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Generation Africa is calling the youth to rise up as Food Warriors that use impact-driven agrifood businesses

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4 years ago

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The GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition is a seed to fork entrepreneurship competition for social or business ventures

NAIROBI, Kenya, April 19, 2022/APO Group/ — 

The GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition 2022 (GoGettaz.Africa) inspires young entrepreneurs to engage in a food revolution that makes a positive impact on communities, the environment, and the local economy. Applications open on 19 April 2022, and this year Generation Africa wants to support Food Warriors who battle climate change, hunger, and poverty. Now in its fourth year, the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition has become a cornerstone in the African agrifood industry, reaching millions of young people with a message of hope and opportunity.

“African youth are reshaping the agrifood landscape on the continent, and this movement must grow to transform the food system,” says Dickson Naftali, Head of Generation Africa. “Last year was a great year to build momentum. The United Nations Food System Summit, COP26, and a powerful AGRF Summit has set the pace. Generation Africa and our founders and partners are taking decisive action to steer the youth to build an African-led and African-owned food systems. Through the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition, our aim is to inspire them to create a system that delivers sufficient and nutritious food to the continent, that does not impact the environment negatively, and that creates sustainable, dignified jobs, and shared prosperity for Africa.”

The GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition is a seed to fork entrepreneurship competition for social or business ventures working in or supporting other businesses in any part of the agriculture or food value-chain. To enter the competition, you must be an agrifood entrepreneur aged 18-35, who is the founder or co-founder of a business operating in the food system. You must be citizen of an African country and your business must have its head quarters in an African country. For more information and to enter the competition, applicants can go to: GoGettaz.Africa.

At the AGRF in September 2022, the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition will award one man and one woman with a US$50,000 grand prize each, to launch, grow, or scale their businesses. Four Food Warrior Awards will also be presented to GoGettaz finalists who are making a positive impact with their businesses. Finalists will participate in the AGRF 2022 Agribusiness Deal Room where they could meet future partners, investors, or clients.

Amanda Namayi, GoGettaz Lead at Generation Africa, says, “By providing the GoGettaz Community with opportunities, we are on a mission to motivate young people to build companies that create jobs in the food system. Financial incentives, like the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition, are enhanced by investment opportunities through the AGRF Agribusiness Deal Room, and mentorship and education on the community platform. New programmes, like the Generation Africa Fellowship Programme (GAFP), and scholarships to study master’s degrees at the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business are mobilising even more GoGettaz to make a success of their ventures.”

Four influential new partners have joined Generation Africa in their mission to inspire the youth towards a strong, independent, climate-smart food system. Generation Africa is proud to add the African Development Bank (AfDB) (www.AfDB.org/en), Bayer (https://bit.ly/3EsHDwm), Heifer International (www.Heifer.org), and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) (www.Norad.no) to the growing list of partners. These global leaders provide resources and support that create new opportunities for African youth in the agrifood sector. In 2021, and again in 2022, founding partner Yara International (www.Yara.com) provided full scholarships to select GoGettaz alumni (https://bit.ly/3Or7fyj) to pursue a Master’s in Business Creation at the University of Utah, David Eccles School of Business. And Global NPO Heifer International extended their support to youth in agritech through the Generation Africa Pitch AgriHack competition and the special AYuTe prize of 1.5 million dollars. With the support and expertise of its founders and partners, Generation Africa is excited to lead even more youth to scale in 2022 through the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition.

Fourteen impressive agripreneurs made it into the finals of the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition in 2021. “The entries were so good, that we eventually added two more finalists unlike the previous years,” Amanda Namayi shares. “Overall, 3307 hopeful agripreneurs from 36 African countries started the entry process, and seven men and seven women pitched their businesses in the finals before a high-level panel of judges. Applicants presented businesses from idea-stage to mature-stage and comprised agritech and fintech ventures, waste-to-value businesses, exiting alternative protein companies, and social ventures working in women empowerment and community growth.”

Generation Africa is excited to see what the youth of Africa bring to the table in the 2022 GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition. To enter the competition and learn more about what it takes to win, agripreneurs can go to GoGettaz.Africa.  

Generation Africa Co-Founders:

African Development Bank Group: www.AfDB.org  

We are on a mission to motivate young people to build companies that create jobs in the food system

Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa: AGRA.org

The AGRF:  www.AGRF.org

Bayer:  https://bit.ly/3EsHDwm

Corteva Agriscience: www.Corteva.com

Econet: www.EconetAfrica.com

Heifer International:  www.Heifer.org 

Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation: www.Norad.no

Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions: www.SACAU.org

Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture: www.SyngentaFoundation.org

U.S. Agency for International Development: www.USAID.gov

Yara International: www.Yara.com

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize.

