Nigeria’s agric-start-up makes 100 finalists in U.S

Few months after winning the first prize in a pitch for African start-ups in Washington DC, United States, fast-rising agriculture start-up, EZ-Farming has ranked among the Top 100 finalists in a small business competition organised by FedEx in the U.S.

The firm, with offices in Nigeria and the United States is one of the few to make a mark in a competition that over 13,000 start-ups across the world took part in and over 1.3 million votes cast on social media to pick the best start-ups to receive funding from FedEx.

EZ-Farming recorded the feat less than three months after clinching the first prize of $5,000, and the Peoples’ Choice award at the 2019 Georgetown African Business Conference New Venture Competition, hosted by the Young African Professionals in Washington DC, at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.

Founder, EZ-Farming, Dr Adewale Oparinde, in a statement made available to The Guardian, expressed the team joy over the feat, and that it would push them to continue to deliver higher returns for the benefit of its key stakeholders.

According to him: “We are indeed glad we made it to the Top 100. Over 13,000 start-ups across the world competed in the competition, and it was a delight that we recorded such an impressive feat in few months of operation.”

He said the start-up would continue to innovate its platform to deliver on its value proposition, assuring investors that the growing list of recognition is an acknowledgement of the firm’s commitment to excellence and creativity.

“We appreciate our fans for supporting us to reach this great milestone and for supporting our vision to achieve double impact of empowering both youth and farmers through intergenerational exchange of expertise to create more commercial farms from small holdings,” he said.