AGRA has officially launched the 2025 Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards (WAYA) to honor women pacesetters in Africa’s agricultural and food systems sectors. WAYA is an initiative of AGRA’s VALUE4HER, a continental program that aims to strengthen women’s agribusiness enterprises and enhance their voice and advocacy across Africa.
WAYA recognises female agripreneurs demonstrating remarkable innovation and business excellence in agricultural value chains. Winners of the award are expected to walk away with grants to the tune of $300,000 to support their businesses.
This year’s award will feature five categories of award winners. The categories include; Young Female Agripreneur award which will honour women under the age of 35 years who have demonstrated innovation and leadership in business. There is also the Female Agriculture Tech Innovator award which will honour women championing technological advancement in agribusiness. Also, the Outstanding Value Adding Enterprise will honour female-owned agribusinesses that are increasing the economic value and consumer appeal of agricultural products.
There is also the Women Empowerment Champion award which will recognise female agripreneurs who exhibit a deliberate commitment to creating opportunities for other women to grow their own agribusinesses. Finally, there is the Resilient & Inspirational Leader award which recognises female agripreneurs from marginalized, vulnerable and hard-to-reach areas who despite facing significant challenges, demonstrate unwavering determination, strength, and perseverance to excel in agribusiness.
To be eligible, businesses must operate within an agricultural or agribusiness value chain, be legally registered in an African Union country, and be at least 51% owned and managed by women who are citizens of one of the 55 African countries. Registrations are done through the link below: https://waya.awardsplatform.com/. Applications will close on May 31, 2025, with the winning agripreneurs being unveiled during the Africa Food Systems Forum to be held in Dakar, Senegal in September 2025.
Speaking at the launch, AGRA’s Director for Gender, Youth, and Inclusiveness, Ms. Nana Amoah said, “We received over 1,500 applications from women across 42 African countries in 2024. As we open the awards again this year, we expect to receive at least 500 applications in each category and continue our efforts to honor the unrelentless efforts, creative ideas, and outstanding leadership by women in the agri-food sector”.
The launch formed part of an event AGRA held in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and the Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, to celebrate International Women’s Day.
During the event, participants engaged in interactive masterclasses, panel discussions, and networking sessions that facilitated meaningful exchanges of best practices. Participants included representatives from government, civil society, the private sector, and women agribusiness leaders. They discussed efforts to address gender inequality and women’s economic empowerment concerns. Participants also noted the importance of creating an enabling environment for women to fully participate in economic, social, and political spheres. They additionally emphasized the need for evidence-based interventions to address gender disparities.
