Young agricultural technology innovators who emerged as winners from competitions at the AYuTe NextGen 2025 conference are to receive grants to help them build resilience in smallholder farming.
These winners emerged after rigorous pitches at the three-day conference held in Uganda. They have won grants and mentorship from Heifer International, organisers of the conference, and so have joined a growing ecosystem of innovators impacting over 1.2 million smallholder farmers across Africa.
Heifer International has, since 1944, worked with more than 52 million people around the world to end hunger and poverty sustainably, while caring for the Earth. It currently operates in 19 countries across Africa, Asia, and the Americas, supporting farmers and food producers to strengthen local economies.
AYuTe NextGen is Africa’s premier platform for youth-led agricultural innovation, designed to empower young people in shaping the future of food. This year’s edition had as its theme, ‘AgTech Generation Rising.’
It brought together emerging leaders, investors, policymakers, and development partners from across the continent and the shared mission was to spotlight and scale solutions that are transforming small-scale farming and accelerating agricultural progress across Africa, especially for smallholder farmers.
For the winners to emerge, there was a rigorous selection process that evaluated over 100 applications from 10 African countries. 11 finalists earned the opportunity to pitch their innovations live before a panel of investors and policy leaders.
The judges, representing sectors ranging from finance and microfinance to agriculture, climate innovation, and telecommunications, 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 first category, the overall winner was Carolyn Mwangi, Founder/CEO of Kimplanter Seedlings and Nurseries from Kenya, whose data-driven enterprise supplies climate-resilient vegetable, fruit, and tree seedlings tailored for smallholder farmers.
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The first runner-up was Maryanne Gichanga, CEO of Agritechs Analytics, also from Kenya, recognized for her solar-powered farm sensors that enable pest alerts, soil health monitoring, and remote farm management via mobile tools.
In the second category, the overall winner was Nana Opoku, CEO of Grow For Me from 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/CEO of Winich Farms from 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.
Winning AYuTe NextGen is not just a milestone for our team, it’s a sign that Africa’s agricultural future will be shaped by innovation, data, and the determination of young entrepreneurs like us,” Attai said.
Reflecting on the impact of the award, Nana Opoku said, “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. This win is not just ours, it is a win for smallholder farmers across Ghana.”
A movement, not just a competition
Adesuwa Ifedi, Senior Vice President, Africa Programmes at Heifer International, has described AYuTe NextGen as a movement, not just a competition, noting that, across the continent, more than 2,000 agritech startups are operating today, many of them led by young Africans. “These young agripreneurs are unlocking opportunities at every stage of the agricultural value chain,” she said.
According to her, these young agripreneurs are driving a revolution in how we grow food, share information, and respond to climate challenges, adding, “we are here to help connect the dots in this powerful movement, because when youth and technology come together, they become catalysts for change.”
Voices from the youth
Beyond the pitches, AYuTe NextGen featured powerful discussions led by young people. These sessions offered insights into the challenges, opportunities, and urgent need for changes in food systems.
