Deadline: March 14, 2026
Applications are open for the AYuTe Africa Challenge Nigeria 2026. The AYuTe Africa Challenge Nigeria is an enterprise development program initiated by Heifer International and implemented by Wennovation Hub to identify, nurture, and support innovative, relevant and technology-driven agric-centric enterprises to grow, scale and thrive.
Candidates should be early-stage or growth-stage youth-led agritech businesses/companies with innovative solutions impacting smallholder farmers at scale.
Benefits
Challenge applicants can expect to receive the following benefits:
- Coaching and mentorship, personalized to unpack training into business implementation for the top-5 finalists
- Technical assistance at the various levels of the challenge to strengthen the MVP and the business and financial model of the start-up
- Links to financial and investment opportunities
- Networking opportunities to showcase your solution and meet with investors and other stakeholders
- Cash prize awards of a total of $40,000 for the top three winners:
- Winner: $20,000
- First Runner-Up: $12,000
- Second Runner-Up: $8,000
Eligibility
Applicants must:
- 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
Application
The application period will run from 22nd January to 14th March 2026. This will be followed by the identification of 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.
For more information, visit AYuTe Africa Challenge Nigeria.
