AGRA has announced that applications are now open for the 2023 Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards (WAYA), which recognize African female agripreneurs who have demonstrated remarkable innovation and business excellence in agricultural value chains.
The winners will be unveiled during the 2023 AGRF Summit and will receive $85,000 in grant funding. To be eligible for WAYA, businesses must be operating in an agriculture or agribusiness value chain, be a legal entity registered in a country that is a member state of the African Union, and at least 51% owned and managed by one or more women who are citizens of one of the 55 African countries.
The applications are being received in three categories: Young female Agripreneur, Outstanding Value Adding Enterprise, and Female Ag-Tech Innovator. The Overall Grand Prize winner will be determined as the candidate with the best scale potential. At the launch event, AGRA’s Vice President for Strategic Partnerships & Chief of Party, Vanessa Adams, said that women’s participation and recognition in the agriculture sector has been historically overlooked. That’s why it’s essential to shine a spotlight on women who are making a significant contribution to the agricultural industry through their innovation, leadership, and entrepreneurship.
Last year, Oluyemisi Iranloye, the Managing Director of Psaltry International from Nigeria, scooped the Overall Grand Prize for her cassava processing initiative. Fatou Manneh, the Founder of Jelmah Herbella, from The Gambia, won in the Young Female Agripreneur category; Uwintwari Liliane, the CEO of Mahwi Tech from Rwanda, won the Female Ag Tech Innovator; and Célia Chabi, the CEO of KIEL BIEN-ÊTRE from Benin won in the Outstanding Value Adding Enterprise category.
The applications can be submitted online on this link until May 31, 2023. The VALUE4HER Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards is an AGRA-led recognition initiative launched in 2021 under AGRA’s flagship VALUE4HER initiative that seeks to strengthen women agripreneurship in Africa. The awards aim to create visibility for successful women and promote them as positive role models, trigger innovation, and spur ambition among women agripreneurs.