UNDP, FCMB, CEFTER support 25 Early-stage Agritechs

By Joy Obakeye

The United Nations Development Programme(UNDP), First City Monument Bank (FCMB) and the Centre for Food and Research (CEFTER) of Benue State University have supported 25 early-stage Agritechs that were winners at the grand finale of the 2022 Agrohack Challenge held in Makurdi, Benue State, with funding.

The selected Agritechs received varying amounts of funding to help them scale their businesses and develop innovative solutions that address challenges in the agriculture sector.

The funding ranges from N600,000 to N2.4million. The startups will also receive access to business support services, incubation, and networking opportunities.

Achesa, a startup raising the income of smallholder farmers through optimised yields, improved productivity and market access, emerged tops during the challenge and won the grand prize of N2.4 million. In addition to the N2.4 million, Achesa and 10 runner-ups will receive incubation support from Hub One, the tech startup accelerator of FCMB, for three months and access to workspace, market and networks to aid business growth.

Cardinal Torch and eSusFarm were second and third runners-up. They got N1.9 million and N1.5 million, respectively, from the bank, while Farmsquare and Bionet also received N600,000 each from FCMB.

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22 other winners were given N600,000 each by the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP) in Nigeria and the Centre for Food and Research.

Congratulating the winners, the managing diirector of FCMB, Mrs Yemisi Edun, said: “as an institution fostering inclusive and sustainable growth in local communities across the country, we prioritise agriculture and are committed to supporting Agritechs to build innovative solutions that will address the challenges in the sector and drive economic growth.

“We will continue to work with other stakeholders to improve agriculture and create a future of shared prosperity for Nigerians. We congratulate all the winners and look forward to working with them in their next growth phase.”

Organised by FCMB, the UNDP and CEFTER, the Agrohack challenge crowdsources solutions to the challenges faced across Nigeria’s Agricultural value chain and bridges the funding gap.