The AYuTe Africa Challenge Nigeria is an enterprise development program initiated by Heifer International and implemented by Enactus Nigeria to identify, nurture, and support innovative, relevant and technology-driven agric-centric enterprises to grow, scale and thrive.

Compete for a chance to win a share of $20,000 in the AYuTe Nigeria Challenge.

Candidates should be early-stage or growth-stage youth-led agritech businesses/companies with innovative solutions impacting smallholder farmers at scale.

Eligibility Requirements

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

Timeline:

  • In September 2022, the first stage of the challenge will identify 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 in October 2022.

Application Deadline: 16 September, 2022, by 5pm WAT.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage