AGRA, SMEDAN open agribusiness contest for young Nigerians

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria and Jesnoch International Limited have opened applications for a national agribusiness competition offering young Nigerians seed funding, mentorship and business training.

The Annual Youth in Agribusiness Innovation Contest is open to Nigerians aged 18 to 35 who are running or planning to establish agricultural businesses, from the idea stage to growing enterprises.

The contest is being delivered by Plus Incubation Hub Nigeria Limited under the AGRA-funded project, “Systems Strengthening for BDS Provision and Access to Finance for Ag-SMEs,” according to a statement on Friday.

Applications opened on Thursday, October 8, 2026, through the contest portal and will close on Friday, October 16, 2026. Ten winners will receive seed funding, structured mentorship, and introductions to financiers and off-takers.

Thirty finalists will pitch their businesses in Lagos on Thursday, October 29, 2026, while the prizes will be presented at the National MSME Conference in Lagos from November 8 to 10, 2026.

Applicants who pass the eligibility check will also be invited to a free nationwide virtual training session on Saturday, October 17, 2026.

The training will cover agribusiness fundamentals, financial literacy, access to finance, and investment readiness.

The sessions will be recorded and shared with participants who cannot attend live, allowing them to complete the modules at their convenience.

Additionally, 120 young people, comprising 40 participants each from Niger, Nasarawa and Kaduna states, will receive two days of intensive, practical training on Wednesday, October 21, and Thursday, October 22, 2026. The sessions will take place concurrently in the three states.

In-person training places will be allocated to eligible applicants residing in the respective states based on the order of verified, complete submissions. Each state will have at least 12 places reserved for women and eight for rural participants.

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Selection for the training programme will be conducted separately from the contest judging and will not give participants an advantage in the competition.

Although the contest is open nationwide, 60 per cent of finalist and training places will be allocated to Niger, Nasarawa and Kaduna, the focal states of the parent project. Applicants from other states will compete for the remaining places using the same published assessment criteria.

The allocation will be applied at a single declared stage of the selection process, with full details provided in the contest rules on the portal.

To qualify, applicants must have an agribusiness registered through one of three channels: Corporate Affairs Commission registration as a business name or limited company, SMEDAN MSME registration, or registered membership of a cooperative society.

The application is individual, meaning one named person aged 18 to 35 must apply, undergo assessment, pitch and receive any award. The registration requirement applies to the business rather than the individual applicant.

The organisers said the requirement was intended to ensure that seed funding was paid to an entity legally able to receive and account for the money, while supporting SMEDAN’s mandate to develop registered micro, small and medium enterprises.

The three registration options reflect the different ways young agripreneurs operate in Nigeria. While some run CAC-registered businesses or companies, others have SMEDAN MSME registration or operate through registered cooperative societies.

Cooperatives are a common legal structure for rural agricultural businesses, particularly in Niger, Nasarawa and Kaduna states. Accepting cooperative membership as evidence of a lawful trading arrangement is intended to allow young rural entrepreneurs to participate without restricting eligibility to businesses registered with the CAC.

However, cooperative membership does not make the application a group entry, and the cooperative itself is not the applicant.