Photo courtesy
Alex Muli, CEO and Co-Founder of Goshen Farm which exports Kenyan fresh fruits and vegetables won the best agribusiness mature start-up category award at the youth AgriPitch competition, organized by the African Development Bank in partnership with the Western Cape Government in South Africa.
The 2019 competition which took place in Cape Town, South Africa from 24th to 28th June themed “Climate Smart Agriculture: Business and Employment Opportunities for Africa’s Youth” saw over 400 agribusiness proposals from across the continent participated in the African Youth Agripreneurs Forum (AYAF) competition.
Alex received a prize money of Sh2.5m ($25,000) while Paul Sheppard, South African who is a farmer specialising in the design, provision, and management of indoor and outdoor hydroponic systems and Co-Founder of Future Farms, took the $10,000 prize for the early start-up category.
A total of six winners from the two categories received a total of Sh7,400,000.
“This is a great learning experience for me and has helped me to know how to better tell the story about my business. I have been able to meet young Africans who are also doing great stuff for this continent hence rewriting our continent’s story, a story of hope, and transformation,” said Alex whose Goshen Farm was started in 2011.
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The forum provided a platform for youth agripreneurs and key stakeholders to brainstorm with experts, business leaders, investors and policymakers on issues that affect youth employment and key solutions to addressing these.
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It also served as a call to action to support innovative agriculture growth through intense engagement and mentorship for small and medium enterprises, and emphasized that with greater support and opportunities to set up their agribusiness enterprise, youth can become the driving force of Africa’s agriculture transformation.
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The AgriPitch Competition was part of a larger forum, the African Youth Agripreneurs Forum (AYAF) an annual forum of the African Development Bank’s flagship, Enable Youth Program, which focuses on youth employment and food insecurity.