Assumpta Nakalema emerged the overall winner in this year’s Ayute Africa Challenge organised by Heifer International. It was the challenge’s third season.
The colourful ceremony held at the Yusuf Lule Central Teaching Facility in Makerere saw several young innovators recognized for their efforts. All of them came up with innovations that can help advance agriculture in various ways.
One of those innovations was Nakalema’s solar egg incubator, which landed her Shs 50 million from Heifer International.
Her innovation helps farmers incubate eggs in the right conditions, making poultry farming more efficient and reliable. In her speech, she encouraged fellow innovators to believe in themselves and persevere through any challenges they may face.
The first runner-up, Angel Uwera, received Shs 25 million. She showcased an agrometer that can help enhance weather precision in agriculture. It can be used by smallholder farmers to determine the prefect condition to water or plant crops.
Olivia Nakiwanuka was the second runner-up and took home Shs 10 million for her Axis Solar innovation. This enables solar panels to sense and turn towards the light, optimizing energy use in agriculture.
Ten other innovators shared Shs 20 million during a night where females dominated the awards.
The money is meant to help the young innovators scale up or improve upon their innovations.
William Matovu, the country director of Heifer International said as the organisation celebrates 80 years of service, they are proud of events like this.
“The vision of AYuTe is very simple—empowering young entrepreneurs to revolutionize the agricultural industry across the African continent,” he said.
Matovu said Africa is home to 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, yet each year the continent imports over $1 billion worth of food. With such immense potential, it’s time to harness innovation and turn Africa into a food-secure powerhouse.
He said Heifer International has evolved from simply providing livestock to addressing the full agricultural value chain, working in Uganda since 1982.
Guest of honour, Ronald Ssegawa Gyagenda, the Under Secretary in the ministry of Agriculture said Uganda can no longer do agriculture in it’s yesterday form.
“Technology is here to stay, and we must find ways to make use of it. It is my belief that the youth have the power to transform lives, propelling Uganda to the global stage,” he said.
