Young agricultural innovators to receive grants, mentorship

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Four young agricultural technology (AgriTech) innovators on Friday emerged as the winners of the AYuTe NextGen 2025 competition, following three days of presentations, open dialogue, and bold ideas at Speke Resort Convention Centre in Kampala.

Developed and hosted by Heifer International, AYuTe NextGen is a platform for youth-led agricultural innovation, designed to empower young people in shaping the future of food.

This year’s event, held under the theme AgTech Generation Rising brought together emerging leaders, investors, policymakers, and development partners from across the continent.

Their shared mission was to spotlight and scale solutions that are transforming small-scale.

Representing sectors ranging from finance and microfinance to agriculture, climate innovation, and telecommunications, the judges assessed each solution based on its value to smallholder farmers, technological soundness and data security, social impact, scalability, team capacity, and overall financial viability.

Finalists competed in two core categories: Climate-Smart Agriculture and Access to Finance and Markets.

In the Climate-Smart Agriculture category, the overall winner was Carolyn Mwangi, Founder and CEO of Kimplanter Seedlings and Nurseries (Kenya), whose data-driven enterprise supplies climate-resilient vegetable, fruit, and tree seedlings tailored for smallholder farmers.

The first runner-up was Maryanne Gichanga, CEO of Agritechs Analytics (Kenya), recognized for her solar-powered farm sensors that enable pest alerts, soil health monitoring, and remote farm management via mobile tools.

In the Access to Finance and Markets category, the Overall Winner was Nana Opoku, CEO of Grow for Me (Ghana), whose digital platform empowers individuals to invest in crops managed by experienced farmers, sharing profits post-harvest.

The first runner-up was Richies Attai, Co-Founder and CEO of Winich Farms (Nigeria), whose end-to-end tech platform connects farmers directly to factories and provides bundled credit and insurance solutions.

"This recognition means so much, not just to me, but to our entire team at Kimplanter. We have always believed that building resilience for smallholder farmers starts with something as simple, yet powerful, as the right seedlings,” Carolyn Mwangi said.

According to Nana Opoku, CEO of Grow for Me, winning AYuTe NextGen is not just a milestone for her team, it’s a sign that Africa’s agricultural future will be shaped by innovation, data, and the determination of young entrepreneurs like us.

"This opportunity validates our work and marks the beginning of a major shift for Ghana’s smallholder farmers. It will go a long way in unlocking financial opportunities, bringing greater stability, increasing incomes, and providing protection against crop losses.”

From Kampala to the Continent, AYuTe NextGen 2025 united innovators and partners from across Africa, including Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Senegal, fostering crucial collaboration for the future of food.

Investors were urged to provide catalytic capital for early-stage AgriTech; governments to create supportive policies and regulations, the private sector to build essential digital and physical infrastructure through partnerships; and mentors to offer technical expertise and market access.

This collective effort will unlock the full potential of African agriculture, driven by its dynamic youth and centered on the resilience of smallholder farmers.