Opportunity Title: Enactus Nigeria AYuTe Africa Challenge 2023 ($20,000 Prize)

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.

Compete for a chance to win a share of $20,000 in the AYuTe Nigeria Challenge.

Candidates should be early-stage or growth-stage youth-led agritech businesses/companies with innovative solutions impacting smallholder farmers at scale.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ENACTUS NIGERIA AYUTE AFRICA CHALLENGE

• 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

Timeline:

• In September 2022, the first stage of the challenge will identify the top-10 agritech innovators and 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 in October 2022.