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China’s digital hub Hangzhou hosts conference on AI, OPC

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June 30, 2026

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OPC

HANGZHOU, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 30 June 2026 – The inaugural AI+OPC Innovation and Development Conference was held from June 29 to 30 in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, capital city of east China’s Zhejiang Province. Centered on one-person company (OPC), a new form of smart economy in the AI era, the conference program comprised one opening ceremony and two parallel breakout sessions.

It gathered around 400 delegates from government departments, industry associations, financial institutions, AI enterprises and OPC startup operators across the country. Participants exchanged insights on AI innovation pathways and cross-industry integration strategies, injecting strong impetus into Hangzhou’s ambition to develop a national benchmark hub for AI+OPC entrepreneurship.

A series of key launches and milestone ceremonies took place during the opening segment. Official releases included the 2026 national OPC development observation report, Hangzhou’s 2026–2028 action plan and supporting policies to build a national AI+OPC entrepreneurship hub, and a catalog of actionable AI+OPC application scenarios. Attendees also received an in-depth interpretation of the specifications for AI-enabled OPC community services and evaluation.

The ceremony featured multiple landmark initiatives: plaque awarding for Hangzhou’s priority AI+OPC incubation communities and dedicated observation sites, the official launch of the AI+OPC Community Alliance initiative, and a kickoff marking the official construction of the national AI+OPC entrepreneurship hub.

The open forum session featured keynote speeches from distinguished industry and academic leaders. Speakers included Pan Yunhe, former executive vice president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor at Zhejiang University; Liang Gui, former executive vice governor of Jiangxi Province and ex-director of the Torch High Technology Industry Development Center under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; and Zou Ling, head of Hong Hub, Shangcheng District’s single-member unicorn startup acceleration community, who shared cutting-edge insights from varied perspectives.

A panel dialogue followed, bringing together representatives from Moshu OPC Community (Beijing E-Town), the School of Future Science and Engineering at Soochow University, Qingju Hub · Future Digital Intelligence Port (Shangcheng District), and Puhua Capital for in-depth industry exchanges.

Complementary concurrent events held throughout the conference included an OPC capital-industry matchmaking salon, a symposium on industry-education integration for AI-powered OPC sectors, and a national exchange forum for AI+OPC community practitioners.

OPC has emerged as a vibrant new engine driving economic vitality and underpinning high-quality development. Against the backdrop of a new development era, the inaugural Hangzhou AI+OPC Innovation and Development Conference unites OPC innovators nationwide.

Drawing on the creative energy of millions of independent super-individual operators, the event delivers sustained digital momentum to fuel Hangzhou’s super-individual economy, while rolling out replicable local practices and actionable Hangzhou solutions to advance high-quality growth of smart economies nationwide.

 

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Hainan FTP marks 6-month milestone of special customs operations, signs deals during Hong Kong visit

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7 hours ago

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June 30, 2026

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Hong Kong

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 June 2026 – As the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) marked the six-month milestone since the launch of its full special customs operations, a Hainan provincial delegation wrapped up a three-day visit to Hong Kong. During the visit, the delegation signed deepened cooperation agreements with several major local chambers of commerce and promoted the latest policies introduced since the island-wide special customs operations took effect.

According to data released by Hainan Province during the visit, Hainan’s foreign trade has surged since the launch of special customs operations. As of June 17, the province’s total goods imports and exports reached RMB 173.98 billion (approximately US$24 billion), up 54.6% year on year. Imports of zero-tariff goods hit RMB 2.645 billion, a 120% jump that generated tariff savings of RMB 440 million. A total of 172,100 new market entities were registered—a 61% increase—including 1,240 foreign-invested enterprises. Zero-tariff items now account for 74% of all tariff lines, benefiting more than 12,000 market entities.

During the Hong Kong visit, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Hainan Provincial Committee (CCPIT Hainan) signed separate deepened cooperation MOUs with the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong and the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. Under the MOUs, the parties will establish a regular liaison mechanism for the periodic exchange of economic and trade information, and will promote collaboration in areas including professional services, green finance, the digital economy, supply chain management, and cultural tourism. Mutual enterprise service desks will be set up to provide consulting services regarding policies and projects. The parties will leverage their complementary strengths to help Chinese mainland enterprises access overseas markets via Hong Kong, while facilitating Hong Kong companies’ entry into the Chinese mainland through Hainan.

The delegation also held talks with the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, exploring ways for British and American businesses to leverage Hainan’s value-added processing tariff exemptions and multifunctional free trade accounts to position themselves in regional supply chains and cross-border investment and financing. HSBC, De Beers, and other British firms are already active in Hainan, and the UK served as the Guest of Honor country at the 2025 China International Consumer Products Expo.

