AgriTech4Kenya demo day: Growing Kenya’s agritech ecosystem
AgriTech4Kenya Acceleration Program recently concluded with a vibrant Demo Day, where the 16 selected agri-tech startups showcased their innovative solutions to a panel of ‘Sharks’.
Set on a charming farm in Nairobi, 16 agri-tech innovation teams took the centre stage. After months of refining their solutions, these entrepreneurs faced a high-stakes, Shark Tank-style Demo Day, presenting their ideas to over 100 attendees and six discerning investors in just four minutes each—followed by intense Q&A sessions.
Watch the Demo Day Highlight Video
AgriTech4Kenya Acceleration Program: Closing a six-month journey
The Demo Day marked the culmination of a six-month intensive Acceleration Program, providing a strategic platform for the selected teams to pitch their solutions to investors, partners, and industry leaders. The event offered participants crucial opportunities to showcase their ventures, secure technical assistance, obtain funding, and forge commercial partnerships to accelerate their growth.
The Acceleration Program ran from January to June 2025, offering a comprehensive support package that provided the cohort with more than one hundred hours of business mentorship, individualized technical assistance, and facilitated connections with partners and experts such as Dr. Tonny Omwansa, CEO of the Kenya National Innovation Agency (KeNIA), and Ms. Agatha Thuo, CEO of the Agriculture Sector Network (ASNET). Participants attended 13 structured masterclasses on topics like financial modelling, human-centered design, and marketing, and each team received six one-on-one mentorship sessions. The program also facilitated a virtual speed dating session with partners and curated match making to support product validation, market entry, and fundraising efforts.
“As one of East Africa’s leading impact investors, DOB Equity is proud to support the AgriTech4Kenya Innovation Challenge. This initiative reflects our strong commitment to tackling two of the region’s most urgent issues — climate change and food security — by backing early-stage, science-driven agri-tech solutions.” DOB Equity
Interviewed ventures secured strategic partnerships over the course of the program
Through active engagement with investor leads, donor discussions, and key industry stakeholders.
Startups expanded their teams, hiring a total of 18 professionals
Including agronomists, AI Leads, and GIS Leads— with particular attention to recruiting youth and women.
Teams improved their social or environmental impact
Ranging from increased farmer incomes and reduced irrigation time to land preservation and prevention of deforestation.
“Thanks to the program, we’ve started to export to Portugal, opening a third revenue stream. Overall, this experience significantly helped us to increase our number of customers and our exposure to industry experts.” Patvention Limited
Meet the Ventures: from Farm to Fork
Out of a pool of 301 submissions, 25 innovation teams were selected from the Bootcamp stage - including two CGIAR-led innovations – and subsequently, 16 innovation teams joined the Acceleration Program. The selected teams represented a dynamic mix of early-stage ventures from six different countries. Innovations included a data-driven agronomic recommendation engine (AgWise), a blockchain-based traceability tool for honey (ApiTrace), and a digital platform for generating and selling carbon credits (BlinkEarth). Other solutions included herbal livestock treatments (Bromecure), an AI-powered poultry monitoring system (CluckLens), and a SaaS platform for digitizing agricultural dairy cooperatives (Zaoletu).
Discover our Innovations Booklet
What Comes Next
Looking ahead, the successful conclusion of the Demo Day will enable continued support for the participating teams through a range of post-program initiatives. The next steps include:
- Post-Acceleration Mentorship and Technical Support: Selected teams will receive ongoing technical mentoring from CGIAR scientists.
- Investment Facilitation and Matchmaking: Pangea Accelerator and its partners will facilitate introductions to various funding partners through matchmaking sessions and follow-up meetings.
- Pilot Opportunities and Research Collaboration: Teams will be linked with partners like KALRO, Daystar University, and IWMI to explore pilot projects and collaborative research.
- Integration into CGIAR A4IP Programs: Promising innovations will be considered for inclusion in other CGIAR A4IP initiatives.
- Knowledge Sharing and Visibility: Teams will be invited to future events, roundtables, and innovation showcases to share their success stories and continue engaging with the agri-tech ecosystem.
- Progress Tracking: Regular follow-ups and progress tracking will be conducted every six months to monitor growth and identify areas for additional support.
The Agritech4Kenya innovation challenge is powered by the CGIAR Accelerate for Impact Platform, and co-organized with the CGIAR Sustainable Farming Program (SFP) and CGIAR Initiative on Nature-Positive Solutions. The project was funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and implemented in partnership with Micro Enterprises Support Programme Trust, Kenya National Innovation Agency, AGRA, Agriculture Sector Network, Daystar University, iTATU, Mercy Corps, DOB Equity, Climate Resilient Africa Fund, Sustainable Agriculture Foundation Africa (SAF-Africa), and Kenya Agricultural Livestock and Research Organization. The challenge is supported by Pangea.
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