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Africa’s brightest young agri-tech innovators will converge in Kampala, Uganda, for the highly anticipated AYuTe NextGen 2025 Conference, taking place from June 17 to 19. Hosted by Heifer International, this flagship event is a powerful platform where youth, agriculture, and technology intersect to shape a resilient and tech-driven future for African food systems.
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With the theme “AgTech Generation Rising,” the 2025 conference brings together young innovators, investors, policymakers, and development partners to spotlight bold, scalable solutions created by African youth to tackle critical challenges in food security, climate resilience, and agricultural productivity.
Why AYuTe NextGen 2025 Matters
Africa is home to the world’s fastest-growing youth population, with over 60% under the age of 25, yet the continent’s food systems face unprecedented stress from climate change, market volatility, and infrastructure gaps. Youth often face exclusion from agriculture due to limited access to capital, mentorship, and markets—contributing to a talent gap in one of Africa’s most vital sectors.
AYuTe, which stands for Agriculture, Youth, and Technology, is Heifer International’s strategic initiative to reposition agriculture as a modern, profitable, and tech-enabled industry. It champions youth-led innovation and transforms young Africans into the architects of the continent’s agricultural transformation.
Live Innovation Showcase: 11 Startups, 1 Stage
This year’s event follows a rigorous competition that drew over 100 applications from 10 African countries. After technical assessments in Lagos and Nairobi, 11 cutting-edge startups emerged as finalists. Their solutions span from drone-enabled precision farming to AI-powered agricultural analytics, all focused on climate-smart scalability and improved access to finance.
These finalists will pitch live to a panel of investors, government officials, and ecosystem enablers for a chance to receive seed funding, mentorship, and long-term support through Heifer International’s innovation ecosystem.
“This year’s competition showcased bold, creative solutions across the continent,” said Dayo Aduroja, Africa Youth and Innovation Lead at Heifer International. “AYuTe NextGen is where innovation meets opportunity—and ideas get the capital and support they need to scale.”
A Youth-Designed, Youth-Led Platform
AYuTe NextGen is uniquely youth-led at every stage—from its design to execution. Young leaders will drive key conversations through interactive forums, fireside chats, and policy roundtables, addressing topics such as climate-smart agriculture, digital disruption, financing access, and AI in farming.
This dynamic platform allows young entrepreneurs to engage directly with stakeholders, influence agricultural policy, and gain exposure to funding and growth opportunities.
Impacting Millions, Building the Future
In just four years, AYuTe NextGen has supported startups impacting over 650,000 direct beneficiaries and 1.2 million indirect beneficiaries. Past winners like Thrive Agric (Nigeria), Thur Biotech (Ethiopia), and Digicow (Kenya) have successfully scaled their solutions across African markets.
The 2024 Uganda country-level winner, Assumpta Nakalema, developed a solar-powered egg incubator helping poultry farmers reduce post-harvest losses and energy costs. “AYuTe doesn’t just discover innovations—it builds the ecosystem for lasting impact,” Nakalema said.
A Call to Action: Invest in Africa’s Youth and AgriTech Future
“To Africa’s young innovators—your time is now,” said SVP Ifedi, urging global funders and governments to support the next generation of agri-tech pioneers. “The future of African agriculture is youth-led, tech-driven, and unfolding right now. Let’s co-create a sustainable, inclusive food future—together.”
