Ethiopian Agritech Startup Lersha Wins $100,000 Heifer Prize at MIT Solve 2026

Addis Ababa-based agritech startup Lersha has won the Heifer Prize for Smallholder Agricultural Transformation at the MIT Solve 2026 Challenge Finals in New York.

The award places Lersha in the 2026 Solver Class and comes with US$100,000 in unrestricted funding. The announcement was made during the UN General Assembly and Climate Week gatherings in New York.

MIT Solve Selects 10 Global Winners

The 2026 challenge marked the 10th anniversary of MIT Solve, the social impact initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The programme says it has run more than 110 challenges over the past decade, attracting more than 30,000 applications from 190 countries and mobilising over US$90 million for 470 solutions.

This year's challenge focused on solutions that have moved beyond the early development stage and are ready to scale responsibly. From more than 1,000 applications across 110 countries, judges selected 10 winners.

Alongside the US$100,000 prize, Solver teams receive investor pitch opportunities, covered travel, pro bono legal support, discounted technology services and access to MIT Solve's global network.

Lersha Connects Farmers to Finance and Services

Founded in 2018 by Abrhame Endrias and operated by Green Agro Solution PLC, Lersha combines digital platforms with a network of field agents and a central call centre to deliver services to smallholder farmers.

Its platform provides access to agricultural inputs, mechanisation, financing, market connections and weather and climate information. The company operates across several Ethiopian regions and also has a liaison office in Nairobi, Kenya.

A central part of the model is Lersha's financing system, which links farmers with banks, insurers, input suppliers and agricultural buyers. Rather than providing farmers with cash loans, financing is delivered through inputs and mechanisation services. Repayment is then connected to produce aggregation and sales.

Targeting Ethiopia's Agricultural Finance Gap

Lersha is operating in a market where agriculture supports more than 80% of livelihoods in Ethiopia, while the sector receives only around 8% of formal lending, according to the company's MIT Solve submission.

The startup reports that it has reached approximately 380,000 farmers through more than 4,000 field agents. Its reported early results include a 100% repayment rate, a 24% increase in farming productivity and a 30% rise in farmer incomes. The Heifer Prize gives the company additional unrestricted capital as it looks to expand its model and reach more smallholder farmers.