Kenyan women, youth in agriculture to access up to $100,000 in investment

Kenyan women, youth in agriculture to access up to $100,000 in investment

By Judy Ndunge

The agriculture sector has had its own share of blows in the past ranging from droughts, pest infestation, floods among others and the recent one being Corona virus which has altered the exportation of agricultural produce threatening the economic growth of the country But the situation is about to change for the better following an investment made through the Food Tech Africa accelerator that targets to invest USD 100,000 in Kenyan youth and women-led agribusinesses.

The accelerator is a project commissioned by GIZ Make-IT in Africa, a project on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by @iBizAfrica, Strathmore University’s business incubator and Pangea Accelerator, a Norwegian based accelerator and an investment platform operating in East Africa that matches African startups with investors, foundations and development agencies to reach a global scale.

The accelerator is inviting post revenue level agribusinesses in Kenya to apply for the program in order to meet the growing demand and challenge of food security in the country. This project seeks to help youths and women who constitute 75 percent of Kenyan households.

This was hinted during the accelerator’s recent webinar, where agripreneurs had a one-on-one interaction with agri-focused investors. The project will also serve as a call for the youths of Kenya to start thinking big when it comes to agribusiness in terms of invention and innovation. Speaking during the launch of the accelerator, Jonas Tesfu, CEO and Co-Founder of Pangea Accelerator highlighted that: “We are grateful to GIZ Make-IT in Africa for appointing this project to Pangea and Strathmore University to drive food security in Africa through the FoodTech Africa program. We believe Kenya and East Africa are at a critical time and that innovation and young entrepreneurs have a big role to play in creating resilient and local food systems.”

The webinar event also presented a unique opportunity for agri based enterprises that have not yet advanced their businesses to have a chance to learn more on how to increase their yields, efficiency in their business and profitability from FoodTechAfrica  .They will also have a chance to find out their business position from top investors in the country as well as financing options for them.

Linda Kwamboka, entrepreneur in Residence and Manager @iBizAfrica pointed out that the program is looking to identify and support these international investors and encouraged those solving food challenges in the country to apply to join the program ahead of its deadline on August 21st at midnight.

Selected businesses that will be accepted into the program will undergo  a 10-week intensive training on business coaching and mentorship, B2B sales opportunities as well as the opportunity to interact with investors with leading high potential companies getting investment of up to USD 100,000. Adding to this, Tracy Weru, Program Coordinator for GIZ Make-IT in Africa stated, “We are positive that this program will provide access to skills, market and finance to the selected Agtech start-ups.”