United Nations Development Programme, First City Monument Bank and the Centre for Food and Research of Benue State University have supported 25 early-stage agritechs that were winners at the grand finale of the 2022 Agrohack Challenge in Makurdi, Benue State, with funding.
In a statement on Thursday, the selected agritechs received varying amounts of funding to help them scale their businesses and develop innovative solutions that addressed challenges in the agriculture sector, ranging from N600,000 to N2.4m.
The statement noted that the startups would also receive access to business support services, incubation, and networking opportunities.
It stated, “Emerging top during the challenge was Achesa, a startup raising the income of smallholder farmers through optimised yields, improved productivity and market access, winning the grand prize of N2.4m. In addition to the N2.4m, 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 N1.9m and N1.5m, respectively, from the bank, while Farmsquare and Bionet also received N600,000 each from FCMB.
“Twenty-two other winners were given N600,000 each by the United Nations Development Programme in Nigeria and the Centre for Food and Research.”
While congratulating the winners, the Managing Director of FCMB, Yemisi Edun, restated the commitment of the institution to supporting agritechs.
She 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.”
