AFEX, a prominent commodities market player, has announced the expansion of its annual Code Cash Crop event into Kenya. The company also revealed that “Scaling Market-Led Solutions” will be the theme of the event, which is scheduled to take place in August 2023. Furthermore, the firm is currently accepting applications from Kenyan talents for the Ag-hackathon component of the occasion.

Code Cash Crop is a thrilling industry event that leverages innovation across the Agriculture, Finance, and Technology sectors to solve problems related to Africa’s food systems. This announcement comes after AFEX expanded its operations and established its Kenyan office in 2021. The move is part of its strategic mission to penetrate the African commodities market and replicate its success in Nigeria, by creating access to pan-African commodities trading across Africa, while boosting the continent’s food security.

While the previous editions focused on aggregating sector players to discuss how their industries align and opportunities for collaboration to solve African food problems, this year’s theme focuses on prioritizing conversations and ideation around solutions that address a significant gap in the market while optimizing sustainability and profitability.

The Ag-hackathon provides young entrepreneurs with a unique opportunity to create innovative ideas and profitable business models that solve problems in the ecosystem. The 4.0 challenge invites technological inventions and innovations to cater to pressing needs within the Kenyan market, with emphasis on data and analytics, access to market and input, as well as credit facilities. Both the ag-hackathon and the Code Cash Crop main event will bring the biggest innovators together to consider efficiency and competitiveness as key signposts to a thriving food system in Africa.

Tabitha Njuguna, the Managing Director of AFEX Fair Trade Limited Kenya, spoke about this year’s edition of the event, stating, “We are excited to include Kenya in this year’s iteration of Code Cash Crop. Kenya is fast becoming the largest economy in East Africa with our projected growth to hit 5.4% in 2024, according to World Economic Outlook. This expansion is, therefore, timely and important in this stage of Kenya’s development. The Code Cash Crop event is a unique opportunity to strengthen collaboration across finance, technology, agriculture, and government, and this year, we are incredibly committed to promoting conversations and engineering profitable solutions through the Ag-hackathon.”

The grand finale will feature a live pitch session from the Kenyan and Nigerian Ag-hackathon participants, networking, and panel discussions from industry experts across Agriculture, Agribusiness, Finance, Government, and other stakeholders, as well as exhibitions from startups within the same industries.

Registration for the Ag-hackathon is open on the AFEX website.