Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Shine As 4 Young Innovators Win AYuTe NextGen 2025

Four young agricultural innovators from Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria have emerged winners of the AYuTe NextGen 2025 competition, Africa’s premier platform for youth-driven agricultural innovation.

The event, hosted by Heifer International, concluded in Kampala over the weekend after three days of live pitches, collaborative dialogue, and visionary discussions under the theme “AgTech Generation Rising.”

The annual contest, which drew over 100 entries from 10 African countries, celebrates bold, scalable solutions that are transforming smallholder farming across the continent. Eleven finalists were selected to pitch their ideas before a panel of expert judges drawn from the agriculture, finance, climate innovation, and technology sectors.

Winners were selected in two major categories — Climate-Smart Agriculture and Access to Finance and Markets.

In the Climate-Smart Agriculture category, Carolyn Mwangi, founder and CEO of Kimplanter Seedlings and Nurseries (Kenya), clinched the top spot for her enterprise’s work in producing climate-resilient seedlings tailored for smallholder farmers. First runner-up was Maryanne Gichanga, also from Kenya, CEO of Agritechs Analytics, whose solar-powered sensors offer real-time farm monitoring and pest alerts via mobile platforms.

In the Access to Finance and Markets category, Nana Opoku, CEO of Grow For Me (Ghana), won for his innovative platform that connects farm sponsors with vetted farmers, sharing profits after harvest. The first runner-up was Richies Attai, co-founder and CEO of Winich Farms (Nigeria), recognised for his end-to-end platform that links farmers directly with factories and provides bundled credit and insurance support.

“This recognition means so much, not just to me, but to our entire team at Kimplanter,” said Mwangi. “Winning AYuTe NextGen is not just a milestone — it’s a sign that Africa’s agricultural future will be built on innovation, data, and the determination of young entrepreneurs.”

For Ghana’s Nana Opoku, the award validates years of hard work. “This opportunity marks a major shift for smallholder farmers in Ghana. It brings hope, unlocks finance, and offers protection from losses. This win is not just ours — it belongs to the farmers.”

Now in its latest edition, AYuTe (Agriculture Youth and Technology) NextGen is fast becoming a pan-African launchpad for disruptive agricultural ideas. Adesuwa Ifedi, Senior Vice President of Africa Programs at Heifer International, praised the role of youth in shaping Africa’s food systems.

“More than 2,000 agritech startups operate across the continent, many of them youth-led. These young agripreneurs are transforming food production, boosting resilience, and tackling climate challenges,” Ifedi said. “AYuTe is here to help them scale.”

Beyond the competition, the event featured in-depth sessions such as “Growing a Unicorn in Agriculture”, “Africa for Africa: Same Soil, Many Paths”, and “Who Is Shaping Africa’s Food Story?” These discussions tackled challenges around funding, policy gaps, and the need for youth inclusion in systems design.

A key outcome of the gathering was a united call to action. Speakers urged investors to provide catalytic capital, governments to foster enabling policies, and the private sector to invest in digital and physical infrastructure to support agritech expansion. Mentorship, market access, and data integration were also identified as crucial to unlocking Africa’s agricultural potential.

Participants came from Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Senegal, reinforcing the pan-African character of the competition and the urgency of collaborative agricultural transformation.

With the 2025 edition now concluded, Heifer International reaffirmed its commitment to supporting youth-led innovation and scaling up inclusive agricultural solutions across the continent.