Heifer Nigeria, an international NGO, has unveiled the 2026 AYuTe Nigeria Challenge, offering $40,000 to support youth-led agritech innovations aimed at transforming Nigeria’s food system and improving smallholder farmers’ incomes.
The disclosure was made on Thursday in Abuja during the unveiling of the 2026 annual Agriculture, Youth and Technology (AYuTe) initiative, themed “Catalysing Youth-Led Innovation to Transform Nigeria’s Food Systems”.
Speaking at the event, Dr Lekan Tobe, Country Director of Heifer Nigeria, said the 2026 edition would focus on identifying innovations that are technically feasible, climate-smart and capable of delivering tangible value to smallholder farmers who drive Nigeria’s agri-economy.
“The future of our nation’s food security lies in the innovation and energy of our youth. We also believe that the challenges facing our food systems, ranging from climate change to supply chain inefficiencies, require modern yet local solutions,” he said.
According to Tobe, the organisation would provide financial and technical resources to help transform youth-led, technology-driven ideas into scalable tools capable of strengthening Nigeria’s agricultural value chain.
“We are looking for solutions that address the real-world hurdles our farmers face every day, from climate resilience to supply chain efficiency and access to innovative finance and premium markets,” he said.
“Our goal this year is to find ideas that directly address the daily problems farmers encounter. The success stories of our past winners serve as proof that the talent exists within this country to revolutionise agriculture,” he added.
Also speaking at the unveiling, Mr Chuba Ezeigwe, Communications Manager of Heifer Nigeria, said the AYuTe Nigeria Challenge, which began in 2022, had attracted over 2,000 entries across editions.
He explained that the 2026 edition would award a total of $40,000, with the grand prize winner receiving $20,000, while the first runner-up and second runner-up would receive $12,000 and $8,000, respectively.
Ezeigwe said the application portal for the 2026 challenge opened on Jan. 22 and would close on March 14, adding that more information was available at www.ayute.africa/Nigeria for interested agripreneurs.
He added that beyond the financial rewards, successful participants would also receive post-award business advisory support to help translate innovative ideas into viable expansion strategies.
“By amplifying youth-led innovations, we are showing that young people are the architects of Nigeria’s agri-future. We are empowering changemakers to create jobs while solving the daily needs of smallholder farmers,” Ezeigwe said.
In his remarks, Mr Mustapha Abokede, Venture Lead at Wennovation Hub, the project’s technical partner, said the partnership was designed to identify farmer-centric technologies that could withstand market conditions.
“We are moving beyond incubation to provide rigorous venture support. By focusing on technical feasibility and economic suitability, we ensure these youth-led agritech solutions can scale aggressively,” he said.
“Our goal is to empower changemakers to build a more resilient food system that offers prosperity for Nigeria’s smallholder farmers,” Abokede added.
Sharing his experience, Mr Seyi Alabi, the AYuTe 2025 winner and Founder of Crop2Cash, said the support from Heifer had enabled him to empower smallholder farmers through mobile-based access to financing while introducing new products.
“Winning the AYuTe challenge opened door for more opportunities for my business and we have been able to expand operations in Kano, Kaduna and other regions,” he said.
“Our supply chain also increased and we expanded our warehouse from 5 to 9 within this short period, as well as designed a new product,” Alabi added.
Similarly, Ms Deborah Oigocho, the 2025 second runner-up and Co-Founder of Erido Agro, said emerging as one of the winners had boosted her pursuit of investment opportunities and expanded her reach to over 1,000 smallholder farmers.
She said, “we have also launched our platform, which gives farmers access to inputs markets and tech solutions boosting their productivities and incomes.
“We also opened a rice processing plants that provide a ready market for local rice farmers in Benue State and enhanced the rice value chain.
“We also empowered farmers to manage finances, secure and store their produce and access profits.
“We are so grateful for this platform, because this gave us the opportunity to kick-start and do big things in the agricultural market and drive sustainability for smaller farmers.”
The AYuTe Africa Challenge Nigeria is an enterprise development programme initiated by Heifer International to identify, nurture and support innovative and technology-driven agri-centric enterprises through national competitions.
The initiative awards up to $40,000 in each participating country, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda.
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