration on FinanceCoach started in 2020.
- NicashminorFounded in 2020 with the intention to connect the G50 groups to rural financial services.
Scale indicators13 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
AUXFIN competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- iNGOs / social enterprises in digital financial inclusion (e.g., Grameen Foundation): Grameen Foundation is both a partner of AUXFIN in the Uganda refugee project and a globally recognized digital-financial-inclusion social enterprise — included as an ecosystem peer given shared Community Agent / digital-ID methodologies and a comparable donor-funded, multi-country operating model.
Direct peers
- Sun King (Greenlight Planet): Kenya/India-headquartered pay-as-you-go solar distributor using agent networks to reach off-grid and low-income households across Sub-Saharan Africa — directly comparable to AUXFIN in grassroots last-mile distribution to rural African households with limited connectivity and income, although in energy rather than financial services.
- Farmerline: Ghana-based digital agriculture platform delivering agronomic content, market access and financial services to smallholder farmers in West Africa — overlaps with AUXFIN's AgriCoach/FinanceCoach modules, with a comparable content-library + last-mile-distribution approach.
- One Acre Fund: US-Kenya-headquartered social enterprise serving smallholder farmers in East Africa with bundled inputs, finance, training, and market access via a large field-agent network — the closest analogue to AUXFIN's G50 + tablet + FI partnership model across Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania.
- Apollo Agriculture: Kenya-based agritech platform providing smallholder farmers with financing, inputs, and agronomic advice via mobile — directly comparable to AUXFIN's AgriCoach + finance offering, though serving Kenyan commercial smallholders rather than refugee and ultra-rural households.
Emerging players
- Pula Advisors: Kenya/Nigeria-based agricultural insurance and advisory provider for smallholder farmers across Africa — comparable in serving the same low-income smallholder segment with embedded financial services, though focused on insurance rather than full-stack platform distribution.
- Twiga Foods: Kenya-based B2B agritech platform linking smallholder farmers to urban vendors via a digital marketplace and embedded finance — comparable in agricultural value-chain digitization, with overlap on input distribution, off-taker matching and smallholder embedded credit.
- d.light: Africa-focused pay-as-you-go solar and essential-services platform serving off-grid households with agent-led distribution — overlapping with AUXFIN in rural African last-mile distribution to unbanked, off-grid populations with bundled life-services.
- iProcure: Kenya-based agricultural supply-chain platform connecting smallholder farmers to inputs and buyers via data and embedded finance — comparable in agri-input distribution and smallholder data capture, with overlap on the input-economics value chain AUXFIN activates through UMVA.
Regional players
- Babban Gona: Nigeria-based social enterprise providing smallholder farmer cooperatives with training, inputs, credit, and offtake services — comparable in mission and bundled-service model for African smallholders, but with a focus on West African (Nigerian) cereal value chains rather than Great Lakes/Sahel.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
AUXFIN social profiles
Digital presenceAUXFIN compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
AUXFIN financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
AUXFIN leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
AUXFIN subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries6 records
AUXFIN funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
AUXFIN M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about AUXFIN
What does AUXFIN do?
AUXFIN develops and operates UMVA (Universal Method of Value Access), a proprietary offline-first digital platform deployed via shared G50 group tablets, combining secure digital identity, financial services integration (savings, loans, remittances), agricultural value chain management, and a suite of coaching apps (AgriCoach, FinanceCoach, FishCoach, HealthCoach, NutritionCoach, SSRCoach). It sells this technology stack to NGOs, donor agencies, governments and financial institutions while providing the applications free of charge to smallholder farmers and refugee communities across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Is AUXFIN a public or private company?
AUXFIN is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was AUXFIN founded?
AUXFIN was founded in 2010. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is AUXFIN based?
AUXFIN is headquartered in Tiel, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does AUXFIN make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Digital input sales and transactions via UMVA is the primary driver. The others are social enterprise funding and grants and digital financial services and remittances.
Who are AUXFIN's main competitors?
iNGOs / social enterprises in digital financial inclusion (e.g., Grameen Foundation) is listed as an others. Direct peers are Sun King (Greenlight Planet), Farmerline, One Acre Fund and Apollo Agriculture. Emerging players are Pula Advisors, Twiga Foods, d.light and iProcure. Babban Gona is listed as a regional player.
Does AUXFIN have an API?
No public API is recorded for AUXFIN.
What industry is AUXFIN in?
AUXFIN's product category is Digital Financial Inclusion Platform for Rural Communities. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPADALAM, Circular Economy & Resource Efficiency. Its NAICS code is 54151 and its SIC code is 7370.