The Lagos State Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems, has disbursed about ₦150 million to 36 agrifood start-ups at the grand finale of Agrithon 2025.
Agrithon, an initiative of the Ministry, is part of the Lagos Agrinnovation Club, targeted at young agripreneurs who are desirous of building the ecosystem and providing sustainable solutions to food insufficiency in the country.
Speaking at the event held at Workforce Zone, Gbagada, Lagos, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Ms Abisola Olusanya, said the initiative was to foster innovation and allow for sustainable growth in the agricultural and food systems sector.
Olusanya explained that “the beneficiaries of the initiative, who cut across major tribes and states in Nigeria, attested to the fact that the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is all-inclusive towards achieving a food-secure Nigeria.”
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Developing skills
She said “the government was leveraging young minds to develop their skill sets, as well as providing adequate support to scale and advance their businesses to the next level.”
“It is about creating an ecosystem of like-minded people, where we can bring the connection, partnership, and synergy to the fore and help businesses scale better. And we have seen massive success going in this direction.
“And you can see the selection is free and fair. Put in your entry. If you make it, you will be here. And we have people from all over Nigeria. It is not only people residing in Lagos. We have people from Ogun, Oyo, Anambra. We have people from diverse cultures represented here at the Lagos Agrithon.”
“The reason for it is that we believe that even if you don’t have a farm or your business is not located in Lagos, the majority of your customer base is still in Lagos. Whatever solution it is you are driving, at least a minimum of 60% of your customer base is in Lagos. So we see that we are here for everybody.
“So we have seen many businesses now come together, partner, and do bigger and better things. We have seen businesses scale rapidly. We have seen those connections, and we know that we are on the right path,” Olusanya said.
Agrithon process
Chronicling the process that led to the grand finale, the Commissioner mentioned that over 1,000 business case submissions were received and later pruned down to 36 after a rigorous exercise.
According to her, “We have done the first pitching where people came and they pitched to us. They undertook written examinations and oral interviews. They have had mentorship programmes as well. Then we have had physical farm or business visits to verify, and so many other things have gone on in the background for us to come to this grand finale.
“So for us, we see it as the right way to go and as the right solution base for a lot of the issues we have in the food and agribusiness space. We also see it as an opportunity to link and connect those who otherwise don’t have the network to be able to help them advance and scale their businesses.”
“We also see it as the fulcrum of all that we have been working on, which is the youth how to support them, how to help them grow, how to help them scale, and more importantly, how to create that ecosystem where the language they understand is being spoken and where they feelheard,” Olusanya said
Lasting legacy
She said the administration of Governor Sanwo-Olu viewed the initiative as a legacy that, in years to come, would create billionaires and enterprise leaders capable of transforming the agricultural space.
The Commissioner, who commended the performances of the participants, said the state hoped to scale up the support grants in the coming year.
She said; “We have ₦150 million, plus additional funding that was made available by our sponsors, and we are using all of this to ensure that as many people as possible receive support. Last year we did ₦100 million. This year, it is ₦150 million, and by God’s grace, next year we will even do bigger and better.”
Some of the participants applauded the initiative by the Lagos State Government for its commitment to ensuring food sufficiency and for establishing a platform for future agripreneurs in Nigeria.