Different African governments have established numerous initiatives to support agriculture such as the Maputo Declaration, the adoption of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and agreeing to Africa’s Agenda 2063.
While the goodwill of these initiatives cannot go unnoticed, these are all high-level solutions and there is still a need for granular solutions for smallholder farmers. At Village Capital, we believe agriculture entrepreneurs can address these gaps.
Innovators have the potential to raise productivity for small farmers and food security, improve and secure the value chain, and strengthen links to markets, all while generating job growth and local economic development.
Village Capital is launching its Agriculture Africa 2019 program with the support of Ceniarth and Small Foundation. Ceniarth has committed capital to the top two peer-selected ventures.
Eligibility Criteria
Village Capital welcomes ventures meeting any of the following criteria listed below to apply for the Africa Agriculture 2019 program.
1.) Women and youth-led enterprises,
2.) Enterprises that solve agri-value chain problems end-to-end (or come close),
3.) Enterprises that employ technology in delivering products and/or services,
4.)Ventures that work across multiple commodities,
5.) Companies that leverage social networks in delivering their product and services,
6.) Urban agriculture, aquaculture, and hardware businesses and ventures operating outside Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana.
7.) While the program will prioritize ventures operating outside these countries, Nigerian, Kenyan, South African, and Ghanaian-based ventures will still be considered.
Program Dates
Workshop 1: October 8 – October 11 2019, Location TBD
Workshop 2: December 3 – December 6 2019, Location TBD
Workshop 3: January 14 – January 17 2020, Location TBD
Application deadline: June 28, 2019.
