AYuTe Africa

Today, we continue to celebrate Africa’s bright, innovative young minds as they create boundless opportunities, driving progress and unlocking the continent’s full potential.

Today, we celebrate Africa’s young trailblazers, whose innovation and drive are transforming the continent’s agricultural landscape. We’re thrilled to spotlight the inspiring work of ThriveAgric, our AYuTe Africa 2022 West Africa winners, who are redefining financial inclusion for smallholder farmers, transforming how unbanked farmers access financial services, and empowering them to grow sustainable businesses. Their innovative approach is helping farmers unlock financing, giving them the tools to improve their livelihoods and strengthen Africa's agricultural ecosystem. To all the young African innovators crafting scalable solutions and paving the way for a brighter agricultural future—today, we celebrate you. Your dedication, vision, and resilience are shaping a thriving, food-secure Africa. Thank you for all you do. Here’s to a future fueled by young minds and big ideas! HAPPY AFRICA YOUTH DAY!! #AfricaYouthDay #AYuTeAfrica #Innovation #Agriculture #YouthEmpowerment

It’s incredible to reflect on how it all began with the 2021 AYuTe Africa competition, where Hello Tractor emerged as the East African regional winner. Fast forward four years, and the partnership between Heifer International Africa and Hello Tractor has become a game-changer for smallholder farmers across the continent. Since 2021, this PAYG initiative has reached over 125,000 farmers, created over 2,464 jobs, cultivated over 56,008 hectares, and financed 160 tractors in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda. As more Mechanization Hubs launch in Nigeria and Rwanda, the impact continues to grow, offering smallholder farmers access to the tools and technology they need to boost productivity and improve livelihoods. This partnership isn’t just about mechanization—it’s about shaping the future of African agriculture, creating jobs, and driving economic growth. Together, we are making strides toward a more resilient and productive agricultural ecosystem in Africa. Congratulations to Heifer Nigeria and the Hello Tractor team on this milestone! We are excited to continue driving even greater impact for smallholder farmers, empowering them to transform Africa's agriculture and advance toward food security across the continent. #Mechanization #Agriculture #Smallholderfarmers #Africa #innovation

Wangui Muna, Director of Innovative Finance for Heifer International Africa, and William Matovu, Country Director, Heifer International Uganda will be speaking at AFSIC - Investing in Africa 2024 to discuss how innovative finance models and partnerships with governments, agritech innovators, and other key stakeholders are creating new opportunities for smallholder farmers across Africa. This aligns perfectly with AYuTe Africa’s mission to catalyze agribusiness innovation in Africa. As AYuTe supports young agritech innovators who develop solutions for smallholder farmers at scale, the focus on innovative finance models directly complements AYuTe's work by providing these innovators with the resources and partnerships they need to succeed. Together, we’re empowering smallholder farmers with access to mechanized equipment, digital financial services, and data-driven credit profiles—tools that drive growth, productivity, and the broader transformation of Africa’s food systems. This event will showcase the power of innovation and innovative financing in advancing agriculture across the continent. #AFSIC #Investing #InnovativeFinance #AccessToFinance #SmallholderFarmers #Agriculture #Africa

Congratulations to Heifer International Uganda on the just concluded 'Season 3' of their AYuTe Africa Challenge. A BIG Congratulations to the winner Nakalema Assumpta on creating such dynamic innovation that provides incubation efficiency and productivity for poultry farmers. As we often say, we’re excited to witness your growth and see how it will transform the lives of smallholder farmers in Uganda 👏 Three years on, we love to see how the country-level AYuTe Africa competitions continue to offer young innovators a chance to secure the funding and visibility to scale and ambitions.

At a recent reception following the Africa Steering Committee meeting of the Mobilizing Access to the Digital Economy (MADE) Alliance during #ClimateWeekNYC, Heifer International’s SVP Africa Programs, Adesuwa Ifedi, highlighted the launch of the Alliance as "an opportunity to focus energy and funding on building digital economies for the farmers we serve. We've seen how access to data has transformed access to finance, and how we've been able to create new products by leveraging data around farmer activities." The alliance, led by the African Development Bank and Mastercard, aims to provide digital access to critical services for 100 million individuals and businesses in Africa over the next 10 years. Heifer International is a founding alliance member alongside Equity Bank Group, Microsoft, Unconnected.org and the Syngenta Foundation. MADE will initially focus on supporting the agricultural sector and women. For example, an initial alliance project is aimed at providing digital access for three million farmers in Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria, before expanding to Uganda, Ethiopia, and Ghana, and then continent-wide. These really are exciting times for Africa's agriculture, as we continue to witness the power of innovation and technology in driving transformational change in the lives of smallholder farmers, as well as creating pathways to food security across the continent. #MADEAlliance #UNGA #ClimateWeekNYC #Agriculture #Innovation

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind, and we're thrilled to share some exciting updates. First up is the launch of the Mechanization for Africa Initiative in Rwanda. It's amazing to see how far the partnership with one of the first AYuTe Africa winners, Hello Tractor has progressed. Together with Heifer International, they're delivering transformative and scalable solutions for smallholder farmers across the continent to increase productivity, reduce costs and create jobs for thousands of people in Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and now Rwanda. The launch of this initiative in Rwanda, in partnership with the Rwandan Government, introduces 15 new tractors in its initial phase, delivered through a pay-as-you-earn model. This ensures affordable access to vital agricultural machinery, alongside a dedicated hub in Kayonza District for maintenance and support. By leveraging technology and innovative financing solutions, Africa’s agriculture sector is poised for sustainable, transformative growth, paving the way for long-term resilience and food security. #technology #innovation #agriculture #africa #mechanization #partnership

Well said Heifer International we couldn't agree more! 👏 #IYD24 #InternationalYouthDay #YouthInAg #AYuTeNexTtGen

What an incredible turnout! Huge thanks to everyone who joined our Twitter Spaces live—you all made it awesome! We also say kudos to our amazing co-hosts Germaine Akeza Nkunzurwanda and Jean Claude NIYOMUGABO.🙌🏽 We're dropping some inspiring quote cards from our amazing innovators who shared their insights during the session. Samson Alemu and Eliud Rugut Happy #InternationalYouthDay24 - Let's keep the momentum in the #agritech going! 💥 #HeiferAfrica #AYuTeNextGen #IYD2024

Happy International Youth Day! Today, we're giving a big shoutout to the young innovators driving Africa’s agricultural future. Together, we're building a sustainable and prosperous tomorrow! Want to make the day even more special? Join us for a Twitter Spaces chat with these incredible changemakers on 'The Role of Youth and Innovation in Africa's Agriculture' at 2 PM WAT | 3 PM CAT | 4 PM EAT. Let's chat, share ideas, and celebrate together! Join the Space: https://lnkd.in/ekcqFRMj We look forward to having you there #IYD2024 #HeiferAfrica #AYuTeNextGen #HeiferAfrica