Africa agripreneur competition to award two US$50 000 prizes

Applications are now open for the second annual GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition.

Africa agripreneur competition to award two US$50 000 prizes
The second annual GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition is now open to agrifood entrepreneurs, aged between 18 and 35, from across Africa.
Photo: Denene Erasmus
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Applications are now open for the second annual GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition.

Generation Africa, which launched the competition in 2019, provided support to young entrepreneurs in Africa’s agrifood sector by linking them with tools, knowledge, mentors and investors.

The competition was launched in partnership with Econet, a pan-African telecommunications, technology and renewable energy group, and Yara, a global crop nutrition company.

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This year, the competition was being run in collaboration with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, Corteva AgriScience, the Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions, and the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture.

According to a statement by Generation Africa, judges would consider new businesses embracing technology and innovation in the agrifood and agritech sectors for the 2020 competition.

Agripreneurs on the African continent required support, especially during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) global pandemic, the statement said.

“Leadership and coordinated action are required at global, national and local levels to find solutions for agrifood systems that are responsive to, and supportive of, health measures. Africa’s youth agripreneurs have a huge role to play.”

The competition was open to agrifood entrepreneurs from across Africa, aged between 18 and 35. Ten finalists would be invited to compete in a live or online “pitching contest” during the Africa Green Revolution Forum Summit to be held from 8 to 11 September in Kigali, Rwanda.

The two ultimate GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize winners would each receive US$50 000 (about R952 000).

All 10 finalists would benefit from mentorship programmes and receive additional guidance to improve and manage their businesses successfully.

For more information or to submit an application, visit: http://gogettaz.africa.

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Siyanda Sishuba has a degree in broadcast journalism. She graduated in 2010 at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Nelson Mandela Bay, Eastern Cape. She is passionate about the environment and agriculture. Siyanda grew up in Whittlesea and has seen how climate change and invasive species are affecting farmers in her community. She’s worked at the Weekend Post, a local newspaper in Nelson Mandela Bay, Eastern Cape. Thereafter she landed herself a job at Debt Management Consultants in East London, writing articles for company’s newsletter. She then moved to Johannesburg to work for the Department of Environmental Affairs Biosecurity Advocacy Unit