AGRIBUSINESS solution innovators from Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Burundi bagged over $100,000 after taking top honours in the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize competition at the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) here on Wednesday.
After on-stage pitches to a panel of judges earlier this week, Esther Kimani, the founder of FarmerLifeLine Technologies in Kenya and Mark Musinguzi, founder of Hya Bioplastics in Uganda each received a $50,000 prize at AGRF gala graced by President Paul Kagame.
Nancy Iraba, co-founder of Healthy Seaweed Co., based in Zanzibar and Eloge Niyomwungere, founder of Best Food Solution based in Bujumbura, were recognized in the ‘additional impact awards’ and will receive $2,500 prize money.
Iraba founded the seaweed firm to boost women seaweed farmers’ livelihoods, and also harvest health benefits of seaweed by local value-addition. The promotion of seaweed as a quality, sustainable food source was also envisaged, organisers said.
Only two in the 12 finalists in this year’s GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize contest came from outside East Africa and recognized in the ‘additional impact awards,’ namely Noël N'guessan, co-founder of LONO in Côte d’Ivoire and Seynabou Dieng, co-founder of Maya Sarl in Senegal.
Fernanda Lopes, executive vice president for Asia and Africa at Yara International, a Norwegian chemical company producing nitrogen-based mineral fertilizers for the global market, awarded the winners on behalf of Generation Africa co-founders.
“These young entrepreneurs are in the midst of a food revolution. Their ventures are making a positive impact on their communities, their environment, and the local economy,” she said
Emerging winners among women agripreneurs, Kimani and FarmerLifeLine Technologies invented a proprietary disease detection device that leverages solar-powered cameras, helping Kenyan farmers to get ahead of pests and pathogens.
The device is a product of artificial intelligence, data analytics and machine learning, the acclaimed innovator noted.
Among the men, grand prize winner Musinguzi of Hya Bioplastics wants to lead Africa in sustainable food packaging with an innovative biodegradable product solution that provides a cost competitive alternative to petroleum-based plastic packaging.
Generation Africa co-founder Svein Holsether, president of Yara International, delivered keynote remarks at the final pitching contest to thank the finalists for their visionary work.
He said their innovations are truly inspiring, seeing them as leaders and role models “in a world that so desperately needs that kind of drive and dedication to solve the staggering global challenges we are faced with.”
AGRF retired chairman Strive Masiyiwa, Generation Africa co-founder and executive chairman of Econet and Cassava Technologies, joined Holsether via video message to motivate the contestants to use their entrepreneurial spirit for positive impact.
Embodying the spirit of Masiyiwa’s message, Generation Africa recognized four impact award winners for each venture’s potential to empower communities and protect the environment.
For Dieng, Maya is much more than a food processing company. By partnering with small-scale local farmers in Mali, this 80 per cent women-staffed company gets the best local ingredients to manufacture sauces, spices, mixes and dried fruits.
N'guessan of LONO co-founded his business to focus on healthy soil. One of its products, KubeKo, helps farmers in Côte d’Ivoire to unlock value from their waste. This easy-to-use biogas composting system generates two hours of cooking gas and 50 litres of liquid fertilizer from five kilogrammes of organic waste per day.
Niyomwungere and his business Best Food Solution process chillies into oil, powder, and dried chillies for local and export markets. He founded his company to revitalise Burundi’s chilli industry by supporting smallholder farmers with quality inputs and guaranteed offset. They even manufacture an organic chilli-based pesticide to protect yields, the panel noted.
Dickson Naftali, head of Generation Africa, said GoGettaz has grown into the biggest, youth-focused, agripreneurship contest in Africa. “Our entries are becoming more diverse every year,” he stated.
The GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize was conceived to spread a message of hope and opportunity in the agrifood sector. “Seeing more youth with truly innovative solutions, building companies that create jobs in the food system makes me really proud. They hold the future of our continent in their hands,” the top agripreneur added.
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