NourishNext Opens Applications for West Africa Youth Agrifood Innovation Challenge, Offers $5,000 Seed Funding
ONYINYECHI NWAIGBA 
Young innovators across Nigeria, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal can apply for the 2026 NourishNext Youth Agrifood Innovation Challenge, with selected participants to receive up to $5,000 in seed funding, mentorship and business development support.
Young entrepreneurs and innovators across West Africa have been invited to apply for the NourishNext West Africa 2026 Youth Agrifood Innovation Challenge, an initiative designed to support youth-led solutions addressing challenges across food systems and the fruit and vegetable value chain.
The programme is seeking innovative solutions that can improve the production, processing, preservation, distribution, marketing and consumption of fruits and vegetables while contributing to healthier and more resilient food systems.
Applications opened on July 8, 2026, and will close on September 7, 2026.
The challenge is being implemented across Nigeria, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, providing young innovators in the four countries with an opportunity to access funding, technical support and regional networks.
What Is the NourishNext Youth Agrifood Innovation Challenge?
The NourishNext Youth Agrifood Innovation Challenge is focused on identifying and supporting young people developing practical solutions to challenges within the agrifood sector.
The programme is particularly interested in innovations that can strengthen fruit and vegetable value chains and improve access to nutritious foods.
Solutions may address challenges at different points in the value chain, including:
- Production
- Processing
- Storage and preservation
- Packaging
- Transportation
- Distribution
- Marketing
- Consumer access and consumption
The initiative also seeks solutions that can help reduce food loss and waste, improve market access and make nutritious foods more available and affordable.
Who Can Apply?
The challenge is open to youth-led enterprises, startups, cooperatives, civil society organisations and individual innovators developing relevant agrifood solutions.
Applicants must be based in one of the four eligible countries:
- Nigeria
- Benin
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Senegal
The lead applicant must generally be between 18 and 35 years old.
For women-led innovations, the age limit extends to 40 years old.
Formal business registration is not necessarily required, meaning individual innovators and youth-led initiatives that are yet to formally register their businesses may also be eligible.
Women-led businesses and innovations are particularly encouraged to apply.
What Kind of Innovations Are Eligible?
NourishNext is looking for solutions that directly address challenges within the fruit and vegetable value chain.
Eligible innovations may include solutions related to food processing, storage, preservation, packaging, distribution, market access and other areas capable of improving the availability and consumption of nutritious foods.
However, applicants must have progressed beyond the idea stage.
The innovation should have reached at least the proof-of-concept, functional prototype or minimum viable product (MVP) stage.
Applicants should also be able to demonstrate that their solution is feasible and has the potential to create measurable impact.
Solutions that have already been tested in real-world settings may have an advantage during the selection process.
What Do Selected Innovators Receive?
Selected participants will receive a combination of financial, technical and networking support.
$5,000 Seed Funding
Selected innovators will receive up to US$5,000 in seed funding to support the development and growth of their solutions.
The funding can help innovators strengthen their products or services, improve their operations and take steps towards scaling their impact.
Mentorship and Technical Support
Participants will receive mentorship and technical guidance from experts within the agrifood, nutrition and innovation ecosystem.
This support is designed to help innovators identify challenges, improve their solutions and develop stronger approaches to scaling their ventures.
Capacity Building
Selected innovators will also have access to capacity-building opportunities aimed at strengthening their entrepreneurial and business development skills.
This could help participants improve areas such as business strategy, operations, impact measurement and growth planning.
Networking and Visibility
The programme will also provide opportunities for participants to connect with investors, policymakers, development organisations and private-sector stakeholders.
Selected innovators will have opportunities to showcase their solutions and build relationships that could support future partnerships and investment.
A regional showcase is also expected to take place in Dakar, Senegal.
Why the Programme Matters
Food systems across West Africa face several challenges, including food loss, weak supply chains, limited storage and processing capacity and unequal access to nutritious foods.
Fruits and vegetables can also be lost at different stages between production and consumption, reducing the amount of nutritious food that eventually reaches consumers.
At the same time, young people across the region are increasingly developing businesses and technologies aimed at solving these challenges.
Supporting these innovators can therefore create a double impact: strengthening food systems while creating opportunities for young entrepreneurs.
The NourishNext challenge is designed to provide innovators with resources that can help move promising solutions beyond the early stages of development.
What Applicants Need to Prepare
Applicants will need to complete the application process and provide information demonstrating their eligibility and the progress of their innovation.
Applicants should be prepared to provide:
- Proof of age for the lead applicant
- Information about the innovation or business
- Evidence showing the stage of development of the solution
- Information about the problem being addressed
- Details of the solution and its potential impact
- Evidence of testing or implementation, where available
Supporting evidence may include photographs, customer testimonials, pilot reports, financial records or other documentation demonstrating that the solution has progressed beyond the idea stage.
Applications can be submitted in English or French.
Application Deadline
Applications for the NourishNext West Africa Youth Agrifood Innovation Challenge 2026 opened on July 8, 2026.
The deadline for applications is:
September 7, 2026
Eligible innovators are encouraged to begin their applications early and ensure that all required information and supporting documents are provided before the deadline.
How to Apply
Interested applicants should visit the official NourishNext application platform and review the eligibility criteria and application requirements before submitting their applications.
Applicants should ensure that their innovations directly address a challenge within the agrifood or fruit and vegetable value chain and that they can demonstrate the current stage and potential impact of their solutions.
Opportunity for West Africa’s Young Innovators
The NourishNext Youth Agrifood Innovation Challenge provides young innovators with an opportunity to access more than funding.
Through seed capital, mentorship, capacity building and networking, the programme aims to help promising youth-led solutions become stronger and more scalable.
For young entrepreneurs working on food processing, preservation, storage, distribution, market access, nutrition and other agrifood challenges, the challenge offers an opportunity to gain support while contributing to stronger and more resilient food systems across West Africa.
With applications open to innovators in Nigeria, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, the 2026 programme could provide a valuable platform for emerging entrepreneurs to develop solutions capable of creating economic, social and nutritional impact.
Application Deadline: September 7, 2026
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