Eligibility Criteria: Candidates are early-stage, growth-stage, or women-led AgTech companies with innovative solutions impacting smallholder farmers at scale. Applicants should have: A clear and defined description on how their solution is impacting small holder farmers Strong organizational and operational structure The applicant applying must: be aged 18-40 on the day of submission to the 2022 Pitch AgriHack Competition hold nationality (with official ID) from any of the 54 nations of the African Union be the founder/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 Not be a previous Pitch AgriHack finalist or winner must submit the application form in English must agree with the Terms & Conditions Early Stage Category The Venture must have: The ability to scale and impact a large number of smallholder farmers 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 for smallholder farmers Strong competitive advantage Growth Stage Category The Venture must have: The ability to scale and impact a large number of smallholder farmers Recorded evidence of demonstrated impact on smallholder farmers’ revenue 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 for smallholder farmers Strong competitive advantage
Selection Criteria: There will be a screening process to determine the top 12 startups which will be invited to attend pitch training sessions for the online virtual final pitching contest. Half of the selected startups will be women-owned startups (one official co-founder must be female). The selection is mainly based on the quality of the information submitted in the application. Additional information may be requested by the organizers. Online Screening Criteria How real is the need? What problem does the solution solve? How unique is the solution? Does the team demonstrate an ability to execute? What is the market opportunity? Technical Assessment Criteria Early Stage Category: Scalability Feasibility / proof of concept Technical viability of the solution Mature Stage Category: Smallholder farmers reached Profitability Final Pitch Criteria Impact on Smallholder Farmers Technological Innovation Business Model Team Scalability Use-of-funds