KIC announces call for applications for the 2024 AgriTech Challenge Pro program

KIC has announced a call for applications for the 2024 AgriTech Challenge Pro program. Nominations are open till November 24th 2023. The AgriTech Challenge Pro program is supported by the Mastercard Foundation, through the KIC and the Mastercard Foundation partnership launched to train the next generation of young leaders and entrepreneurs in Ghana’s agricultural sector.

The KIC Agritech Challenge Pro is a five- month accelerator program aiming to support young entrepreneurs to launch and grow commercially viable, scalable solutions to key problems in the agricultural sector. The program aims to drive technology and innovation as a catalyst to enhancing productivity, improving yields, and creating more jobs within Ghana’s agricultural sector. Participants are drawn from the AgriTech Challenge Classic program and from a pool of existing start-ups who are ready to nurture their business for investor-readiness. At the end of the training, KIC and its partners award some selected businesses with up to USD50,000 seed funding.

Past winners from the competition share their valuable experience gained through the capacity building and coaching received from the training. Speaking about impact of joining the KIC program, Caroline Amanor, co-founder and CEO of Maku Foods, a KIC supported business, mentioned that KIC’s AgriTech Challenge Pro had led to the growth of her business, citing the insights from the trainings, coaching and skills acquired by being part of the programme.

“We started very small. We were introduced to the KIC program, and since we joined we have learnt a lot. We were part of the winners for the 2022 AgriTech Challenge Pro competition and through the seed funding we received, we have been able to invest in building the business and purchasing more equipment for processing our ingredients into ready- to cook condiments and spices. KIC helped position our business for growth and investor readiness,” she said.

Kosmos Innovation Center (KIC) is committed to empowering young people to find innovative and entrepreneurship opportunities within the agricultural value chain. For the 2023 AgriTech Pro, KIC awarded $350000 worth of seed funding to 11 startups.