Six youth-led agribusinesses for African farmers have won a share of the US$45,000 Pitch AgriHack 2021 competition at the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF)
These innovations include mobile crop processing machinery, produce delivery services and e-commerce and farm financing platforms.
The Pitch AgriHack competition aims at amplifying efforts by young innovators to bring technological innovation close to the agriculture sector. It is sponsored by Heifer International and hosted by Generation Africa – a thematic platform of the AGRF. Heifer aims at providing nutritious food, shelter, clean water and access to health care – a life free from hunger and poverty. Generation Africa plans to strengthen the ecosystem for youth entrepreneurs in the agri-food sector across the continent.
“The youth of Africa have a crucial role to play in our continent’s food and farming future. Food systems change is one of the most pressing global issues as humanity negotiates a new balance with the natural world amidst the undeniable impacts of climate change,” said Dr Agnes Kalibata, President of AGRA and Special Envoy to the UN Food Systems Summit.
The winners of the three open competition categories are:
Early-Stage category
Winner: Jeffrey Appiagyei of SAYeTECH Company Limited in Ghana. Jeffrey’s company designs and manufactures climate-smart agricultural machinery that increases productivity of smallholder farmers.
Mature- and Growth-Stage category
Winner: Mahmud Johnson of J Palm in Liberia. Mahmud’s company has created innovative labour-saving technology for Liberia’s smallholder farmers, helping them to produce wild palm oil more profitably and efficiently, while not contributing to deforestation or animal habitat destruction.
Women-led Agribusiness category
Winner: Ore Alemede of GrowAgric in Kenya. Ore’s company provides a full technology end-to-end solution that optimises the entire agriculture value chain
Winners of the Invite-Only AYuTe Africa Challenge run by Heifer International
ColdHubs: Solar powered cold storage for developing countries.
Hello Tractor: Connecting farmers to nearby tractor owners via a mobile app.
“Pitch AgriHack and the AYuTe Africa Challenge support youth-led technological innovation in the agriculture sector. We believe that the agricultural sector has the potential to provide future jobs for Africa’s growing youth population, while advancing the continent’s food security agenda,” said Adesuwa Ifedi, Senior Vice President for Africa Programs at Heifer International.