According to industry analysts, amid the shifting international trade landscape, Hainan is leveraging Hong Kong’s “super-connector” role to accelerate its integration with global capital and business networks, while simultaneously offering the Hong Kong business community a policy testing ground for entering the Chinese mainland market.

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Africa’s Grid Constraints Come into Focus as Regional Markets Push Toward Integration

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4 days ago

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June 26, 2026

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Africa

Regional power pools are advancing and renewable pipelines are growing, but the regulatory and financial architecture needed to connect them remains the continent’s most critical infrastructure gap – an issue central to the Power Africa Today conference at AEW 2026

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, June 25, 2026/APO Group/ –Africa’s electricity demand is projected to nearly double to 2,291 TWh by 2050, requiring an estimated $30 billion in transmission and grid infrastructure investment to unlock and integrate new generation capacity. Yet across the continent, grid systems are struggling to keep pace with rapidly expanding supply pipelines and rising demand.

In Nigeria, repeated nationwide grid collapses as recently as February 2026 underscore the fragility of aging transmission infrastructure. In East Africa, tower failures along the 428 km Loiyangalani-Suswa line temporarily stranded output from Lake Turkana Wind Power – Africa’s largest wind installation. Meanwhile, demand growth pressures are accelerating across North Africa, where electricity consumption is expected to rise by around 50% by 2035, driven by urbanization, desalination projects, and climate-related temperature increases.

Despite these constraints, generation investment continues to accelerate across Africa, particularly in renewables, gas-to-power and hybrid systems. However, without equivalent investment in transmission and interconnection, much of this new capacity risks being underutilized or stranded. This growing imbalance between generation and grid capacity is driving a sharper focus on system-wide planning and regional market design – issues that will be central to the newly launched Power Africa Today conference at African Energy Week 2026. The platform will bring together policymakers, utilities, investors and developers to explore how regional interconnection, cross-border trading frameworks and financing structures can better align generation growth with grid expansion.

Power Markets Experiment with Reform

Alongside infrastructure challenges, Africa’s electricity sector is undergoing gradual – but uneven – market reform. Most countries still operate vertically integrated systems dominated by state utilities, but a growing number are introducing competitive frameworks to attract private capital and improve efficiency.

Zimbabwe opened its electricity market to full private participation across generation, transmission and distribution in 2025, targeting $9 billion in new investment. South Africa is advancing one of the continent’s most ambitious grid expansion programs, with plans for 14,500 km of new transmission lines and 133,000 MVA of transformer capacity by 2034, alongside mechanisms designed to crowd in private financing. Kenya, meanwhile, has introduced open access regulations enabling independent power producers to wheel electricity directly to multiple off-takers, reshaping how generation assets interface with the grid.

Interconnected electricity markets are the foundation of Africa’s industrial future

Regional Integration Remains Fragmented

Efforts to connect Africa’s fragmented power systems are progressing, though at different speeds across regions. In Southern Africa, the World Bank’s RETRADE SAPP program, approved in 2025, is deploying $12 million to strengthen renewable integration and transmission capacity across 12 member states. In East Africa, the Ethiopia–Kenya–Tanzania Electricity Highway is now in trial operations at up to 2,000 MW, marking a significant step toward a more interconnected regional grid.

West Africa is also moving toward deeper integration, with permanent synchronization of the West Africa Power Pool expected in 2026. Analysts, including the African Finance Corporation, argue that such synchronization is critical to unlocking large-scale hydropower potential and industrial demand across the region. Longer term, full synchronization between the Eastern and Southern African power pools – targeted for the end of 2026 – could create one of the world’s largest cross-border electricity trading corridors.

Building Bankable Financial Architectures

While interconnection is advancing, infrastructure alone is not enough to create investable electricity markets. Investors consistently cite the lack of standardized offtake structures, creditworthy counterparties, and cross-border payment guarantees as key barriers to scaling capital deployment.

New models are emerging to address these constraints. Africa GreenCo, operating across Zambia, Namibia and South Africa, is helping to aggregate independent power producers under a single creditworthy intermediary, standardizing power purchase agreements and reducing counterparty risk. At a broader level, AUDA-NEPAD estimates that Africa requires around $30 billion in additional investment to complete priority transmission corridors and establish three fully interconnected regional trading blocs by 2030.

“Interconnected electricity markets are the foundation of Africa’s industrial future,” said NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber. “The question at Africa Energy Week is not whether integration is possible – the evidence is already there. The question is which regulatory frameworks and financial structures will get projects to financial close, and which markets will be ready when capital is looking to move.”

The Power Africa Today conference will run alongside AEW 2026, taking place October 12–16 in Cape Town, and will focus on the regulatory, financial and infrastructural architecture needed to build interconnected electricity markets capable of attracting institutional capital and delivering reliable, cross-border power at scale.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

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