AGRA and SMEDAN have opened applications for the 2026 Youth in Agribusiness Innovation Contest. The deadline is Friday, October 16, 2026 at 11:59 pm (WAT), so less than a week is left.
Ten winners share ₦17 million in cash prizes. Everybody who passes the eligibility check also gets free training, even if they don’t win.
Apply here: www.youthagriinnovate.ng
About the AGRA and SMEDAN Youth in Agribusiness Innovation Contest
This is a national contest for young Nigerians who run a farming business or are building one. The plan is simple. Find the best young agripreneurs, train them, and put them in front of banks and investors.
AGRA is the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. It works with governments, farmers and private companies on farming and food across Africa, and it’s the one funding this contest. SMEDAN is the federal agency that looks after small and medium businesses in Nigeria. Jesnoch International Limited is the programme partner. Plus Incubation Hub Nigeria Limited runs the contest for them.
The contest is mostly about maize, rice, soybean and other agrifood value chains. A value chain just means the full journey of a crop, like maize from the field to the feed mill, or rice from paddy to milled grain. Climate-smart farming, agri-tech, agro-processing, supply chains, and agri-finance, insurance and farm security are also listed as areas you can apply from. Not sure your business fits? Read the rules on the portal before you start.
Important dates for the AGRA and SMEDAN contest
| What happens | Date |
|---|---|
| Applications open | Friday, October 9, 2026, 10:00 am |
| Applications close | Friday, October 16, 2026, 11:59 pm |
| Free virtual training day for all eligible applicants | Saturday, October 17, 2026 |
| In-person training in Niger, Nasarawa and Kaduna | Wednesday, October 21 and Thursday, October 22, 2026 |
| Top 30 finalists announced | Tuesday, October 27, 2026 |
| Pitch and Demo Day in Lagos | Thursday, October 29, 2026 |
| Award and Prize Day at the National MSME Conference, Lagos | November 8 to 10, 2026 |
Prizes and benefits you can get from this contest
Here is how the ₦17 million is shared among the ten winners.
| Position | Prize |
|---|---|
| Winner | ₦5,000,000 |
| 1st runner-up | ₦3,000,000 |
| 2nd runner-up | ₦2,000,000 |
| 4th to 10th position | ₦1,000,000 each |
That’s seven people at ₦1 million each, so ₦7 million. The top three take ₦10 million between them. Add both and you get ₦17 million.
Money is not the only thing the ten winners get. They also receive:
- Seed funding and incubation support
- Six months of mentorship and aftercare
- Introductions to financiers and buyers
Prizes are handed over in public at the National MSME Conference in Lagos.
What about people who don’t win? Every applicant who passes the eligibility check gets the free training day. Every applicant also gets feedback on their application. Outstanding ideas are listed in an Innovation Showcase Register, which financiers can see. And at the Grand Finale there’s a Deal Room where you can meet banks, development finance institutions, agri-lenders and impact investors. The access-to-finance training itself is an eight-module programme, it’s certified, and it runs in English and Hausa.
Who is eligible to apply for the AGRA and SMEDAN contest
- You must be a Nigerian citizen.
- Your age must be between 18 and 35 on the closing date, October 16, 2026.
- Any state in Nigeria is fine.
- You run an agribusiness or you’re still building one. Idea stage, early stage or a growing business, all accepted.
- Your business must be registered. The next section explains how.
- Land, collateral and a finished product are not required.
Women, rural youth and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.
One more thing. This is an individual application. One named person applies, gets assessed, pitches and is awarded. It is not a group entry.
Business registration you need before you apply for the contest
Your agribusiness must be registered under one of these three routes:
- CAC registration, either as a business name or a limited company.
- SMEDAN MSME registration.
- Registered membership of a cooperative society.
The registration belongs to your business, not to you as a person. The reason is the seed money. It has to be paid to something that can legally receive it and account for it. The cooperative route is there because a lot of young farmers in Niger, Nasarawa and Kaduna trade through cooperatives. Being in a cooperative does not turn your application into a group one, though.
Not registered yet? SMEDAN MSME registration is free and can be done online at smedan.gov.ng. Anyone who registers before the closing date can still apply.
The portal has the full contest rules, so confirm there which registration proof it asks for when you open the form.
How to apply for the AGRA and SMEDAN Youth in Agribusiness Innovation Contest
- Go to the official portal at www.youthagriinnovate.ng.
- Fill in the online application form. It has three short stages, and you can save and continue any time.
- Have your business registration details ready before you start.
- Submit before Friday, October 16, 2026 at 11:59 pm (WAT).
- Wait for the eligibility check. If you pass, you’re invited to the virtual training day on Saturday, October 17.
Late or incomplete entries cannot be accepted.
Training every applicant gets, even if you don’t win
The first one is the Virtual Training Day on Saturday, October 17, 2026. It’s free, nationwide, and covers agribusiness basics, financial literacy, access to finance and investment readiness. Sessions are recorded and shared, so if you can’t join live, you can finish the modules in your own time.
Then there’s the in-person training. It’s for 120 young people, 40 each in Niger, Nasarawa and Kaduna, and it runs for two full days (October 21 and 22) in all three states at the same time. The places go to eligible applicants living in each state, in the order of verified, complete submissions. At least 12 women and at least 8 rural participants are guaranteed in each state.
So if you live in one of those three states, don’t leave your form for Friday night. Early and complete is what counts.
Getting into this training is separate from the contest judging. It gives you no advantage in the competition.
How selection works and where the places go
Thirty finalists are announced on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. They pitch on Thursday, October 29 in Lagos, and the pitch round is hybrid, meaning it’s live in the room and online. The ten winners come out of those thirty.
The contest is national, but 60 per cent of the finalist and training places are weighted towards Niger, Nasarawa and Kaduna, because those are the focus states of the parent project. Applicants from every other state compete for the remaining places on the same published scoring rubric. The weighting is applied once, at one stage of the selection, and the full rules are on the portal.
It doesn’t lock anybody out. But if you’re outside those three states, there are fewer slots to fight for, so your application has to be strong.
What the organisers say they are looking for
The head of Plus Incubation Hub, Edward “Headworld” Esene, says they are not after the most polished pitch deck in the country. They want young people who have worked out real solutions to real problems, like a way to cut post-harvest loss on a tomato crop, or a soil-testing service run by a graduate using a borrowed motorcycle.
Use that when you write your answers. Say what problem you solve, who you solve it for, and how you do it, in plain words.
Other grants and opportunities on Apply Times you can check
Women who run organisations can look at the ActionAid Nigeria ₦20 million Strategic Innovation Fund. Students and women can check the Aliko Dangote Foundation Share Grant Initiative. If you want to know which government agency does what for a business, we explained the difference between NIPC and NITDA. More are in our Government Opportunities section.
