Heifer Nigeria is thrilled to unveil the 2023 AYuTe Africa Challenge Nigeria. AYuTe, which stands for Agriculture, Youth, and Technology, is an enterprise development program initiated by Heifer International to identify, nurture, and support innovative, relevant and technology-driven agric-centric enterprises to grow, scale and thrive.
Through a regional AYuTe competition, Heifer International awards up to US$1.5 million each year to leading growth-stage agritech innovators across Africa. Building on this regional competition, Heifer country offices in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal and Uganda organizes national AYuTe competitions that award up to $20,000 in each country to start-up stage agritech innovators.
The AYuTe Africa Challenge Nigeria is an opportunity to identify young, creative entrepreneurs who have launched promising tech solutions that are capable of addressing systemic constraints limiting the productivity and income of smallholder farmers in Nigeria.
Like the regional competition, the AYuTe National Champions competition offers prize money, capacity building, and mentorship, helping translate the energy and ideas of young Nigerian agritech innovators into meaningful impact for smallholder farmers, growth of the agricultural sector, and the country’s food security.
AYuTe Africa Challenge Nigeria started in August 2022. Founder of Soupah Farm-en-Market Limited, Ifeoluwa Olatayo, emerged the grand prize winner for the maiden edition of the competition in Nigeria. Olatayo got a grant of $10,000 to expand her innovation that deploys USSD short code for aggregating market for farmers’ produce and deliver to market at affordable prices. The solution includes a QR code for authentication and a link to a URL that explains all the information about the product.. The second runner-up, Rejoice Usim of Simkay Foods Limited won $6,000 for vertical sack farming; a low-cost technology for planting crops into the sides and tops of large sacks of soil, enabling farmers to grow several crops in a relatively small space by taking advantage of the vertical growth of plants, while Stephen Obe of Evet Technology who finished third was awarded $4,000 for his smart technology innovation that improves farm productivity and prevents pre-harvest wastages.
“We are excited to announce the launch of the second edition of AYuTe Africa Challenge Nigeria,” says Rufus Idris, Country Director of Heifer Nigeria. “This challenge provides a platform to attract more young, talented entrepreneurs to agriculture, empowering them to unleash their potential and contribute to solving the numerous challenges facing our agricultural sector. We believe that their innovative tech solutions is needed today more than ever, as the country is in dire need of sustainable solution to the rising food inflation and food insecurity,” added Idris.
The 2023 AYuTe Africa Challenge Nigeria will span three months, during which eligible agritech startups will receive mentorship, business support and optimization, guidance, and market support with the Top 3 finalists receiving up to $20,000 in grants. By promoting entrepreneurship and technology adoption in the agriculture sector, the challenge aims to empower startups and advance sustainable rural development in Nigeria.
Heifer’s AYuTe Africa Challenge Nigeria 2023 is being implemented by Wennovation Hub, a business development company that supports startups and teams across emerging sectors. Wennovation Hub will provide bespoke business and entrepreneurship support and access to expert mentors and industry leaders who will provide valuable guidance to help participating startups refine their business models, enhance their products or services, and scale their operations effectively.
To qualify for AYuTe Africa Challenge Nigeria, startups must be registered and operating in Nigeria, be focused on leveraging technology to address challenges that affect smallholder farmers and drive innovation in the agriculture sector. The agritech is also expected to have a minimum viable product (MVP) or a working prototype that demonstrates the potential for impact.
More information about the AYuTe Africa Challenge Nigeria, including the application portal and eligibility criteria can be found HERE
