The AYuTe NextGen 2025 summit, hosted by Heifer International, has wrapped up in Kampala, Uganda, celebrating a new wave of young agri-tech innovators from across the African continent.
Under the theme “AgTech Generation Rising”, the three-day event showcased groundbreaking solutions in digital agriculture, climate-smart technology, and market access. Eleven youth finalists from ten countries presented their innovations before a panel of judges, competing for funding, mentorship, and exposure to investors.
The event spotlighted solutions like AI-powered farm monitoring, solar incubation systems, and drone-based crop spraying, with many geared toward improving smallholder productivity and climate resilience. Though the final winners are yet to be publicly announced, past competitions have helped launch several startups into regional success.
Organizers say AYuTe (short for Agriculture Youth Technology) has already impacted over 650,000 farmers directly, and more than 1.2 million people indirectly across Africa. Finalists this year will receive seed funding, business training, and continued support to scale their innovations.
Heifer officials emphasized that this initiative is part of their broader strategy to empower African youth and bridge gaps in finance, technology, and market access key hurdles in modernizing the continent’s agriculture sector.
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