Agritech competition to award 10 Ethiopian entrepreneurs with total of €35k in prizes

The recently launched Green Innovation and AgriTech Slam (GIAS) competition will support 10 Ethiopian agricultural entrepreneurs with its €35 000 prize pool.

The competition is an initiative of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation (CTA) and the German development agency (GIZ).

GIAS aims to find innovative solutions to critical challenges within Ethiopia’s agriculture sector, particularly around wheat, legume and honey value chains.

In addition, the initiative also aims to identify solutions that cover the needs of the country’s entire agriculture value chain.

Applications for the Green Innovation and AgriTech Slam will close on 10 September

GIAS is organised around five categories, namely: nutrition and consumer market, agri-inputs and equipment, environmental protection and sustainability, pre-revenue agribusinesses and post-revenue agribusinesses.

Applications for the competition’s Pitch AgriHack Challenge close on 10 September, this while entries for the initiative’s Value Chain Challenge will close on 1 October.

To be considered for the competition, applicants must have a working prototype.

Winners will be announced at an award ceremony on 14 November and will benefit from capacity building through mentorship and acceleration of their businesses.

Cash prizes will be distributed to the two top winners in each category. In addition, winners will also receive training to support their growth and will get the opportunity to share their ideas during an exposure visit to Germany.

CTA ICT4Ag senior programme co-ordinator Ken Lohento pointed out in a statement last week Thursday (8 August) that digital technologies have the potential to transform the agriculture sector.

“We are confident that a focus on digital solutions among youth in this regard will help to boost Ethiopia’s future food security and create jobs across the agricultural value chain,” added Lohento.