Have an agribusiness idea? Write it down in 500 words for chance to win Sh89,000

By Business Beat

Enactus Kenya and Syngenta have announced the launch of an Africa Agribusiness Competition and have invited youth across the continent to generate creative business ideas that would improve the agricultural productivity of crop value chains.

Through the online platform www.agribiz4africa.com, youth aged between 18 and 30 from sub-Saharan Africa are invited to submit 500-word business ideas that will be judged by leading agribusiness academics from East and West Africa.

The best 25 contestants will each receive a $1,000 (Sh89,500) grant to test the viability of their idea.

The best three among them will then be selected by a recognised panel of agribusiness leaders and invited to attend the AGRF Forum on African agriculture to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in early September, where they will have a chance to mingle with some of Africa’s most influential thought leaders and receive due recognition for their ideas.

In recognition of the need to position agriculture as an attractive occupation for young people, youth with talent in the creative arts have a special category in which to compete, dubbed the Agriculture Video Messaging Competition.

Through online submissions on the same website, entrants are invited to create messages that depict agricultural activities from farm to fork as “cool”.

The entries will be judged by leading academics in the communication field, and the top 20 entries will be selected. From these finalists, a judging panel comprising recognised leaders in the communication and advertising industry will select the top three, who will also travel to Addis Ababa for the award ceremony.

All entries have to be submitted by June 10.

The objective of the Syngenta-Enactus Kenya Agribusiness Competition is to raise awareness among the youth and key stakeholders in agriculture of the enormous business opportunities within the agricultural value chains across Africa, and to encourage young people to actively engage in shaping this vital industry.

“It is a great honour for us at Enactus Kenya to play a key role in positioning African youth as champions in offering agribusiness solutions for Africa through this competition,” said Mr James Shikwati, Enactus Kenya’s country director.

“At Syngenta, we recognise the important role young people in Africa can play in creating wealth and jobs through their own agribusiness ventures. The energy and creativity that comes naturally to them can make a great contribution to challenges like food security, job creation and environmental sustainability.

“We are excited to be partnering with Enactus in this initiative that will generate many business solutions and develop strong positive messages about African agriculture,” said Mr Kinyua M’Mbijjewe, Syngenta’s head of corporate affairs for Africa and Middle East.

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