JOHANNESBURG - Twelve young entrepreneurs from across Africa have been named as finalists in the inaugural $100,000 Generation Africa GoGettaz 'agripreneur' competition to select two innovative ventures in the agri-food sector.
On September 3 the six women and six men aged aged 18-35, who are founders of financially viable ventures in the sector, will take part in a live finale in Accra, Ghana, with the two winners, one from each gender, being announced the following day.
The competition is the flagship project of Generation Africa, an initiative founded by Yara International and Econet Global earlier this year whose mission is to bring the dynamism of youth entrepreneurship to Africa’s agri-food sector and to strengthen the ecosystem that supports these young business people.
“A new generation of tech-savvy agripreneurs will help deliver the jobs, prosperity and food security that are vital to Africa’s future,” said Luis Alfredo Pérez, head of Business Unit Africa at Yara International.
Since its launch on May 30, the campaign has reached over 46 million young people across the continent.
From a pool of 3,000 online applicants from 39 African countries, the 12 finalist ventures stood out with their business ideas, pitch videos and during telephone interviews conducted by the judges.
The selectors looked specifically for innovation, market presence and traction, inspiration and presentation, social and environmental impact and the scalability and financial sustainability of the competitors' business model.
“Africa’s next generation brings a confident entrepreneurial mindset which, when matched with education, support and investment, will accelerate tech-enabled growth and job creation," said Dalumuzi Mhlanga, chief of staff at Econet Global.
"Much of this potential lies at the intersection of the agri-food sector and the current technology revolution."