AfDB African Youth Agripreneur Forum (AYAF) and AgriPitch Competition 2022 for African Entrepreneurs

The African Youth Agripreneur Forum (AYAF) and AgriPitch Competition will be held virtually this year. Apply below.

Application Deadline: 4th November 2022

About the Award: The theme for the AYAF is, “The Role of African Youth Within African Food Systems” The objective will be to highlight how youth agripreneurs can address nutrition and gender inclusivity while serving as entrepreneurial leaders within their communities and being actively involved in the African agribusiness sector that is projected to become a trillion-dollar sector by 2030.

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The AgriPitch Competition

The AgriPitch Competition aims to instil a culture of innovation and nurture agribusiness innovations to create jobs and improve livelihoods among the youth. The expected outcome of the competition is to select winning ideas that can lead to new products, businesses, programs, projects and processes, while engaging young entrepreneurs eager to tackle the challenges they face as well as global challenges through “nutrition and gender inclusive solutions” that transform agriculture as well promote inclusive growth.

Through a call for proposals, all business profiles submitted for the AgriPitch Competition will go through a rigorous screening process based on specific criteria (see section below on criteria). An evaluation committee will be responsible for selecting the 25 best businesses who will then be invited to participate in the 2020 AgriPitch Competition. An investment teaser of the selected businesses will be shared with investors prior to the event.

Business Categories and Areas of Focus

Profiles for the competition will be submitted under three categories:

1. Early Start-ups (0-3 years) – eligible for the AgriPitch competition grant prize for Early Start-ups.
   1. Individuals who are at the very early stage of developing ideas/concepts for Agripreneurship or a newly established business.
   2. Must have a clearly defined prototype or proof of concept.
   3. May or may not have had any products introduced to the market.
   4. May or may not have a registered corporate entity.
2. Matured Start-ups (above 3 years) – eligible for the AgriPitch competition grant prize for Matured Start-ups.
   1. Individuals and firms with existing market traction: technology, product, service, etc., already on the market.
   2. Must have a clear investment ask and growth plan/strategy.
   3. Must be a registered corporate entity.
3. Women Empowered Businesses: eligible for the DealRoom with investors
   1. Firms with at least 51% share of women ownership or founded by a woman.
   2. Individuals and firms with existing market traction: technology, product, service, etc., already on the market.
   3. Must have a clear investment ask and growth plan/strategy.
   4. Must be a registered corporate entity.

Type: Contest

Eligibility: The AYAF is an annual event of the African Development Bank’s Enable Youth Program and is expected to attract participants from across the world, including youth agripreneurs, agribusiness companies, investors, nutrition experts, gender experts, academia, development partners and government agencies.

Eligible Countries: African countries

To be Taken at (Country): Virtual

Number of Awards: Not specified

Selection & Value of Award:

Dealroom

AgriPitch falls under the African Development Bank’s fourth African Youth Agripreneurs Forum (AYAF) which is a platform for Africa’s youth who are interested in the agriculture startup scene.

In line with the 2022 theme, the AgriPitch Dealroom will be held virtually. The Bank, through the 2022 Virtual Investor Dealroom, aims to create access to capital and markets which are often the two main hurdles for youth agripreneurs to overcome when scaling up their businesses.

Mentorship

• The AgriPitch online programme includes a training session (Bootcamp) on strategic partnerships for equity in agriculture, nutrition, and financing the youth and women.
• In the two-week-long business development boot camp, AgriPitch competitors can attend virtual sessions on product development, revenue channel identification, logistics, marketing, business management, investment readiness, financing, and other issues, led by trainers and coaches
• Following the training and bootcamp, the participating agripreneurs will receive follow-up mentorship and coaching (virtually) for a period of six months. The mentorship activity will also link the AgriPitch participants to relevant resources throughout the six month period and beyond.

How to Apply: Register now(link is external)

• It is important to go through all instructions, Terms & Conditions in the Award Webpage (see Link below) before applying.
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Visit Award Webpage for Details