AGRA opens the 2025 Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards with $300,000 in grant funding
To honour and celebrate exceptional African women who are revolutionising the agricultural industry, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has opened applications for the 2025 Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards (WAYA).
The announcement was made on March 7, 2025, in Accra, Ghana, during AGRA’s International Women’s Day commemoration. WAYA is a distinguished award program that honours outstanding female agripreneurs who demonstrate exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact across agricultural value chains.
Founded in 2006, AGRA is an African-led group that supports smallholder farmers with proven agricultural innovations in an effort to improve livelihoods and promote food security. AGRA collaborates with governments, businesses, non-governmental organisations, and other stakeholders in 11 countries to help smallholder farmers become part of Africa’s expanding economy.
AGRA focuses on the main forces behind the transformation of agriculture and food systems, such as technology, GIS and remote sensing, centre pivots, underutilised solar power systems, mechanisation, digital platforms, satellites, e-commerce, regulatory and policy interventions, extension support, climate-smart agriculture, conservation agriculture, agroforestry, integrated pest management, protection of indigenous species, access to financing, transgenic technology, and subsidy programs.
Since its launch in 2021, WAYA has honoured achievement in three main areas:
- Young Female Agripreneur award for women under 35 who have demonstrated leadership and creativity in their agribusinesses
- Female agriculture tech innovator award, celebrating women who are promoting agritech innovations
- Outstanding value-adding enterprise that recognises women-owned enterprises, which raises the market worth of agricultural products
In 2024, AGRA added two new categories and introduced regional winners in the Young Female Agripreneurs awards. These include;
- Women empowerment champion: this category honours female entrepreneurs who demonstrate a conscious effort to provide other women with the chance to expand their agribusinesses
- Resilient and inspirational leaders: this celebrates female agribusiness owners from underserved communities or inaccessible places who, in the face of great adversity, exhibit unyielding willpower, fortitude, and tenacity to succeed in the industry
For the 2025 award, AGRA features the five categories.
Benefits
A $300,000 grant pool will be distributed to selected winners of the 2025 Women Agripreneurs of the Year Award as part of AGRA’s larger goal to promote equitable agricultural change in Africa.
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Who can apply
To be eligible for the 2025 Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards, applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Businesses must operate inside an agribusiness or agricultural value chain
- Be officially registered in a country that is a member of the African Union
- Be run and owned by women who are citizens of at least 51% of the 55 African nations
The winners of the 2025 Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards will be revealed at the Africa Food Systems Forum, which will take place in Dakar, Senegal, in September 2025.
How to apply
Interested applicants should submit their application for the 2025 Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards through the official application platform on or before Saturday, May 31, 2025.
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