AIA Conference 2024 puts focus on empowering the next generation

Kosmos Innovation Center (KIC) and its partners have organised the second edition of the Agricultural Innovation for Africa (AIA) Conference to highlight the empowerment of the next generation of agripreneurs, youth start-ups and agri-MSMEs.

The two-day conference under the theme, ‘Empowering Youth Startups and Agri-MSMEs in Africa: Addressing Climate Change, Innovative Financing, Market Efficiency, and Gender Mainstreaming for Sustainable Food Systems” was held from August 28-29,2024 at the auditorium of the University of Professional Studies.

The conference and exhibition event brought together diverse players in the agricultural sector to rethink the future of agricultural innovation, youth employment, and food security in Africa.

Delivering the keynote address, Country Director for AGRA, Dr. Betty Annan, acknowledged the role of youth start-ups in building transformative food system on the continent, and the need for efficient stakeholder action, collaboration and engagement to ensure youth initiatives within the sector contribute to effectively addressing key challenges related to climate change, access to market and gender empowerment.

“To realize the full potential of youth startups in agriculture, there is the need to create an enabling environment that supports their growth and success. To scale their solutions, the requisite investment, mentorship, and policies that prioritize youth-led enterprises are critical,” she added.

On his part, Executive Director for KIC, Benjamin Gyan-Kesse highlighted the need for while harnessing local knowledge, technology, and sustainability by supporting youth-startups and agri-MSMEs. "In today’s rapidly evolving agricultural landscape, the key to sustainable growth lies in our ability to collaborate across sectors, integrate local knowledge, and leverage innovative technologies,” Benjamin Gyan-Kesse said.

He added, " Youth and Agri-MSMEs continue to remain at the forefront of innovation and change in agriculture. By supporting these young innovators through conferences such as these, we are strategically positioning ourselves to champion the course of navigating the daunting challenges of food systems”.

The two-day Conference also included an exhibition and youth career fair held in collaboration with Jobberman to address the disconnect between Ghana’s youth and the burgeoning opportunities in agriculture. There was also the Deal Room Experience, which provided over 30 startups and Agri-MSMEs, including KIC Businesses, the opportunity to pitch their businesses to potential investors to scale up and grow. A workshop was also organized on some of the existing technology tools for implementation of traceability within agricultural value chains. 

Bringing together over 500 participants both in person and online, AIA 2024 was supported by Kosmos Energy, AGRA, International Trade Centre, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, IDH, Callighana, Frontline Marketing, Leverage Microfinance Company Limited, Absa Bank, First National Bank, Access Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, African Regent Hotel, Promasidor, and Mazeera Restaurant. Media Partners were Happy FM and YFM.