Agritech Founders Under 40 Are Reshaping Nigeria’s Food Systems
By Aboki Forex —
Nigeria’s agricultural sector remains one of the most critical pillars of the economy, employing over a third of the labour force and contributing significantly to non-oil GDP growth. According to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data reported by Nairametrics, agriculture grew by 3.79% year-on-year in Q3 2025, improving from 2.55% recorded in Q3 2024. This reflects a gradual recovery driven largely by crop production, mechanisation efforts, and rising private-sector investment. Across 2025, broader GDP growth also strengthened to 3.98% in Q3 2025 and 4.07% in Q4 2025, with agriculture consistently ranking among the top non-oil contributors alongside trade, manufacturing, and telecoms.
Yet, structural challenges remain. Post-harvest losses, climate shocks, insecurity in food belts, weak storage infrastructure, and financing gaps continue to constrain productivity. Against this backdrop, a new generation of agribusiness founders under 40 is reshaping Nigeria’s food systems through technology, processing, logistics, export aggregation, and climate-smart farming models.
This list highlights some of the most inspiring agribusiness founders under 40, ranked from youngest to oldest, whose ventures are solving some of the most pressing inefficiencies in Nigeria’s agricultural value chain.
Aisha Raheem-Bolarinwa: Founder and CEO of Farmz2U
Aisha Raheem-Bolarinwa is a Nigerian agritech founder and CEO of Farmz2U, a data-driven platform helping farmers make informed decisions around crop planning, input usage, and market access. With a background in Economics from Queen Mary University of London and an MBA from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, Raheem-Bolarinwa brings a systems-oriented approach to agricultural transformation. Her career began in financial services and consulting, including roles in investment and client services before she shifted focus toward food systems and sustainability.
In 2018, she founded Farmz2U to address a persistent gap in agriculture: the lack of reliable data guiding planting decisions. The platform helps farmers determine what to plant, when to plant it, and where to sell, with the goal of reducing post-harvest losses and improving yield efficiency across smallholder farming systems. Her work gained early recognition through sustainability and innovation programmes, including participation in Techstars Sustainability Accelerator in partnership with The Nature Conservancy. Farmz2U has also been featured on global platforms such as Bloomberg and CNN, reflecting its growing relevance in data-led agriculture.
Beyond Farmz2U, she has expanded her influence into ecosystem leadership roles. She serves as Thematic Lead for Policy and Regulation within the MSME Community of Practice at the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, advising on productivity and enterprise development. She is also Co-Chair of the Oxford Africa Business Alliance and an advisor to emerging ventures in Africa’s innovation ecosystem.
Other notable founders on the list
Other inspiring founders include Uzoma Ayogu and Ikenna Nzewi, co-founders of Releaf Earth; Micheal Ogundare, founder of Cash2Crop; Timi Oke, CEO and co-founder of AgroEknor; and Uka Eje, co-founder of Thrive Agric. Each is tackling specific inefficiencies in the value chain, from processing and logistics to climate-smart farming and export aggregation.
These young founders are proving that with the right technology, investment, and policy support, Nigeria’s agriculture can move beyond subsistence and become a global competitive force.