2017 AWARD GAIA Agricultural Technology (Ag Tech) Innovations

The 2017 AWARD AgTech Innovation Challenge for Southern and Central Africa (GAIA) was launched in March by the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) to increase agribusiness investments in technological and business model innovations that help bridge the gender gap in African agriculture and particularly those that enhance the positive participation of African women in agricultural value chains across the continent.

The AWARD GAIA (Deadline 16th of March) was looking for enterprises that:

• Serve the agriculture or allied sectors;
• Demonstrate clear benefits to groups that are often marginalized in agriculture including women smallholder farmers and other women value chain actors;
• Have an innovative technology or business model;
• Have a clear for-profit business model with high potential for scale;
• Have some proof of concept on the ground, conducted pilots and are preferably generating revenues;
• Are seeking funding to commercialize or scale.

The Benin Agribusiness Incubation Hub-SARL (BAIH-SARL) has been selected selected out of over 200 applicants as a high potential enterprise working in Agriculture Technology, while also working to close the gender gap.

BAIH-SARL is invited to Accra, Ghana to participate in an intensive 2-day boot camp (April 3-5) to further refine and develop their business model. AWARD GAIA will then showcase the selected enterprises to present their pitch at a public showcase where incubators, agriculture experts, investors, and the entrepreneurship community will be present.

Related PAEPARD blog posts:
PAEPARD Soja project receives Ministerial attention
26 July 2016. Cotonou.
FARA visit to SOJAGNON project
14 - 16 aout 2016. Benin.