The Pitch AgriHack 2019 competition held in Accra, Ghana, saw seven startups receive a total of USD 66,000 in prizes.
Pitch AgriHack is run by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation (CTA) alongside the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra), the OCP Group, GreenTec Capital Africa Foundation, GreenTec Capital Africa,World Bank, and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
The competition’s mission is to support the growth of agritech startups as well as foster the adoption of innovations that make the agrifood sector more productive.
CTA had earlier this month announced the selection of 22 of 326 finalists, 11 of whom are women led.
The finalists underwent a training bootcamp which ended in a pitch session to a panel of judges and prospective investors.
The 2019 winners hail from Kenya, Uganda, Ghana and Nigeria.
Winners were selected based on the level at which their startups are operating.
In the Early-stage startups category;
Ghana’s Profish took home USD 8,300 for its Lojaanor USSD platform which enables the startup to provide logistical services and market access to fish farmers.
Kenya’s Savanna Circuit Tech took home a USD 5,500 prize for its Maziwaplus Prechiller and M+ Milk Collection App.
In the Mature stage startup category;
Uganda’s Jaguza Tech won USD 16,500 for its online and offline, cloud-based livestock management system that incorporates the use of low-cost sensors, drones, livestock collars and GPS trackers to gather real-time information about location, speed, body temperature and stress levels of livestock.
Kenya’s Arinifu Technologies took home USD 13,800 for its smart brooder environmental control device which helps chicken farmers regulate temperature and humidity.
The Data Analytics Award went to Nigeria’s Foodlocker Limited, which won USD 11,000 for its agri-products logistics solution.
In the Public Choice Award category was Nigeria’s Trackball Global Technologies which took home USD 5,500 for its solution.
The GreenTec Award went to Ghana’s TechShelta which took home €5000.
CTA said since the launch of the AgriHack Talent initiative in 2013, the services of entrants have reached over one million farmers and agricultural stakeholders, with participants having raised over €2-million from investors and partners.
In the same statement, Michael Hailu, the CTA director, said that through the Pitch AgriHack competition, the centre has discovered, quote, “self-taught youngsters who are full of ideas and determination,” which he said are providing answers to some of Africa’s persistent challenges.
