By George Munene
The 2023 edition of Africa’s biggest annual agripreneurship competition the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition has been opened awarding two young African agripreneurs Sh6.8M ($50,000) each.
Beyond the grand prizes, additional Impact Awards of Sh341,750 ($2,500) each will be awarded to four innovative businesses that make a positive social and environmental impact by contributing to climate-preneurship, food security, poverty reduction, and/or job creation in their communities.
The award whose applications are open from 8 May to 19 June 2023 seeks to identify and accelerate the journey to scale for a man and woman with innovative, high-potential agribusinesses.
The competition is open to African agripreneurs aged 18 and 35, who are founders or co-founders of innovative and scalable agrifood businesses.
With top mentors, a network of global industry leaders, and a growing community, the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition seeks to fast-track the growth of agribusinesses with the potential to ensure food security and provide dignified employment. Applicants must be citizens of an African country, and their business headquarters must be in Africa.
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The final pitch contest and award ceremony will be held live on stage at the AGRF Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in September of this year.
The GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize is helmed by Generation Africa– a movement that seeks to inspire the next generation of African agripreneurs. The organisation which is marking its fifth year of existence also offers specialty agriculture-centred scholarship opportunities and an advocacy platform through the Generation Africa Fellowship Programme (GAFP).
“Agripreneurship is the biggest, most important opportunity in Africa. Especially with the power of emerging technologies in the sector, we want African youth to grab this opportunity with both hands. A strong, African-led agrifood sector is our best hope for a prosperous continent without hunger and malnutrition; but we must develop our agrifood sector better, more sustainably, and more responsibly,” said Dickson Naftali, Head of Generation Africa.
After the semi-final process, twelve finalists will be invited to pitch their businesses to a panel of expert judges. Finalists will also be given facilitated access to the AGRF Agribusiness Deal Room to grow their network with potential investors, partners, and collaborators.
“In just five years, the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition has become a critical platform for identifying and supporting young African entrepreneurs who are boldly launching businesses in the agri-food sector. In the process, they are creating wealth for themselves and their families and driving economic growth on the continent. We are excited to see the innovative and scalable solutions that the next generation of agripreneurs will bring to the table,” said Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President of AGRA.
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Generation Africa’s Co-Founder and Ambassador Svein Tore Holsether who is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Yara International commended the GoGettaz Competition for being instrumental in supporting Africa’s best and brightest to contribute to regional and global, sustainable food security.
Generation Africa Co-Founder, Strive Masiyiwa, Founder and Executive Chairman of Econet Group and Cassava Technologies, remarked, “When Svein Tore and I first talked about engaging youth in Africa’s agrifood sector, we hadn’t yet faced a global pandemic or huge disruptions in the food supply chain. As the fastest growing demographic on earth, our young African entrepreneurs are now imagining new agribusiness models, harnessing the power of agritech and innovative food science technologies to create new markets and prosperity. They’re remarkable. A long way to go but the aim is for Africa to be a net food exporter, not the other way around!”
For information on the competition, applicants can visit: http://gogettaz.africa.