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.
Candidates should be early-stage or growth-stage youth-led agritech businesses/companies with innovative solutions impacting smallholder farmers at scale. The first stage of the challenge will identify the top 10 agritech innovators. 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.
The challenge will run for three months, during which three agritech innovators to be awarded the top prizes (winner, first runner-up, second runner-up).

Host: Heifer International
Category: Training & Competition
Eligible Country: Nigerians

Programme Benefits

Coaching and mentorship, personalized to unpack training into business implementation for the top-5 finalists
Technical assistance at the various levels of the challenge to strengthen the MVP and the business and financial model of the start-up
Links to financial and investment opportunities
Networking opportunities to showcase your solution and meet with investors and other stakeholders
Cash prize awards of a total of $20,000 for the top three winners:
– Winner: $10,000
– First Runner-Up: $6,000
– Second Runner-Up: $4,000

Eligibility Criteria

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