AFEX, the prominent player in Africa's commodities market, successfully hosted its fourth annual agricultural hackathon, Code Cash Crop 4.0. The event aimed to harness the convergence of technology, finance, and agriculture, creating a platform for young tech enthusiasts to devise practical solutions.
For the first time, this year's edition attracted participants from Kenya, a result of AFEX's expansion into the East African country last year. The culminating event took place in Lagos, Nigeria, over the weekend, resulting in the identification of three winners.
Following a two-day intensive boot camp, six finalists from Kenya and Nigeria presented their solutions to a panel of judges during the grand finale. The judges included Jude Dike, Co-Founder of GetEquity; Hakeem Onasanya, Head of Startups at The Lagos State Employment Trust Fund; Nixon Gecheo, Senior Program Officer of AGRA; and Funto Olasemo, VP of Financial Markets at AFEX. Entrepreneur Mr. Yakubu emerged as the overall winner, securing the $10,000 grand prize for his solution, Farm Central Intelligence. This solution aims to establish an extensive database of agricultural information accessible through a mobile app, WhatsApp chatbot, or USSD platform.
Designed to be user-friendly and available to farmers with basic mobile phones, the platform employs USSD technology to offer farmers information about agricultural products and buyers. It provides multilingual support, personalized training, real-time agronomy assistance, and facilitates collaboration with input suppliers and students.
Claiming second and third places were Kenyan projects MCHE and Silo Africa, earning $5,000 and $3,000, respectively.
Under the theme 'Scaling Market-Led Solutions,' this year's Ag-hackathon received over 100 applications spanning three months. It selected the most innovative solutions addressing gaps within Africa's agricultural value chain, specifically in data, logistics, and extension services. From the initial applications, the pool was narrowed down to the top 25, which underwent boot camps in three African cities. These boot camps led to the selection of the finalists, who then convened in Lagos for the final boot camp and live pitch sessions with the judges. The evaluation criteria encompassed the viability, profitability, scalability, and feasibility of each solution.
Ife Adebayo, Digital Innovation Specialist at iDICE, delivered a keynote address emphasizing the importance of youth-led innovations in scaling market-led solutions. He highlighted that such innovations thrive on pushing boundaries, breaking conventions, and forging new paths, making innovation accessible to all.
During the event, panel discussions were held featuring industry professionals such as Professor Yinka David-West, Associate Dean of Lagos Business School, and Jude Dike, Co-Founder of GetEquity. These sessions delved into meaningful conversations across agriculture, technology, and finance.
AFEX Nigeria President, Akinyinka Akintunde, expressed the organization's commitment to providing a platform for young talents to create tailored models for the evolving agricultural market. Code Cash Crop reflects AFEX's dedication to empowering young entrepreneurs in Nigeria and Kenya to transform Africa's food systems through technological innovations.
The winning entrepreneur, Mr. Yakubu, expressed gratitude for the life-changing opportunity and the constructive feedback received during the boot camp. He plans to use the prize money and networking opportunities to scale up his business.
Code Cash Crop is a pivotal industry event that leverages innovation in agriculture, finance, and technology to address challenges within Africa's food systems. Through this annual challenge, AFEX empowers young tech talents and entrepreneurs, embodying its commitment to invest in Africa's future.
AFEX operates as a platform business that facilitates efficient trade for commodities in Africa. With three business units, AFEX tackles the challenges faced by smallholder farmers by enhancing access to inputs, credit facilities, microinsurance, storage services, training, and markets. By partnering with various stakeholders across the agricultural value chain, AFEX plays a crucial role in supporting Africa's food security while bridging the gap between the capital market and the commodities market. This bridge unlocks finance for the production, trade, processing, and export of commodities.
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