KIGALI, Rwanda – Africa’s young agrifood entrepreneurs took center stage in Kigali, Rwanda, as the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition announced its 2026 winners at the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) closing ceremony.
After progressing through a competitive selection process, Israel Smart Obidah, founder of Smartel Agri-tech (Nigeria), and Nabakka Sandra, co-founder of Sandi AI Technologies (Uganda), were named the 2026 GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Grand Prize winners. Each received a US$50,000 grant award to grow and scale their businesses.
Smartel Agri-tech is helping smallholder farmers produce more food with fewer resources. Its Farm-in-a-Box combines hydroponics, IoT monitoring, and AI-powered crop diagnostics, allowing farmers to grow throughout the year while using up to 90 percent less water and reducing input costs by up to 70 percent. Since its commercial launch in 2024, Smartel has deployed more than 7,000 systems.
Sandi AI Technologies uses artificial intelligence and rural savings groups to help farmers access solar-powered irrigation without relying on traditional loans or collateral. The platform has reached 10,000 groups, representing more than 301,000 people, and has facilitated the acquisition of more than US$4 million worth of irrigation and agricultural technologies.
The winners were selected based on five judging criteria: innovation, market potential and traction, social and environmental impact, business model, and founder and team.
Four Impact Awards Recognize Businesses Delivering Practical Solutions
Four Impact Awards were also presented to entrepreneurs whose businesses address challenges across Africa’s agrifood systems:
Jolis Nduwimana, founder of Wege Company (Burundi), converts banana and rice straw into affordable, reusable, and recyclable packaging as an alternative to plastic. The company serves more than 10,000 customers each month and works with more than 15,200 farmers through its raw material supply chain.
Josiane Mujawayezu, founder of Amazing Insect Ltd (Rwanda), turns organic waste into organic fertilizers and insect-based animal feed. Using a circular economy approach to improve soil fertility, livestock nutrition, and livelihoods, the company serves more than 5,000 customers and works with 96 agricultural cooperatives across Rwanda.
Baba Djibo, founder of Djibo Services (Mali), developed a biological compost activator that transforms organic waste into quality compost in approximately 10 days, compared with 45 to 90 days using traditional methods. The company also engages farmers, young people, and women through training in sustainable agriculture and green entrepreneurship.
Olivia Okinyi, founder of Econasi Limited (Kenya), turns pineapple agricultural waste into plant-based leather and sustainable packaging alternatives. The business works with 500 small-scale pineapple farmers and reports that its model can increase farmer incomes by close to 40 percent while diverting agricultural waste from landfills.
Six Finalists Receive Catalytic Awards
The six remaining finalists each received a GoGettaz Catalytic Award, recognizing promising young businesses contributing to the growth and transformation of Africa’s agrifood systems:
Nancy Githumbi, founder of Sincy Group Holdings (Kenya), provides farmers with traceable agricultural inputs, input financing, training, and market access. The company has served 549,000 farmers and provided more than US$720,000 in agro-input credit.
Chaimae Sqalli Adoui, founder of Foodeals (Morocco), helps food businesses reduce waste and recover value from surplus food through a digital platform supporting expiry-date tracking, demand forecasting, redistribution, sales, and food donations. During a pilot in Fez, Foodeals facilitated the sale of more than 1,720 surplus meals and the donation of more than 450 meals.
Tariku Denekew, founder of ZTN PLC (Ethiopia), develops agricultural technology for farmers operating in areas with limited internet connectivity and electricity. Its solar-powered system uses a private network and edge AI to support precision irrigation and agricultural decision-making. Pilot deployments in Ethiopia recorded a 48 percent reduction in water use and a 30 percent increase in yields.
Godfrey Noel, founder of Kilimora (Kenya), combines offline AI, soil monitoring, and climate finance to connect smallholder farmers to sustainable markets and new sources of income. The business works with 1,500 cooperative farming operators across six counties, more than 60 percent of whom are women.
Daouda Faye, founder of B2C Agribusiness (Senegal), helps smallholder farmers build financial profiles and access agricultural finance, information, and digital services through MBAY’MI CONNECT. The platform has reached more than 35,000 farmers across Senegal, Ghana, and Togo.
Uche Kenneth, founder of Smokeless Briqs Energy Solutions (Nigeria), turns agricultural waste into affordable clean cooking fuel and smart cookstoves. The business has reached more than 25,000 users across 43 rural communities, and its technology has enabled more than 15,000 households to generate electricity for lighting and mobile charging.
Transforming Africa’s Agrifood Landscape
The 2026 finalists reflect a generation of African entrepreneurs addressing agrifood system challenges through different lenses. Across the 12 businesses are applications of artificial intelligence, digital finance, hydroponics, renewable energy, circular economy models, climate-smart agriculture, and locally developed technologies.
More importantly, these businesses are already working with farmers and consumers: creating jobs, opening access to finance and markets, and demonstrating commercial opportunities within Africa’s agrifood sector.
Alice Ruhweza, President of AGRA, noted that the finalists demonstrate why Africa’s young entrepreneurs must be at the center of investment in the continent’s food systems:
“Africa’s food systems transformation will ultimately be driven by businesses that can solve real problems at scale. The entrepreneurs we are celebrating through GoGettaz are showing us what that looks like in practice. They are using technology differently, creating new markets, generating jobs and building solutions around the realities of African farmers and consumers. The opportunity now is to help businesses like these, move from promising enterprises to companies that can operate on a scale. That requires capital, strong markets, the right partnerships, and an enabling environment that allows young entrepreneurs to compete and grow.”
The GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize is hosted under Generation Africa, AGRA’s youth community that mobilizes, supports, and amplifies young people as entrepreneurs, innovators, and advocates.
The Prize goes beyond financial awards. Through Generation Africa, these young entrepreneurs gain access to mentorship, networks, visibility, and opportunities to engage with investors, policymakers, and other leaders across Africa’s food systems.
This year’s finalists also demonstrate the growing geographic reach of youth-led agrifood innovation. The 12 entrepreneurs represent Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, and Uganda, bringing together businesses at different stages and from different parts of the continent.
As Africa works to create jobs for its growing young population while building more productive, resilient, and sustainable food systems, the 2026 GoGettaz entrepreneurs demonstrate that many of the solutions are already being developed by young Africans themselves.
