Tendai Gavaza, a Zimbabwean farmer and entrepreneur, founded StokData Africa after experiencing difficulties managing her farm in Zimbabwe while living in Melbourne, Australia. Gavaza grew up in Gweru, Zimbabwe, where farming was a part of everyday life. After losing her parents at a young age, her grandparents shaped her values, teaching her resilience, discipline, and hard work. Gavaza's journey into technology began when she faced challenges managing her farm remotely, including verifying expenses and tracking records.
Gavaza's problems worsened when a former farm manager stole her laptop containing important records, and a phone was stolen, resulting in the loss of WhatsApp records. The situation was further complicated when 32 goats went missing without explanation. These experiences pushed Gavaza to build a platform that brings farm operations, workforce management, and financial records into one system. StokData Africa was launched in 2026 as a self-funded business to help farmers manage their businesses more effectively.
StokData Africa's platform supports livestock, poultry, and horticulture operations, offering tools for payroll, expenses, sales, and profitability tracking. The platform also features a Company and Cooperative Dashboard, which serves organizations working with multiple farms. Gavaza's goal is to make professional farm management accessible to farmers of different sizes, helping them improve accountability, productivity, and profitability. The platform has already reached 96 farmers since its launch.
The platform was designed to reflect the realities of African farming, which often involves mixed farming. StokData Africa's system brings together different farming activities, workforce management, financial records, and profitability tracking in one accessible platform. The target market includes smallholder and commercial farmers, farm managers, agricultural cooperatives, farming companies, and organizations supporting farmers.
What distinguishes StokData from other farm management platforms is that it was built from Gavaza's own experience as a farmer. The platform considers the realities of farming in Africa, including unreliable internet connectivity and different levels of digital literacy. StokData Africa's approach is to keep the platform affordable while building a sustainable business that can continue improving its services and expanding access to practical farm management technology across Africa.
StokData Africa operates on a subscription-based business model, offering monthly and annual plans designed to make farm management technology accessible to different types of farmers. The business offers a seven-day free trial, and revenue comes primarily from subscriptions, with additional opportunities through onboarding, training, and tailored solutions for agricultural organizations.
Gavaza's vision for StokData Africa is to expand across Africa, providing farmers with the tools they need to manage their businesses more effectively. The platform's AI features provide agricultural guidance, aiming to improve accountability, reduce paperwork and financial losses, and help farmers manage their farms as profitable, well-organized businesses.
Key points
- StokData Africa offers a farm management platform that brings different farming activities into one system.
- The platform was founded by Tendai Gavaza after she lost 32 goats due to management difficulties.
- StokData Africa has already reached 96 farmers since its launch in 2026.
