The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has announced a call for applications for the Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards (WAYA) 2023. The awards seek to recognise female agripreneurs in Africa who have demonstrated innovation and business excellence in agricultural value chains.
The winners of the awards, who will be revealed during the 2023 African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) Summit, will receive a total of $85,000 in grant funding. The awards are open to legal entities registered in a member state of the African Union and operating in an agriculture or agribusiness value chain. The businesses must be at least 51% owned and managed by one or more women who are citizens of one of the 55 African countries. The deadline for submission of applications is May 31, 2023, and entries must be submitted online.
The Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards 2023 have three categories: Young female Agripreneur, Outstanding Value Adding Enterprise, and Female Ag-Tech Innovator. An overall Grand Prize winner will also be selected based on the candidate who demonstrates the best potential for scale.
According to AGRA’s Vice President for Strategic Partnerships & Chief of Party, Vanessa Adams, the awards seek to highlight the contribution of women to African food systems, an area that has historically been overlooked. The awards also aim to inspire and encourage more women to pursue careers in the agricultural sector.
Last year’s winners of the Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards were Oluyemisi Iranloye, the Managing Director of Psaltry International from Nigeria, who won the Overall Grand Prize for her cassava processing initiative. Other winners were Fatou Manneh, the Founder of Jelmah Herbella from The Gambia, Uwintwari Liliane, the CEO of Mahwi Tech from Rwanda, and Célia Chabi, the CEO of KIEL BIEN-ÊTRE from Benin.