Young innovators in Africa’s agriculture and food sectors are being urged to participate in an upcoming competition aimed at developing solutions that can help solve food security problems in Africa.
The competition is open to African founders or co-founders, aged between 18 and 40 years, of technology-based and digital services businesses in the agriculture sector are eligible to enter. Six winners in three different categories will walk away with a share of 45,000 U.S. dollars in prize money.
“Pitch AgriHack is about promoting digital jobs and smart technologies that appeal to the youth,” Dickson Naftali, head of Generation Africa said.
“This competition calls on the innovative minds of Africa to empower themselves and their communities by harnessing and developing ground-breaking technologies in the agri-food sector.
“We see a bright future on the horizon for the youth of Africa. Generation Africa, with the help of its partners like Heifer International, is working tirelessly to smooth out the obstacles that have traditionally prevented young people from embracing opportunities in the agriculture and food value chain.”
Dr Agnes Kalibata, president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), says the youth of Africa have a crucial role to play in the continent’s food and farming future. Kalibata described Pitch AgriHack as a wonderful initiative that awards youth-led innovative agricultural businesses.
“At the intersection of technology and agriculture, new innovations have the capacity to enable and uplift smallholder farmers, and drive agricultural transformation across Africa.”
The top 12 applicants will face off in a business pitching contest at the AGRF summit in September in Nairobi, Kenya. Finalists will also participate in the AGRF Agribusiness deal room, where over 800 companies, 15 government delegations and 150 public and private investors will convene to generate new opportunities.
An additional invite-only category, known as the AYuTe Africa Challenge, sponsored by Heifer International, will award up to US$15 million in grants to scalable ventures that are already generating measurable impact for Africa’s smallholder farmers.
