ABF Agribusiness Growth Challenge 2026 for Young Agripreneurs (Win €6,000, Dell Laptop or 6-Month Mentorship)

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Applications are open for ABF Agribusiness Growth Challenge 2026. The challenge is designed to help early-stage agribusinesses strengthen their business models, build climate resilience and prepare for sustainable growth.

The Agribusiness Growth Challenge is an initiative of the Agri-Business Facility for Africa (ABF) that combines practical business training with an opportunity to compete for Business Growth Awards. Participants will complete a curated learning pathway through the Agribusiness e-Academy on atingi.

This competition is organised by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH through its Agri-Business Facility for Africa (ABF) and Market-Oriented Value Chains for Jobs and Growth in the ECOWAS Region (MOVE-ComCashew) projects, both part of German Development Cooperation.

Together, these projects implement the Joint Action “Business Support Facility for Resilient Agricultural Value Chains”, a combined effort of the EU Directorate-General for International Partnerships (INTPA), Organisation of African Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and German Government through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The Joint Action is jointly co-financed by the European Union under the Samoa agreement with OACPS and by the (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ.

ABF Agribusiness Growth Challenge Learning Pathway

This curated learning pathway brings together three practical courses designed to help you:

Build a stronger business
- Learn how to develop a clear business model that connects what your customers need with how your agribusiness creates, delivers and earns value.
Adapt to climate change
- Understand the climate risks affecting your agribusiness and identify practical ways to become more resilient.
Prepare for sustainable growth
- Assess the viability of your agribusiness and strengthen its potential to attract finance and investment.

Benefits

Complete the selected courses, and you could go further. Show us your strongest plan for putting the training into action and you could win one of the Business Growth Awards:

€6,000 in funding
A Dell Pro 14 Essential laptop
A place in a 6-month agribusiness mentoring programme
Build your skills. Share your vision. Take your agribusiness further.

Eligibility Criteria

This call for submissions is open to young and emerging agripreneurs, aged 18 and above based in a member state of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS).
To see if your country is an OACPS member state, check here.
Only projects submitted via the following link on Kobotoolbox are eligible.

How To Apply for ABF Agribusiness Growth Challenge

To participate, each applicant must complete all three mandatory Agribusiness e-Academy courses. The first two (Climate-Smart Agribusiness: Adaptation and Business Model Canvas) can be completed in any order. Once both are finished, you’ll unlock the final course: Creating an Investment-Ready Agribusiness.
Only applicants who submit a valid certificate ID from the “Creating an Investment-Ready Agribusiness” course will be eligible. The certificate ID serves as proof that the full course pathway has been successfully completed.
Submissions without a valid certificate ID will not be accepted.

Click Here to Apply and for more details

Application Deadline: 30 October 2026