GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition 2024

#GrowEntrepreneursTransformFood

Welcome to the sixth annual GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition. This is where agrifood innovation meets impact.

Africa’s food sector faces mounting challenges in climate resilience, food security, and nutrition. The need for groundbreaking solutions has never been greater.

Are you an agripreneur leading the charge against these pressing issues? Do you have a transformative venture that’s making waves in the agrifood landscape? We want to hear from you.

Before you dive in, take a moment to review our important eligibility criteria and terms. Remember that you do not have to complete your application in one session. You can start today and save your progress to continue later. A high-quality application is how you will get your business noticed.

Here’s what you need to do to get started:

  1. Join the GoGettaz Community when you enter the competition and you’ll get access to education, mentorship, and investment networks to help you launch, grow, or scale your agrifood venture.
  2. Review the eligibility criteria and terms below.
  3. Create your VC4A profile and begin your application! You can save your progress to continue later.

Are you ready to make your mark on Africa’s agrifood landscape?

Join us for the sixth annual GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition and be part of the solution.

Apply now and let’s grow together. For more information, see our brochure or check out our terms and conditions.

GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition 2024

GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition 2024

Overview

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June 11, 2024
Organizer GoGettaz
Targets Africa
Sectors Agribusiness, Agritech

The Opportunity

100,000 US Dollars in prizes will go to 2 Winners!

  • 2 x 50,000 US Dollar Grand Prizes
  • Impact Awards – The judges of this year’s competition will be looking to award a total of $60,000 USD to ventures that make a significant impact in one or more of the following areas: improving rural livelihoods, nutrition, climate related solutions, technology, gender impact, natural resources conservation, and job creation
  • Flight, accommodation, and visa costs covered to pitch their businesses at the GoGettaz Finals at the Africa Food Systems Forum Summit in Kigali, Rwanda
  • Facilitated participation at the Agribusiness Deal Room at the AFSF
  • Invitation to the 2025 GoGettaz Africa Leadership Program for top finalists

Two entrepreneurs, one woman and one man, will each win 50,000 US Dollars for the
most innovative and scalable business ventures.

We want to hear from businesses that show:

  • Innovation
  • Market potential and traction
  • Inspiring and Investible Team
  • Business model
  • Impact

The top GoGettaz agripreneurs will get flight, accommodation, and visa costs covered to pitch their businesses at the GoGettaz Finals at the Africa Food Systems Forum Summit. The 2024 AFSF Summit will be held in Kigali, Rwanda, in September.

At the summit, Africa’s biggest match-making platform, the AFSF Agribusiness Dealroom is a golden opportunity for GoGettaz Finalists to meet future investors, partners, and collaborators.

Top contestants will also have the opportunity to apply for the exclusive 6-month GoGettaz Africa Leadership Program, designed to empower emerging leaders with the skills and network necessary to grow themselves and their businesses.

Selected entrepreneurs will benefit from personalised support, engaging in individual coaching, peer-to-peer sessions, and workshops led by thought leaders, fostering continuous growth and development even after the competition concludes.

Eligibility criteria

The GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize is a fantastic opportunity for young African agripreneurs to ignite their agribusiness potential.

What we’re looking for

Here’s what we are looking for:

The Entrepreneur

  • Entrepreneur is aged 35 or below on the date of submission to the competition, and is legally recognised as an adult in country of nationality
  • Entrepreneur holds nationality (with an official ID) from a country which is a member of the African Union
  • Entrepreneur is the founder/co-founder of the venture he/she represents in the competition and plays an active role in its operations and leadership
  • Entrepreneur has no criminal record related to corruption, tax evasion, financial impropriety, felony, or other offence, and will provide a signed declaration to that effect, if requested

The Venture

  • Venture is already legally registered in a country which is a member of the African Union or will have commenced with the registration of such a legal entity prior to 10 June 2024
  • Venture is headquartered in a country which is a member of the African Union
  • Venture is designed to be financially sustainable, either as a for-profit business or a non-profit generating some revenue and aiming not to be dependent on donor funding
  • Venture plays a role in the agrifood sector and/or supports the development of the agrifood sector through an innovation or process improvement
  • The agrifood sector may be defined as businesses engaged in:
    • Agrifood research & development
    • Primary food production (farming)
    • Crop nutrition
    • Irrigation
    • Mechanisation, automation or robotics, including drones
    • Crop protection
    • Hydroponics or urban farming
    • Transport, distribution, storage or logistics
    • Food processing
    • Packaging or marketing
    • Food retail or service
    • Waste management or recycling
    • Digital or technology solutions/services to the agrifood sector
    • Innovative finance solutions/services to the agrifood sector
    • Renewable energy or environmental solutions/services to the agrifood
      sector
    • Food system innovations (e.g., soldier fly larvae)

Key dates

Timeline

  • An expert jury will review all applications as they are submitted from 8 April to 10 June 2024.
  • Evaluations consider the following criteria:
    • Innovation
    • Market potential and traction
    • Inspiring and Investible Team
    • Business model
    • Impact
  • The Top 24 semi-finalists will be notified via WhatsApp and email in mid-July.
  • Semi-finalists will each be interviewed and asked for further information.
  • 12 finalists will be selected by the jury at the end of July 2024. Six male and six female finalists will be notified via WhatsApp and email.
  • Finalists will be invited to compete on stage at the AFSF Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, in the first week of September 2024.
  • All 12 finalists will be awarded mentorship, programming linkages and other guidance to continue their entrepreneurial journey.

Application Form Questions

The application includes questions such as:

  • “Give an example of your entrepreneurial mindset.”
  • “How does your business generate revenue?”
  • “What is your plan for scaling up your business?”
  • “Who are your main competitors?”
  • “What are your biggest business challenges so far and how have you overcome them?”

Applicants must fill out each section of the application to be considered. Be sure to allow enough time to complete all sections.

Remember that you can save your progress. You can complete your application in multiple sessions.

Applicants that make it through the initial round will be asked to submit a two-minute pitch video, where you can really impress the judges and show them why you deserve to go into the 2024 GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition finals. Your video pitch will be used to promote your company to the GoGettaz audience.

About GoGettaz

GoGettaz is a partnership initiative with a vision to strengthen the ecosystem for youth entrepreneurs in the agrifood sector across the continent. Founding partners are Econet, a privately held multinational telecommunications, media, energy, and technology conglomerate, and Yara International, a global crop nutrition company, founded in Norway.

Our inspirational co-founders and collaborators are:

The Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF), one of the most visible and well-attended high-level agricultural and food security events in Africa, creates and sustains effective partnerships geared towards the transformation of African agriculture.

Yara International is a global crop nutrition company with a mandate to grow knowledge to responsibly feed the world and protect the planet.

Econet Group is a privately held multinational telecommunications, media, energy and
technology conglomerate.

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) strives to transform agriculture on the continent to feed Africa and the world.

The Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU) represents the common interest of regional farmers.

SNV Netherlands Development Organisation is driven by a vision of a better world: a world where across every society, all people live with dignity and have equal opportunities to thrive sustainably.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is a catalytic actor driving development and humanitarian efforts that helps beneficiaries build resilience and self-reliance.

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