6 young agripreneurs win N12m BATN Foundation grants

Six young Nigerian entrepreneurs have won a combined N12 million in grants under the 2026 Farmers for the Future Programme of BATN Foundation to support their agricultural businesses and promote food security.

The winners emerged from the initiative, implemented in partnership with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), to equip corps members with practical agribusiness skills, mentorship and funding to establish and expand sustainable agricultural enterprises.

Olufemi Dominic Fabian, founder of DOHA Prime Venture, which operates FishTrackPro, emerged as the overall winner, receiving N3 million for his technology-driven solution that helps fish farmers improve productivity through data-based farm management and monitoring.

Temitope Adewole, founder of Apem Soupmix, and Abdulwaheed Bala, founder of NutriSoy, took second place, receiving N2 million each for their food processing businesses focused on natural powdered soup mixes and soybean-based products, respectively.

The third-place winners, who received N1 million each, were Olanike Mayungbe of Nutririte Foods, an agricultural produce processing business; Iorember Iorsue of Unku Charles Maize Farm; and Kingsley Udoeyen of Salwel Foods, a food processing business producing value-added products from grains and legumes.

The grants were presented in Abuja by the Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu, during the corps’ 2026 Batch C Pre-Orientation Workshop.

Nafiu congratulated the winners and commended BATN Foundation for investing in youth empowerment through agriculture and entrepreneurship. He urged NYSC state coordinators and officials of the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) department to promote the programme during skills acquisition lectures and encourage more corps members to participate in the 2027 edition.

The six winning businesses span different segments of the agricultural value chain, including aquaculture, agricultural technology, crop production and food processing. Their products and services seek to address challenges such as low farm productivity, nutrition, post-harvest losses and access to markets.

For seven years, the Farmers for the Future Programme has supported young agricultural entrepreneurs through training, mentorship, business development assistance and grant funding, with the aim of helping them build viable businesses.

BATN Foundation said its partnership with the NYSC would continue to create opportunities for young Nigerians to turn agricultural ideas into sustainable enterprises, generate jobs and contribute to the country’s food security and economic development.

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