The Entrepreneur

• Entrepreneur is aged 35 or below on the date of submission to the competition, and is legally recognised as an adult in country of nationality
• Entrepreneur holds nationality (with an official ID) from a country which is a member of the African Union
• Entrepreneur is the founder/co-founder of the venture he/she represents in the competition and plays an active role in its operations and leadership
• Entrepreneur has no criminal record related to corruption, tax evasion, financial impropriety, felony or other offence, and will provide a signed declaration to that effect, if requested

The Venture

• Venture is already legally registered in a country which is a member of the African Union or will have commenced with the registration of such a legal entity prior to 1 Julne 2023
• Venture is headquartered in a country which is a member of the African Union
• Venture is designed to be financially sustainable, either as a for-profit business or a non-profit generating some revenue and aiming not to be dependent on donor funding
• Venture plays a role in the agri-food sector and/or supports the development of the agri-food sector through an innovation or process improvement

The agri-food sector may be defined as businesses including:

• Agri-food research & development
• Primary food production (farming)
• Crop nutrition
• Irrigation
• Mechanisation, automation or robotics, including drones
• Crop protection
• Hydroponics or urban farming
• Transport, distribution, storage or logistics
• Food processing
• Packaging or marketing
• Food retail or service
• Waste management or recycling
• Digital or technology solutions/services to the agri-food sector
• Innovative finance solutions/services to the agri-food sector
• Renewable energy or environmental solutions/services to the agri-food sector

The Business

• Originality and innovation
• Market potential and traction
• Social and commercial impact
• Environmental sustainability
• Inspiring and investible team

• Two entrepreneurs, one woman and one man, will each win 50,000 US Dollars for the most innovative and scalable business ventures
• All our finalists will also receive mentorship, programming linkages and guidance to continue their entrepreneurial journey

Generation Africa is the partnership initiative with a vision to strengthen the ecosystem for youth entrepreneurs in the agri-food sector across the continent. Founding partners are Econet, a global telecommunications, media, energy and technology group founded on the African continent, and Yara International, a global crop nutrition company, founded in Norway.