Ethiopian Sustainable Food Systems and Agroecology Consortium
Organised by:
The Ethiopian Sustainable Food System and Agroecology Consortium (ESFSAC), in partnership with DKA Austria, and Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA).
Welcome to the Youth in Agroecology Startup Competition page. Application for the current round of competition has ended. If you applied or want to learn more about the competition, you are at the right place. On this page, you will find guidelines and schedules, evaluation framework, as well as the latest updates and announcements. Keep scrolling.
📅 Application Window: 20–31 July 2026
👥 Age: 18–35 years
📍 Location: Addis Ababa or Sheger City
🏆 Top-3 Prizes: ETB 300,000 | ETB 200,000 | ETB 100,000
📩 For inquiries, please contact the organisers at: competition@esfsac-ethiopia.org
Ethiopia’s food systems face growing challenges from climate change, environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, and the increasing pressure on traditional food practices. Agroecology provides a sustainable pathway to address these challenges by promoting environmentally friendly farming, biodiversity, resilient local food systems, and indigenous knowledge.
Following the successful 2025 edition, the Ethiopian Sustainable Food Systems and Agroecology Consortium (ESFSAC), with financial support from DKA and the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in African (AFSA), proudly launches the Youth in Agroecology Startup Competition 2026.
The competition seeks to identify, recognise, and support innovative youth-led startups and initiatives that advance agroecology, sustainable food systems, indigenous foods, climate resilience, and food sovereignty. It offers young innovators from Addis Ababa and the surrounding Sheger City area an opportunity to showcase their ideas, connect with experts and mentors, and gain greater visibility and opportunities to grow their enterprises.
The ESFSAC Youth in Agroecology Startup Competition is a dynamic platform for young innovators in Addis Ababa to reclaim, protect, and reinvent Ethiopia’s food systems. Whether through agroecological farming or health-conscious culinary startups, this competition is your chance to turn vision into action — and be recognised for it.
To empower youth to become leaders in agroecology and indigenous food promotion, creating local solutions for food sovereignty, sustainability, and community well-being.
Applicants can register and participate in the competition under two main thematic categories:
This category highlights initiatives that promote sustainable and environmentally responsible farming methods. Eligible initiatives may include:
Applicants must clearly demonstrate how their initiative contributes to strengthening local food systems, enhancing climate resilience, improving soil health, conserving biodiversity, supporting ecosystem services, and advancing sustainable farming practices.
This category targets youth involved in creating, promoting, or managing startups related to nutritious and indigenous foods. Eligible initiatives include:
Applicants must demonstrate how their work contributes to healthier diets and the preservation of local food cultures.
The competition is open to:
Step 2: Complete your application by filling in and submit the online registration form available on this page. The registration form includes writing description of your startup in not more than 500 words.
You’ll receive a confirmation by email. Please refer the section below for detailed instructions.
🗓️ Application Window: 20-31 July, 2026, 5:00 PM
Note: Applications that do not meet these requirements or are submitted by ineligible individuals will be disqualified during the preliminary screening. Submissions through email or in-person will not be accepted. Application can be in Amharic or English.
All submissions will be carefully reviewed for eligibility and completeness. Only qualified entries will proceed to the next round.
A panel of expert judges will evaluate eligible submissions and select the Top 10 youth-led startups based on impact, innovation, feasibility, and alignment with the thematic areas (see the Evaluation Framework below).
Finalists receive coaching in:
Business development
Effective communication
Agroecology principles
Each finalist will deliver a 5-minute pitch of their initiative, followed by a Q&A session with judges. Judges will evaluate based on relevance, sustainability, impact, efficiency, and scalability. Judges announce the Top 3 Finalists.
The competition will culminate in an Awarding Event, where judges will announce the official Top 3 Winners: who will present in front of stakeholders, media, and supporters.
🥇 1st Place – 300,000 ETB
🥈 2nd Place – 200,000 ETB
🥉 3rd Place – 100,000 ETB
All Top 10 participants will receive recognition, visibility, and networking opportunities.
Note: All prizes are subject to applicable tax regulations.
👉 The application period for the Youth in Agroecology Startup Competition 2026 ended on 31 July 2026 at 23:59 Ethiopian time.
👉 የዚህ ዓመት ውድድር የማመልከቻ ጊዜ ተጠናቋል፤ ቀጣይ ሂደቶችን እና መረጃዎችን በዚህ ገጽ ላይ የሚወጡ አዳዲስ መልዕክቶችን እና በሶሻልሚዲያ ገጾቻችን ይከታተሉ።
በአማርኛ ወይም በእንግሊዝኛ መሙላት ይቻላል።
As part of the selection process, your 500-word description and 1-minute video will be evaluated using the following framework. This process will be used to shortlist the top 10 startups who will participate in the final pitch event in front of a panel of judges.
We value innovation, local relevance, and real impact – and the evaluation is carefully designed to highlight initiatives that contribute meaningfully to sustainable food systems in Addis Ababa and beyond.
Each criterion has specific sub-points that guide the review, such as environmental practices, local sourcing, indigenous food promotion, youth inclusion, and digital engagement.
All submissions will be evaluated fairly and consistently by a panel of reviewers using this structure. The top-10 shortlisted startups will be contacted for the next phase of the competition.
Registration will be open soon.