Kenyan Agri-Based Startups Picked For Agriprenuers Competition

Two Kenyan women are among 15 women in Africa who will be competing in this year’s Women Agriprenuers of the Year Awards (WAYA) in Kigali, Rwanda.

WAYA is an Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) which was launched in 2021, to recognize women agribusiness leaders.

Susan Kahumbu, CEO of Green Dreams Tech Ltd will be competing under the Female Ag Tech Innovator category while Dorah Kwamboka Momanyi, CEO of iPop Africa Limited will be in the Outstanding Value-adding Enterprise category.

The event which will be happening in September, will be graced by the First Ladies from across the continent.

Participants were selected by a panel of independent judges in three categories of value-adding enterprise, female Ag tech innovator and young female agrepreneur (Rising Star) from nine African countries such as Ghana, Gambia and Benin.

“Given the undeniable contribution of women to African agriculture and rural economies, a female-focused award scheme is an important way to showcase success – AGRA remains steadfast in its efforts to promote and support women’s agripreneurship in Africa,” said Strategic Partnerships and Chief of Party, Vanessa Adams.

Other countries on the list were Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe. The candidates were selected from a total of 1478 applicants who were from 38 African countries.

The theme of this year’s awards ceremony will be ‘Increasing Access to Healthy Diets in the AU Year of Nutrition,” and the ultimate winners will each recieve a cash prize of Ksh2.4 million ($20,000).

Article By Sally Lizwa