Only 3 days left! Apply for AfDB’s  Agripreneur AgriPitch Competition

Are you an Agripreneur seeking to scale your business to new levels? Here is a chance for you to participate in the African Development Bank’s virtual AgriPitch Competition from November 16-20, 2020, where winners will be chosen based on different categories under consideration.

The African Development Bank will award shortlisted businesses between US$10,000 and US$40,000 in the form of grant capital (US$120,000 in total is committed).

The African Development Bank’s Youth Agripreneur AgriPitch Competition and DealRoom connect expansion-ready, youth-led African businesses with global investors (debt, equity and/or grant).

The DealRoom focuses on youth-led agribusinesses under the themes of nutrition and gender inclusivity. The goal of the AgriPitch Competition and DealRoom is to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in agriculture among youth in Africa and to generate jobs, create wealth and improve livelihoods through inclusive growth across the continent.

African companies that meet the criteria below are encouraged to submit their deal information for review by the Bank’s and Asoko Insight’s data teams.

Qualified businesses will be promoted through the Asoko portal to global investors for matching. Interested investors can match with any deal by registering their profile and selecting target deals.

The African Development Bank is a leading multilateral development finance institution. The Bank has 81 member countries and is headquartered in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

The AgriPitch Competition aims to instil a culture of innovation and nurture agribusiness innovations to create jobs and improve livelihoods among the youth.

The expected outcome of the competition is to select winning ideas that can lead to new products, businesses, programs, projects and processes while engaging young entrepreneurs eager to tackle the challenges they face as well as global challenges through “nutrition and gender-inclusive solutions” that transform agriculture as well promote inclusive growth.

Through a call for proposals, all business profiles submitted for the AgriPitch Competition will go through a rigorous screening process based on specific criteria.

An evaluation committee will be responsible for selecting the 25 best businesses who will then be invited to participate in the 2020 AgriPitch Competition. An investment teaser of the selected businesses will be shared with investors prior to the event.

Business Categories and Areas of Focus

Profiles for the competition will be submitted under three categories:

1. Early Start-ups (0-3 years) – eligible for the AgriPitch competition grant prize for Early Start-ups.
   1. Individuals who are at the very early stage of developing ideas/concepts for Agripreneurship or a newly established business.
   2. Must have a clearly defined prototype or proof of concept.
   3. May or may not have had any products introduced to the market.
   4. May or may not have a registered corporate entity.
2. Matured Start-ups (above 3 years) – eligible for the AgriPitch competition grant prize for Matured Start-ups.
   1. Individuals and firms with existing market traction: technology, product, service, etc., already on the market.
   2. Must have a clear investment ask and growth plan/strategy.
   3. Must be a registered corporate entity.
3. Women Empowered Businesses: eligible for the DealRoom with investors
   1. Firms with at least 51% share of women ownership or founded by a woman.
   2. Individuals and firms with existing market traction: technology, product, service, etc., already on the market.
   3. Must have a clear investment ask and growth plan/strategy.
   4. Must be a registered corporate entity.