Call for Submissions: Build Your AgriCanvas. Build Your Future.

Are you ready to take your agribusiness idea to the next level?

In many African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries, agriculture is the backbone of local economies — yet too many promising micro and small agribusinesses lack the skills and tools to grow.

The Agribusiness e-Academy, is here to support young and emerging agripreneurs like you. Already over 55,000 MSME learners are completing courses and building skills.

Creating an Investment-Ready Agribusiness

The Agribusiness e-Academy is inviting young and emerging agripreneurs to transform their ideas into investment-ready, climate-smart ventures.

This call for submissions is open to participants who meet the following criteria:

• Aged 18 and above
• Based in a member state of the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS) [check eligible countries here]
• Working in one or more of the following value chains: cocoa, maize, cashew, or livestock (cattle, sheep, goats)

Participation is completely free of charge. The required e-learning courses are also offered at no cost.

Do you have an innovative idea that makes the above-mentioned value chains less fragmented, more inclusive ( particularly for women and youth ), sustainable, and profitable?

If yes, this opportunity is for you.

What’s in it for you?

Winners can receive one of there kickstart prizes:

• 2,000 EUR direct funding to boost your business
• A laptop, tablet, or software to keep you on top of operations
• Expert mentoring, training and incubation support
• Connections to financial institutions that can take you further

By supporting viable business ideas, ABF works to ensure young and emerging agripreneurs are better positioned to attract investment and adopt low-emission, climate-resilient practices, contributing to sustainable food systems and rural livelihoods.

Competition Timeline

The competition consists of three submission windows:

• Window 1: 15 September – 7 November 2025
• Window 2: 1 February – 30 April 2026
• Window 3: 1 June – 31 August 2026

How to enter:

1) Register on atingi (www.atingi.org) or the Agribusiness e-Academy
Here you can access our free e-learning courses.

2) Complete the mandatory Agribusiness e-Academy courses :

• Step 1: Complete Climate Smart Agri-Business Adaptation course
• Step 2: Complete Business Model Canvas course
• Step 3: The first two courses can be taken in any order. Once both are completed, you will unlock access to the final course Creating an Investment-Ready Agribusiness – this is your final required course!
  For easy access, we’ve created a dedicated Agribusiness e-Academy Learning Hub on atingi, where all three courses are grouped together in one place: Agribusiness e-Academy
• Step 4: Complete your AgriCanvas
  Use the Business Model Canvas template provided in the submission module of Creating an Investment-Ready Agribusiness to develop your idea. This AgriCanvas is the official format for your submission.

3) Submit your idea
To ensure your submission is valid, you must:

• Use the certificate ID from the Creating an Investment-Ready Agribusiness course as proof you’ve completed the required training.
• Fill out the official submission form here: Call for submission.
• Upload your completed Business Model Canvas using the template provided.

Frequently Asked Questions

1.    Who can enter? (Eligibility)

This call for submissions is open to young and emerging agripreneurs, aged 18 and above based in a member state of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS).

To see if your country is an OACPS member state, check here.

Only projects submitted via the following link on Kobotoolbox are eligible.

2.    Do I need to pay anything to enter?

Participation in this competition is completely free of charge. The required e-learning courses are also offered at no cost to the applicant. No entry fees, subscription charges, or hidden costs apply at any stage of the competition.

3.    Who is this organised by?

This competition is organised by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH through its Agri-Business Facility for Africa (ABF) and Market-Oriented Value Chains for Jobs and Growth in the ECOWAS Region (MOVE-ComCashew) projects, both part of German Development Cooperation.

Together, these projects implement the Joint Action “Business Support Facility for Resilient Agricultural Value Chains”, a combined effort of the EU Directorate-General for International Partnerships (INTPA), Organisation of African Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and German Government through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The Joint Action is jointly co-financed by the European Union under the Samoa agreement with OACPS and by the (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ.

4.    Can I submit more than one idea?

Each applicant may submit only one idea per submission window. In the case of multiple submissions using the same course certificate ID, only the  last complete and valid submission will be considered per window. Additional submissions using the same certificate ID will be disregarded.

5.    What happens if I’m not selected?

If your idea is not selected in the current submission window, don’t be discouraged. You are welcome to improve and resubmit your idea in the next round.

We won’t be able to contact all unsuccessful applicants individually, but all important updates, including future submission windows will be shared on the official website. We encourage you to continue learning through the Agribusiness e-Academy to strengthen your idea.

6.    Do I need to complete the courses to participate?

To participate, each applicant must complete all three mandatory Agribusiness e-Academy courses. The first two (Climate-Smart Agribusiness: Adaptation and Business
Model Canvas) can be completed in any order. Once both are finished, you’ll unlock the final course: Creating an Investment-Ready Agribusiness.

Only applicants who submit a valid certificate ID from the “Creating an Investment-Ready Agribusiness” course will be eligible. The certificate ID serves as proof that the full course pathway has been successfully completed.

Submissions without a valid certificate ID will not be accepted.

7.    Can I participate if I’ve already taken some of the other courses?

Yes, but to participate you must complete the three specific mandatory courses listed above. These courses are designed to prepare you to submit ideas in the eligible value chains (cocoa, maize, cashew, livestock: cattle, sheep, goats).

8.    How will I know if I’ve been selected?

Winners will be contacted via the email address linked to their atingi account. Winners to be announced towards the end of December 2025.

9.  What if I have an idea for another value chain?

Submissions must focus on one or more of the following value chains: maize, livestock (cattle, sheep, goats), cashew, or cocoa. Ideas outside these value chains will not be considered.

10. How will the winners be chosen

The evaluation process and selection criteria can be found under clause 6. Evaluation Process in the Terms & Conditions document.

11. Extra submission requirements:

In addition to uploading your AgriCanvas, the submission form will also ask you to provide some short written information about your project:

• Describe the climate-smart or resilience component in your project
• Explain your revenue model (how your project will generate income)
• Estimate the capital required to start or scale your project