Africa’s agriculture stands at a decisive crossroads. On one path lies continued vulnerability: weather-dependent harvests, fragmented markets, and undercapitalized farmers. On the other, a bold transformation is already sprouting – fuelled by young innovators who are reimagining how food is grown, traded, and sustained across the continent. The time has come for policymakers, investors, and development leaders to recognize where Africa’s future is headed – and accelerate it with decisive, coordinated action.
The AYuTe NextGen 2025 competition, held this year in Kampala, Uganda, offered more than just a glimpse into that future. It spotlighted exactly who is driving it. Organized by Heifer International, AYuTe NextGen is rapidly becoming the continent’s most influential platform for youth-led agricultural technology. Under the theme “AgTech Generation Rising,” the 2025 edition attracted over 100 applications from 10 African countries, culminating in 11 finalists pitching transformative solutions to a panel of investors, policymakers, and sector leaders.
What stood out with the innovations on display wasn’t just the ingenuity – it was the relevance. These entrepreneurs are not working in distant labs or corporate boardrooms. They are addressing the day-to-day realities of smallholder farmers with scalable, data-driven, and locally contextual solutions.
Kenya’s Carolyn Mwangi, crowned the overall winner in the Climate-Smart Agriculture category, exemplifies this new wave of innovators. Through her company, Kimplanter Seedlings and Nurseries, Mwangi provides climate-resilient seedlings designed with precision data and tailored support for farmers navigating erratic weather and soil degradation.
Fellow Kenyan, Maryanne Gichanga of Agritechs Analytics, was a worthy runner-up with her mobile-based, solar-powered sensor system that detects pests and monitors soil health in real time.
In the Access to Finance and Markets category, digital tools offered powerful solutions to systemic barriers. Ghana’s Nana Opoku, winner in this category, created Grow for Me, a platform that enables everyday Africans to invest directly in crops managed by vetted farmers. This model not only democratizes agriculture investment, but also delivers critical financing that traditional lenders have long denied to small-scale producers.
Runner-up, Nigeria’s Riches Attai, founder of Winich Farms, impressed with a comprehensive tech platform connecting farmers to factories, while offering bundled credit and insurance services – an essential step toward building resilient agri-value chains. These stories are not just success stories. They are signals of a deeper movement.
The AYuTe NextGen 2025 conference presented a much larger narrative: a rising generation committed to building sustainable, scalable, and equitable food systems. Event sessions bore titles like “Growing a Unicorn in Agriculture,” “Same Soil, Many Paths,” and “Youth as Architects of the Agri-Future” – discussions that revealed a profound shift. Young Africans are not waiting for permission or inclusion; they are actively designing the future of agriculture.
This should surprise no one paying attention. Across the continent, more than 2,000 agritech start-ups are in operation, many founded by people under 35. These youth-led ventures are merging indigenous knowledge with technology, using digital platforms, blockchain, AI, and off-grid power to convert subsistence plots into productive agribusinesses.
Yet despite their ingenuity, the enabling environment remains weak. Innovation needs more than inspiration, it needs intentional support. It needs policy that keeps pace. To truly unlock the potential of these innovations, Africa needs a continental strategy that empowers youth-led agritech:
Catalytic Capital: Early-stage agritech enterprises require risk-tolerant financing to validate, iterate, and scale. Public finance mechanisms and sovereign wealth funds must allocate funding for AgriTech incubators, accelerators, and R&D hubs.
Regulatory Support: Governments must modernize outdated agricultural and business regulations to reflect today’s climate-smart and digital realities. Licensing, taxation, data sharing, and investment policies must be optimized to support youth innovators.
Infrastructure Investment: No innovation thrives in isolation. Reliable rural broadband, decentralized energy access, and improved transportation networks must become national priorities, not wish lists.
Mentorship and Knowledge Transfer: Youth shouldn’t have to navigate this transformation alone. Policymakers should institutionalize innovation mentorship within agricultural extension programs, fostering cross-generational collaboration.
AYuTe NextGen 2025 did not simply elevate individual winners, it elevated the urgency for systems alignment. As Adesuwa Ifedi, Senior Vice President for Africa Programs at Heifer International, eloquently stated: “These young agripreneurs are unlocking opportunities at every stage of the agricultural value chain… When youth and technology come together, they become catalysts for change.”
That change is already underway. The conversations in Kampala made it clear: Africa has the demographic advantage and the innovation drive to lead the next agricultural revolution. But it can only happen if decision-makers act boldly, not passively.
In a world increasingly shaped by climate disruption, volatile markets, and demographic shifts, investing in youth-led agritech is no longer a niche proposal, it is a strategic imperative. The innovators are here. The ideas are strong. What remains is for policy to open the doors they are already pushing against.
Chinedu Ozordi has an extensive background in journalism and has led newsrooms across West Africa. He is currently a senior consultant at Lantern Comitas, a UK-based communication agency.
Contributed by Chinedu Ozordi
