The Rising Star Award: Nurturing the Seeds of Africa's Agricultural Renaissance

The story of African agriculture is being rewritten, not in boardrooms alone, but in the fields, labs, and startup hubs where a new generation is taking root. These emerging leaders are the researchers, the tech developers, and the community mobilizers who bring a fresh vision to our most vital sector. The Rising Star Award represents a crucial investment in this new growth. It is designed to honour the talent and dedication now reshaping our landscape.

Why focus on individuals at the start of their journey? The answer lies in the powerful effect of recognition. For a young professional or a new entrepreneur, early validation can be the difference between persevering through difficulty and abandoning a transformative idea. This award offers a platform. It amplifies their work for a continental audience of investors and established leaders. It sends a clear message that their new perspective is not just welcome, it is essential for progress. It tells the entire agricultural ecosystem that innovation often sprouts from new ground, free from the constraints of tradition.

The Rising Star Award also meets a profound need for visible role models. When a student or a young farmer sees someone like them celebrated for their work in agriculture, it changes everything. It shatters the old image of farming as a low-tech dead end. It rebrands the sector as a frontier for problem solvers, for engineers, data analysts, and business leaders. This award helps build a visible ladder of success, showing a clear and aspirational career path that can attract the millions of young Africans entering the job market every year.

Our criteria for this award focus on tangible impact and potential. We seek individuals who have demonstrated real results. This could be through a service model that boosts yields for smallholder farmers, a fintech solution that improves credit access, or a sustainable brand linking local produce to new markets. Their work, while perhaps still young, must show the clear potential to scale and to inspire similar efforts across the continent.

By investing in these rising stars, we are fertilizing the soil for a more resilient and innovative agricultural future. We are helping to ensure that our brightest minds remain engaged in solving our most pressing challenges. This award is a statement of belief. It is a belief that the next great chapter for African agriculture will be written by the energy and ingenuity of its youth.

Do you know a promising individual who is already shaping the future of African agriculture? Help us nurture their potential and illuminate their path. Visit our dedicated awards page for more information and to submit a nomination for this vital

award. Nominations close on 17 October 2025. More Information Submit Your Nomination