AFRICA – Generation Africa, a partnership initiative with a vision to strengthen the ecosystem for youth entrepreneurs in the agri-food sector in Africa, has launched its fourth annual US$100,000 GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition.

According to the organizers, this year’s competition seeks to support Food Warriors who battle climate change, hunger, and poverty.

Dickson Naftali, Head of Generation Africa said, “Through the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition, our aim is to inspire them to create a system that delivers sufficient and nutritious food to the continent, that does not impact the environment negatively, and that creates sustainable, dignified jobs, and shared prosperity for Africa.”

The GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition is open to African citizens between 18 and 35 years old who are founders or co-founders of social or commercial agrifood businesses headquartered in Africa.

After a challenging selection process ending in a grand finale pitch competition in September 2022, two winners, one woman and one man, with scalable and impactful business or social ventures will each receive US$50,000 for their businesses.

Also, the finalists will participate in the AGRF 2022 Agribusiness Deal Room where they could meet future partners, investors, or clients.

Amanda Namayi, GoGettaz Lead at Generation Africa says, “By providing the GoGettaz Community with opportunities, we are on a mission to motivate young people to build companies that create jobs in the food system.”

The financial incentives are enhanced by investment opportunities through the AGRF Agribusiness Deal Room, and mentorship and education on the community platform.

Since its launch in 2019, Generation Africa has brought onboard USAID as a co-founding partner, alongside Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, Corteva Agriscience, Econet, Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions, Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture and Yara International. Other supporting partners include Nourishing Africa and One Young World,

Four influential new partners i.e., AfDB, Bayer, Heifer International, and the Norad have joined the growing list of partners of Generation Africa in their mission to inspire the youth towards a strong, independent, climate-smart food system.

These global leaders provide resources and support that create new opportunities for African youth in the agrifood sector.

For instance, in 2021, and again in 2022, founding partner Yara International will provide full scholarships to select GoGettaz alumni to pursue a Master’s in Business Creation at the University of Utah, David Eccles School of Business.

Global NPO Heifer International on the other hand extended their support to youth in agritech through the Generation Africa Pitch AgriHack competition and the special AYuTe prize of 1.5 million dollars.

Meanwhile, Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL) in collaboration with Smart Lab has launched Accelerator 100+ program, an opportunity to help passionate entrepreneurs and Startups to contribute to finding solutions to sustainable development challenges.

The programme will see a start-up going home with up to US$100,000 to implement a pilot project, alongside receiving mentorship and training.

Launched in 2018, the 100+ Accelerator has worked with several leading global corporates i.e., AB InBev, The Coca-Cola Company, Colgate-Palmolive and Unilever to solve supply chain challenges across water stewardship, circular economy, sustainable agriculture, climate action, inclusive growth, and biodiversity.

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