Heifer Uganda on Thursday announced the three winners of the 2023 AYuTe Africa Challenge that supports agritech innovators: Simon Peter Okoci was named the overall winner, Willy Katumwa the first runner-up and Samantha Ainembabazi the second runner-up.
Simon Peter Okoci is the proprietor of the smart kuku brooder innovation- that uses an automated temperature and light regulation system in brooders. He received a cash prize of UGX 35,000,000. The 1st runner-up, Willy Katumwa who invented Fish Feeding Technology that automates feeding based on fish needs among others received a cash prize of UGX 25,000,000 while the 2nd runner-up, Samantha Ainembabazi, received a cash prize of UGX 10,000,000 and invented the Freza Nano Technology innovation that preserves fruits by releasing a safe, organic formulation extending shelf life by 30 days.
As winners of the AYuTe Africa Challenge in Uganda, the innovators received a combined total of UGX 70,000,000 in grants, along with ongoing mentorship from a team of expert advisors to help them translate their funding into expansion and meaningful change to Uganda’s food and farming systems.
The challenge is an initiative by Heifer International implemented in Uganda in partnership with Famunera, EzyAgric and National Animal Genetic Resources Centre & DataBank (NAGRC&DB). Other partners include Hive Colab and Youth Startup Academy Uganda (YSAU) that provided business incubation services and RSM East Africa that brought on board audit services to ensure quality assurance and transparency of the competition. The Challenge aimed at fostering a culture of innovation by supporting and nurturing the next generation of agriculture technology leaders in Uganda. The competition, which was launched last year, provides a platform for agricultural innovators to showcase their technologies and links them to relevant support services to make their products market ready.
“Heifer Uganda believes that the future of Africa’s agriculture hinges on creating opportunities for young innovators to transform the agricultural landscape,” said William Matovu, Country Director for Heifer Uganda. “Our aim is to build a robust community of innovators and alumni across the country to accelerate meaningful impact for smallholder farmers.”
This year’s challenge attracted 189 participants and offered an incubator program for contestants to gain deeper insight into how to scale up their businesses, ensure sustainability, and attain financial management skills among others.
“Last year’s top winners have led the way by creating jobs for a combined 25 youths and serving over 200 farmers across the country. That is a step in the right direction,” said Hon. Fred Bwino Kyakulaga, Minister of State for Agriculture, at the award ceremony. “Winners for this year should do the same: Let the agricultural sector stand out as a major employer for young people in Uganda, through your great innovations.”
Mr Moses Watasa, Commissioner for Communication and Dissemination, at the ICT and National Guidance Ministry also acknowledged the importance of the AYuTe Africa Challenge’s focus of supporting and empowering young, inventive entrepreneurs who have introduced promising technology solutions to transform agriculture for smallholder farmers.
“Innovations in technology are key drivers for success of many economies. Agriculture as a backbone for Uganda calls for creative minds that come up with solutions that make it a more profitable sector. The winning solutions we honor tonight have the potential to tackle a wide range of issues affecting productivity and substantially, boost the incomes of smallholder farmers in Uganda and throughout Africa” he said.
Heifer International began working in Uganda in 1982 and to date, Heifer Uganda has supported over 6 million families across the country through agriculture and environmentally sound economic development programs. Heifer Uganda is currently present in 19 districts of the Central, Eastern, West Nile and Northern regions.
