When the Ethiopian Sustainable Food Systems and Agroecology Consortium (ESFSAC) launched the first Youth in Agroecology Startup Competition in 2025, the ambition was simple yet transformative: to identify, nurture, and celebrate young innovators who are building healthier, more sustainable, and culturally rooted food systems in Ethiopia.
Organized by ESFSAC in partnership with the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) and supported by the Agroecology Fund, the competition brought together young entrepreneurs working in agroecological farming and the promotion of healthy indigenous foods. Running from July to September 2025, the initiative demonstrated that Ethiopia’s youth are already developing practical solutions to some of the country’s most pressing food systems challenges.
Creating a Platform for Youth Innovation
The competition focused on two thematic areas:
- Agroecological Farming and Innovation, featuring initiatives such as compost production, organic farming, seed saving, agricultural waste recycling, vermicomposting, and other environmentally sustainable farming practices.
- Healthy and Indigenous Food Promotion, highlighting startups that develop nutritious traditional food products, promote indigenous recipes, provide healthy catering services, or raise awareness of Ethiopia’s rich food heritage through digital platforms and other innovative approaches.
Open to youth aged 18–35 living and working in Addis Ababa, the competition encouraged applications from both individuals and youth-led enterprises, with particular emphasis on women’s participation and inclusivity.
Strong Public Interest
Following the official launch in July 2025, ESFSAC implemented an extensive bilingual communication campaign across its website and social media platforms.
The campaign reached more than 200,000 people, generating significant public interest. Within just ten days, 72 applications were received from across Addis Ababa’s eleven sub-cities, while women accounted for approximately one-third of all applicants. After eligibility screening, 54 applicants advanced by fulfilling all submission requirements, including the mandatory one-minute startup video.
A Transparent Selection Process
Applications underwent multiple stages of evaluation to ensure fairness and quality.
An experienced panel of evaluators, thematic advisors, and independent jury members assessed submissions using clearly defined criteria, including relevance, sustainability, impact, efficiency, and scaling potential.
The process ultimately identified the Top 10 finalists, each demonstrating strong potential to contribute to Ethiopia’s agroecological transformation through innovative business models and community impact.
Beyond Competition: Building Entrepreneurial Capacity
Unlike many startup competitions that end with selecting winners, ESFSAC invested in strengthening every finalist’s capacity before the final judging.
The Top 10 startups participated in a two-day mentorship and coaching programme that combined technical knowledge with entrepreneurship. Sessions covered agroecology and food systems, biodiversity, business planning, financial management, communication, visibility, storytelling, and pitch preparation.
Participants refined their business models, strengthened their financial planning, and practiced presenting their ideas before receiving detailed feedback from experienced mentors. Many described the mentorship as a transformative experience that changed the way they viewed and communicated their businesses.
Pitching Ideas that Matter
The competition culminated in a live pitch event where finalists presented their startups before an expert jury.
Each participant delivered a five-minute presentation followed by questions from the judges. Evaluation considered presentation quality alongside innovation, feasibility, sustainability, impact, scalability, and implementation capacity.
The event represented the culmination of weeks of preparation and highlighted the growing professionalism of youth-led agroecological enterprises in Ethiopia.
Celebrating Ethiopia’s Young Food Systems Champions
The Awarding Ceremony, held on 6 September 2025, brought together representatives from government institutions, development partners, civil society organizations, the private sector, media, mentors, and participating startups.
The event featured keynote addresses from the Ministry of Labour and Skills, AFSA, and ESFSAC, presentations reflecting on the competition journey, recognition of mentors and judges, and the announcement of the top three winners.
The winners demonstrated exceptional innovation, commitment, and potential to strengthen sustainable agriculture, indigenous food promotion, and resilient local food systems.
More Than a Competition
The first Youth in Agroecology Startup Competition proved that Ethiopia’s young entrepreneurs are not simply responding to food systems challenges—they are creating practical, scalable solutions.
Beyond awarding prizes, the initiative created opportunities for learning, networking, mentorship, visibility, and collaboration. It also demonstrated how carefully designed competitions can strengthen youth entrepreneurship while advancing agroecology, biodiversity conservation, climate resilience, and healthy indigenous food systems.
The experience and lessons from the inaugural edition laid the foundation for an even stronger second edition, reinforcing ESFSAC’s commitment to empowering young innovators and building sustainable food systems for Ethiopia’s future
Interested in joining the next edition? Visit the Youth in Agroecology Startup Competition page to learn about the latest opportunities and announcements.
