Agripeneurs re-writing Africa story, says winner of AgriPitch competition

A well-known exporter of Kenyan fresh fruits and vegetables and a young South African farmer specializing in the design, provision and management of indoor and outdoor hydroponic systems have won this year’s Youth AgriPitch Competition organized by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in partnership with the Western Cape Government in South Africa. Kenyan Alex Muli, […]

A well-known exporter of Kenyan fresh fruits and vegetables and a young South African farmer specializing in the design, provision and management of indoor and outdoor hydroponic systems have won this year’s Youth AgriPitch Competition organized by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in partnership with the Western Cape Government in South Africa.

Kenyan Alex Muli, CEO and co-founder of Goshen Farm won $25,000 for best agribusiness in the mature start-up category, while Paul Sheppard, from South Africa, co-founder of Future Farms, took the $10,000 prize for the early start-up category.

The 2019 youth AgriPitch Competition themed ‘Climate Smart Agriculture: Business and Employment Opportunities for Africa’s Youth’ took place in Cape Town, South Africa last month.

“It was a great event. I met many pioneers in the various agri-tech spaces with many potential and exciting projects, with the renewed hope of access to finance models coming to the fore.’’

Muli, who co-founded Goshen Farms with his mother in 2011, said it was exciting to be shortlisted as agripreneur in the mature startups category.

“The boot camp was a great learning experience for me and helped me to know how to better tell the story about my business. I was humbled to meet fellow agripeneurs from other African countries who are doing great stuff out there hence rewriting our continent’s story, a story of hope, transformation and sustainability by young Africans for Africa,” he said.

Over 400 agribusiness proposals from across the continent participated in the AYAF competition, which culminated in an award gala dinner, where six winners from the two categories received a total of U$74,000.

This AgriPitch competition was part of a larger forum – the African Youth Agripreneurs Forum (AYAF) – an annual forum of the AfDB’s flagship, Enable Youth Program, which focuses on youth employment and food insecurity.

“To date, the bank has committed over $350 million to Enable Youth investments in 12 countries on the continent,” said Dr Edward Mabaya, Manager, Agribusiness Development Division at the African Development Bank.