Heifer International to reward young innovative entrepreneurs
Heifer International’s AYuTe Africa Challenge today launched a new national competition, offering young entrepreneurs in Uganda the opportunity to pitch for investment in their agritech solutions to boost the incomes and productivity of Africa’s smallholder farmers.
"This competition provides an opportunity for young innovators in Uganda to secure the funding and visibility they need to scale up their agritech solutions to reach millions of farmers across Africa," said Adesuwa Ifedi, Senior Vice President of Africa Programs at Heifer International.
The national competition represents a new phase of Heifer International’s AYuTe Africa Challenge, established in 2021 to award cash grants annually to the most promising young agritech innovators from across Africa.
Like the regional champions competition, the AYuTe National Champions competition offers prize money and mentorship, helping translate the energy and ideas of young Ugandan agritech innovators into meaningful impact for smallholder farmers across the country, and supporting winners to grow their businesses and profile.
"We appeal to all youth nationwide to get involved in the agribusiness competition that aims to find innovative solutions to critical challenges of the smallholder farmers in the agricultural sector. Uganda has a high literacy rate (76.53%) and one of the youngest populations globally, which augurs well for the success of this competition. We look forward to receiving brilliant innovations that can improve agricultural productivity," said William Matovu, country director, Heifer International Uganda.
Smallholder farmers in Uganda contribute the majority (65%) of the agricultural workforce. The AYuTe Africa Challenge therefore seeks to catalyse this demographic through innovation in agricultural technology that will narrow the productivity gap (Uganda's solid yields operate at less than 40% of its attainable potential).
How to participate
Record a two-minute video introducing yourself and demonstrating how your innovation works, what problem it seeks to solve, how it can potentially translate into meaningful impact for smallholder farmers across the country and how much money you would need to bring it to life.
Ensure that the video is not more than 2 minutes, has clear audio and is in MP4 Format.
Upload your video here https://bit.ly/AYuTeAfricaChallengeUgandaEdition. OR post it on your Twitter or Facebook pages and tag Heifer International Uganda using #AYuTeChallengeUg. OR send it to this WhatsApp number +256 781 608488
The most eligible submissions will be shortlisted to participate in a televised pitching show and will be selected to be aired on NTV. There is over Shs 100,000,000 up for grabs.
The overall winner will be crowned The AYuTe Africa Challenge Uganda Champion and will walk away with Shs 50,000,000, the 1 st runner-up; Shs 30,000,000, the second runner-up; Shs 15,000,000.
In addition, there will be two consolation prizes for Shs 2,500,000. On top of the prize money, 20 Agritech innovators will have premium access to Famunera Digital Export Marketplace for 12 months.
Deadline for participation: From June 16, 2022, to July 14, 2022.
