The 4th African Agripreneur Forum (AYAF) and AgriPitch Competition will be held virtually in a series of 3 webinar panel discussions from 3 to 17 November 2020. The final agripreneur pitch will take place during the week of 16-17 November 2020. The theme of the AYAF is: "Driving Sustainable Nutrition and Gender Inclusion in Africa's Agri-Food Systems: Young Agripreneurs Seize the Decade". The aim will be to highlight how young agripreneurs can address nutrition and gender inclusivity by serving as entrepreneurial leaders within their communities and actively involved in Africa's agribusiness sector, which is set to become a trillion-dollar industry by 2030.

The AYAF is an annual event of the African Development Bank's Enable Youth Programme and is expected to attract participants from all over the world, including young agripreneurs, agribusiness companies, investors, nutrition experts, gender specialists, academia, development partners and government agencies. It includes a three-day AgriPitch boot camp where pre-selected agripreneurs receive training on product development, revenue channel identification, logistics, marketing, business management, investment readiness, financing, etc. by coaches, mentors and investors. At the end of the boot camp, the agripreneurs pitch their business proposals to a panel of judges for the chance to win a cash prize. In parallel, the entrepreneurs also hold one-to-one meetings in the AYAF DealRoom, where they meet with invited investors who are focussed on companies of their size, stage and sector. The event also includes the AYAF Conference (3 weekly webinars from 03 to 17 November 2020) which provide a platform for young agripreneurs and key stakeholders to discuss and debate topical/thematic issues affecting youth employment with experts, business leaders, investors and policymakers.

Register now (link is external): https://afdb.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4P4ZAmvmRvu6VSc48ekJJg

For more information, visit : https://www.afdb.org/en/african-youth-agripreneurs-forum/ayaf-2020