Heifer International Kenya has officially launched the 2024 AYuTe Africa Challenge.
AYuTe which stands for Agriculture, Youth, Technology aims to create opportunities for young entrepreneurs to propel agriculture transformation, catalyze ground-up innovation from the youth, and make agriculture a desired career for the future.
Through AYuTe, youth-led agritech innovations in Kenya will get the opportunity to pitch for investment in their businesses to boost the income and productivity of smallholder farmers.
The 2024 edition marks the third iteration of the AYuTe Africa Challenge Kenya under the theme; “Reimagining the Future of African Agriculture” with the deadline set for July 7, 2024 at 11.59 PM EAT.
The applications will be received through an online platform in two categories. The first category, Track 1, is for enterprises at the idea, proof of concept, and prototyping stages.
The second category, Track 2, is for enterprises at the product stage, and aiming to scale up their businesses.
Since its inception in 2022, AYuTe Africa Challenge in Kenya has registered over 400 applications, over 230 youth-led agritech innovations have received coaching and mentorship while over 10 startups have been awarded cash-prize worth over $40,000 to translate aggressive business expansion strategies that impact smallholder farmers.
“This competition provides an opportunity for young innovators in Kenya to secure the funding and visibility they need to scale up their agritech solutions to reach millions of farmers across Kenya,” says William Matovu, Country Director of Heifer International Kenya.
“AYUTE is a very innovative vehicle that can identify innovative agritech with transformative solutions that can change the face of the agricultural sector, we look forward to receiving applications, and even more so, to seeing many more young women participating in the competition,” he adds.
The 2024 edition will focus on enterprises with innovative agri-tech solutions responding to the needs of the agri-value chain at various levels, such as production, aggregation, post-harvest loss management, value addition, access to markets, and financing.
In addition, four regions will be targeted to ensure comprehensive national representation. These regions include Nairobi, the Central Regional Economic Bloc, the Lake Region Economic Bloc, the North Rift Economic Bloc, and Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) counties.
The awards for the competition include a cash prize of up to Ksh3.5 million for the top winners.
In addition, the top 20 innovators will undergo a one-month incubation program among other benefits such as linkage to investment, networking, training, coaching, and mentorship opportunities through the E4Impact Accelerator.
The winners will also be integrated into the E4Impact Alumni community which will provide them with valuable networking opportunities and ongoing support even after completion of the program.
