Two startups from Nigeria and Kenya have been named winners of the African Development Bank’s $120,000 AgriPitch competition.
Disrupt Africa reported last month on the selection of finalists for the AgriPitch competition, after the AfDB received more than 2,500 applications. The final round saw entrepreneurs pitch their agribusiness proposals online to a panel of experts and investors.
Winners have now been announced, with companies sharing US$120,000 in prize money. The winner in the Mature Startup category was Nigeria’s Foodlocker, which supports smallholder farmers with technologies for the production of foods such as tomatoes and chicken. The startup takes home US$40,000 in prize money. Ivory Coast’s Lono was runner-up, securing US$20,000)
The winner in the Early Startups category was Releaf, a food pre-processing technology company, which took home US$20,000. Uganda’s Bringo Fresh was runner-up, winning US$10,000.
Meanwhile, in the Women-empowered Businesses category, Kenya’s Mhogo Foods won the top prize of US$20,000. The company, which adds value to cassava production, beat off competition from Nigeria’s Baby Grubz, which came second and took home US$10,000.
