Harambe releases shortlist of farmers for business competition

Harambe Nigeria, the organization focused for three years now on youth being agents of change within the agricultural sector, has announced its shortlist for the first ever agricultural business plan competition for young people between the ages of 21 and 35, launched on April 1 this year.

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The competition received 70 entries in a wide array of agricultural activities including commercial production of broilers and turkey, wholesale production of catfish, a locally fabricated system called Agro waste processor for management of agro waste, bio fertiliser production and generation of Methane gas for cooking, lightening and electricity for its users, fish farming consultancy, urban agriculture through the use of vertical farming houses/homes in Lagos, vertical farming (multi-storey), roof farming, floor farming, maintenance services, home farm, produce retailing, amongst others.

27 applicants were shortlisted and they now move to the next stage of the competition which is the receipt of a full business plan. The final stage is one of rigorous one-on-one interviews and defense of business plans. The judges include are Mosunmola Umoru of Honeysuckles PTL, Tosin Anibaba of the Fatre Foundation, Lcy Kanu of Ideabuilders, an agriculture NGO and Peter Bankole, director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Development Services (EDS) at the Pan-African University.

There will be three winners, who will receive prizes up to 7.5 million naira in money and trainings with the EDS, Fate Foundation and Ideabuilders. In order to ensure that the winning ideas are successfully implemented and sustained, Harambe Nigeria will be coupling a financial reward with extensive training at renowned institutions such as the EDS and the Fate Foundation. The winning entrepreneurs will receive mentorship and their financial reward will be well managed at specific banks to ensure that they are directed towards the initiative. The winners will be announced on the 10^th of September at a cocktail reception, were they will receive their certificates.

“We are looking for innovative and sustainable ideas from young upstart entrepreneurs as well as established entrepreneurs with a maximum of one year’s work experience,” the organisation’s President, Tola Sunmonu, said. “The first phase of the process commenced on the 31^st of May. Applicants submitted an application form that detailed the key aspects of their agribusiness. The carefully selected winners will be unveiled at our conference and will have the opportunity to present their ideas to the audience.”

This year, Harambe Nigeria's annual symposium will make the necessary transition from raising much needed awareness, to facilitating youth involvement in the sector and supporting those already engaged. In order to illustrate this transition, Harambe’s third annual symposium will be titled "Watering the Seeds of Tomorrow: the major feature of the symposium will be the agribusiness plan competition for youth.

“This year’s event will mark the culmination of our 6 month agri-business plan competition,” Sunmonu said. “In addition to presenting the winners with training and financial support, all participants will partake in a 2 day training session in order to work on their ideas with a team of trained experts from the industry. This 3rd annual Harambe Symposium on Youth and Development has one singular focus: providing young agric-entrepreneurs with the opportunities to build and expand their ventures.”

The training session will consist of workshops that target the specific needs of the participants. Participants will also be provided with relevant information that they can put towards developing their initiatives. This information will include details of various agricultural and business trainings that are available in Nigeria as well as opportunities to access credit.

At the end of the session, youth will receive certificates of participation, which they can use to build their resume. Participants are expected to leave the session with improved versions of their initial agribusiness ideas. This will make them better equipped to implement their ideas if they choose to do so in the near future.

On day two of the training session, participants will have the opportunity to start refining their ideas based on the information they gathered the previous day. In addition they will make posters that best summarise their initiatives. In the evening, Harambe Nigeria will host a cocktail reception for friends and supporters of Harambe Nigeria. Guests will have the opportunity to browse through the posters on display as well as interact with the aspiring entrepreneurs. The 3 winners will also be announced and presented with their awards at the reception.

“We are aware of the immense potential that Harambe Nigeria's 3rd annual symposium has to revolutionize the way Nigerian youth engage with the Agricultural sector,” she said. “And we are fired up by the possibilities.”