The AYuTe Africa Challenge Nigeria is an enterprise development program initiated by Heifer International and implemented by Wennovation Hub to identify, nurture, and support innovative, relevant and technology-driven agric-centric enterprises to grow, scale and thrive.
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.
Candidates should be early-stage or growth-stage youth-led agritech businesses/companies with innovative solutions impacting smallholder farmers at scale.
Eligibility Criteria for AYuTe Africa Challenge Nigeria
Applicants must:
- Be aged 18-35 by the closing day of submission to the AYuTe Nigeria challenge
- Be a youth with innovative ideas focusing on the agriculture sector
- Have ideas that are proven to solve social problems and are implementable, technically feasible, economically sound (affordable), and environmentally smart (eco-friendly)
- Hold Nigerian nationality with official ID (national identity card, international passport, or permanent voters’ card)
- Produce financial statements for the venture
- Be the founder or co-founder of the enterprise represented in the competition and play an active role in its operations and leadership
- Have no criminal record related to corruption, tax evasion, financial impropriety, felony or other offences
- Have the potential for partnership and collaboration with other actors/stakeholders
The company must have:
- Been registered/incorporated with the relevant government agencies in Nigeria
- The ability to scale and impact a large number of smallholder farmers, including recorded evidence of demonstrated impact on smallholder farmers’ revenue and/or operations
- The potential for job creation and poverty reduction
- Alignment with relevant national policies and international treaties (e.g., SDGs)
- An identifiable technological innovation that addresses the following problems for smallholder farmers:
- Smallholder farmer productivity
- Smallholder farmer income
- Labour intensiveness of operations
- Resilience
- Access to information
- Strong competitive advantage
Application Timeline
The application period will run from 17th July to 31st July. This will be followed by the identification of the top-10 agritech innovators and the second stage will identify the top-5 agritech innovators. The top three enterprises will be awarded cash prizes at a pitch and awards ceremony.
How to Apply for AYuTe Africa Challenge Nigeria
Click here to apply and more details.
