AYuTe Africa NextGen
The AYuTe Africa NextGen, an initiative of Heifer International, was established in 2021 as an agribusiness innovation initiative designed to support smallholder farmers through youth-driven technology solutions. The initiative provides incubation, catalytic financing, and technical support to scale agritech businesses across Africa.
At the core of this initiative is the AYuTe Challenge, a competition that identifies and supports young African entrepreneurs developing scalable agritech solutions. Selected companies receive part of a $1.5 million catalytic grant along with technical assistance to expand their impact.
Eligibility Criteria
To be considered for the AYuTe Africa NextGen, applicants must:
– Have a minimum of three years of experience working with smallholder farmers in Africa, demonstrating a positive impact on their revenue.
– Operate in one of the following sectors:
– access to finance
– access to market
– access to energy
– climate smart solutions and resilience
– Be registered and operating in Sub-Saharan Africa.
– Have a sustainable business model capable of profitability while expanding operations.
– Offer a truly innovative product or service that is not a duplication of existing solutions.
– Demonstrate proven demand and affordability among smallholder farmers.
Benefits
– Access to part of a $1.5 million grant to scale agritech solutions.
– Technical and business development support.
– Expansion opportunities to impact food systems across multiple African countries.
Application Deadline
Not specified.
