Nairobi, Kenya – 3 December 2025
The East African Youth in Agri-Food Systems Expo 2025 (EAYASE-25) officially opened in Nairobi, marking the start of a three-day regional showcase of innovation, leadership, and cross-border collaboration in agriculture. Themed “NextGen Agripreneurs in EAC: Cultivating Innovation, Nourishing Africa,” the Expo brings together over 120 young agripreneurs, policymakers, investors, and development partners from across the East African Community (EAC). Convened by the EAC Secretariat and AGRA with support from FAO, Kenya Airways, GIZ and other regional partners, the Expo reflects a shared commitment to investing in the next generation of agripreneurs across East Africa.
During the opening ceremony, AGRA reaffirmed its commitment to investing in the next generation of agricultural innovators, emphasizing that with more than 60% of the region’s population under 35, youth are central to building resilient, inclusive, and productive agrifood systems.
Youth Voice Takes Centre Stage
Day 1 featured Vox Pops: Country QuickFire Salvos, a dynamic platform where youth representatives shared real-life experiences and innovations ranging from organic fertilizer development to agri-tech tools, seed systems, and value addition. These rapid-fire reflections offered a snapshot of aspirations, challenges, and solutions emerging from young agripreneurs across the region.
Understanding the Landscape: Evidence & Policy, Youth Leadership & Regional Accountability
Stella Massawe, a Senior Programmes Specialist from AGRA, presented the Joint Sector Review (JSR) Study Report, offering a comprehensive, data-driven picture of how youth and women are positioned within regional agrifood systems. She highlighted that youth make up nearly half of the EAC population yet face unemployment rates as high as 51–57%, with young women encountering even steeper barriers to land, finance, productive assets and leadership opportunities.
She provided evidence illustrating the diverse roles youth play across the agrifood system while highlighting critical gaps in market access, technical skills, and institutional support. She called for stronger coordination mechanisms, aligned policy frameworks, a regional database to track youth agribusiness performance and intentional investment in youth-led innovation ecosystems.
In a powerful Dr. Rachel Mkandawire, a Policy and Research Officer from FANRPAN delivered a keynote titled “Youth Rising: From Activism to Agribusiness”. She unpacked how youth activism is rapidly evolving into enterprise building across East Africa. She showed how youth activism is now driving enterprise and innovation across the agrifood system, yet progress is constrained by weak policy implementation and fragmented accountability. Despite the existence of strong youth policies across the EAC, AAYS and national frameworks, implementation remains weak, financing inconsistent and accountability fragmented. She called for dedicated youth financing, predictable policy and review cycles, and meaningful youth representation within agrifood governance so young people can influence decisions that shape their futures. Dr. Mkandawire emphasised that youth participation must go beyond consultation but must be recognised as co-creators of regional agrifood transformation.
Collective Action as a Pathway to Empowerment
As the afternoon unfolded, the Expo transitioned into two rich and insightful parallel sessions, each illuminating a different dimension of youth leadership in East Africa’s agrifood systems.
In the first session, moderated by Dr. Anasia Maleko, panelists Dr. Peter Orangi of Kenya, Mohammed Aden from the Federal Republic of Somalia, Prof. Alfred Bizoza of Rwanda, and Andrew Adut of South Sudan explored how enabling policy environments, regional frameworks, and collaborative ecosystems can catalyze meaningful youth engagement. The discussion traced the evolution of youth activism into structured influence, examining how young people are increasingly shaping food security agendas, advocating for inclusive policy reform, and navigating the shift from grassroots mobilisation to sustainable agribusiness ventures.
In the second session, moderated by Donald Mizambwa, the conversation turned toward the power of collective action as a tool for youth empowerment. Panelists Hillary Cheruiyot from EAFF, Janice Kimaro of the East Africa Women in Business Platform, and Ugandan youth leader Yafesi Ogwang shared compelling insights into how farmer organisations, youth cooperatives, professional associations, and SACCOs are transforming the landscape of agrifood entrepreneurship. They illustrated how these collectives strengthen bargaining power, expand market access, unlock financial opportunities, and consolidate youth voices within regional decision-making structures.
Exhibitions & Networking
Delegates also had the opportunity to explore a vibrant range of youth-led exhibitions woven into the programme sessions. The displays showcased just a sample of the ingenuity emerging across the region. Value chains ranged from enterprises championing indigenous foods and value-added products to agri-tech tools, circular-economy innovations, and aquaculture solutions. These exhibitions, though only a snapshot of what youth are creating across the region, showcased the diversity and ambition of young agripreneurs. Many of the exhibitors participated with support from key partners including AGRA, FAO, GIZ, and Kenya Airways, whose contributions helped ensure that youth innovators could engage, demonstrate their work, and connect with regional stakeholders throughout the event.