agribusiness - Afrikan Heroes

Small African Agribusinesses Use Tech to up Their Game

December 23, 2023

Agritech solutions and digital marketing can help empower agricultural startups. As literacy increases in rural areas and infrastructure improves, young farmers and agri-processors working with the International Trade Centre (ITC) can integrate new tech solutions into their operations.

ITC’s Alliances for Action, under the Netherlands Trust Fund V (NTF V) programme, has partnered with Bopinc, which works on tech solutions for businesses, to close the gap between small agribusinesses and the tech sector. They’re working with small and medium-sized processors of cocoa in Ghana, coffee in Ethiopia, and cashews and other crops in Senegal.

The goal is to upscale their operations to generate better profits, improve incomes, and create more jobs by processing local crops in-country.

Activities focus on market research, product development, sustainable processing, packaging, marketing, and developing targeted commercial linkages. To ensure a holistic approach, tech tools and platforms are integrated into business operations.

This also prepares small businesses for the new EU Corporate Sustainable Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) through more precise data collection, greater transparency, and improved traceability.

Ready, game, set and match: Agritech pilots are underway

Grounded in a tested methodology and a participatory approach, Bopinc assessed the digital needs of selected businesses in Ghana, Ethiopia and Senegal to match them to service providers.

They found that the businesses need to digitalize their processes through enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. That allows for more transparency and traceability of operations to comply with rules like the EU CS3D directive.

In Senegal, cashew nut processor Zena was matched with tech solutions tailored to improve the competitiveness and market access of their ‘made in a Senegal’ operations. These target local consumers who want local products – a nascent trend that is rapidly growing in Dakar.

In Ghana, the pilot involves a Fair Trade-certified farmer cooperative, the Kuapa Kokoo Cooperative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Union Limited (KKFU). This collaboration promises to usher in a new era of digitalization and technological advancements, offering exciting possibilities for KKFU’s 100,000 cocoa farmers.

In Ethiopia, the pilot is currently underway, with a focus on setting up an automated system to track the coffee production and increase efficiency of the Bench Maji Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Union, which has 21,000 farmer members.

A second pilot in Ethiopia will match the Oromia Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Union with tech company AgUnity to develop co-op manager systems that also targets compliance with EU legislations.

The GPS coordinates of 3,000 farmers from four primary cooperatives have been registered. GPS is a key tool to comply with the EU’s regulation on deforestation-free products.

The businesses will also have access to a directory of digital tools created in Ethiopia – a groundbreaking initiative that ITC aims to replicate across other countries.

The pilots are conceived to be sustainable beyond the life of the project as they benefit from co-funding from the beneficiaries. The pilots are part of capacity building to business service organizations to ensure transfer of know-how and tools at the national level in support of digital transformation of the agribusiness sector.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Nigeria Launches Zero Interest Rate Loans For Startups and Small Agribusiness

July 17, 2020

The Central Bank of Nigeria has unveiled its new policy towards Non-Interest Financial Institutions (NIFIs) for agro-industries as well as micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. This new scheme should also benefit start-ups as well as companies that want to develop or are weakened.

Among the 10 guidelines is the Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme (AADS).

The Central Bank will also create a Fund, AGSMEIS Non-Interest Fund, which will be domiciled in a dedicated account. Concretely, each interest-free deposit bank (whether a bank as such or a branch in a bank) will have to contribute 5% of its profits before taxation to this Fund. This contribution must be transferred to the Fund no later than 10 working days following its annual general meeting.

The activities eligible under this scheme will cover the entire agricultural value chain, be it production, inputs, storage, processing, logistics and marketing.

According to the Bank, this should benefit 370,000 young people aged 18 to 35 who want to start farming by 2023.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer

Sierra Leone Seeks Help to help build resilient economy, restore self-sufficiency in rice production

March 15, 2020

The Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio has appealed to the African Development Bank to help to stimulate agribusiness development in the country with a focus on rice production. This plea was made by President Maada Bio told a visiting delegation led by its president Akinwumi Adesina.

Adesina begana two-day visit to Sierra Leone within the week during which he will hold meetings to discuss curbing malnutrition, creating skills and jobs for young people, rapidly scaling up economic diversification and restoring the country to self-sufficiency in rice production.

“Our government is working hard to recover the economy, which was on the brink of collapse. We want to focus on economic diversification, with agriculture as the main driver,” President Bio observed, in a meeting with the Bank delegation.

“We are serious about developing this country and will appreciate the Bank’s support to realize our dreams. Infrastructure is an enabler for development, so we appreciate what the Bank is doing in Sierra Leone,” Bio said, identifying a productive workforce as a top national priority as well as jumpstarting economic activities in rural areas, where 73.9% of Sierra Leone’s poor live.

Commenting on the country’s capacity to enhance local production, and the export of rice, Sierra Leone’s staple food, Adesina said, “Sierra Leone should not be spending over $200 million yearly importing rice because its climatic conditions are generally favorable for rice production.”

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry data, total rice demand in 2018 was 1.6 million metric tons, against local production of 700,000 metric tons. In July 2019, the Bank approved the $11 million Agribusiness and Rice Value Chain Support Project to stimulate agribusiness development in the country with a focus on rice.

Sierra Leone also sought the Bank’s support for the implementation of its free quality education programme, which aims to enhance human capital development and facilitate economic transformation.

Adesina encouraged the country to explore the Bank’s Africa Investment Forum to elicit investor interest for the proposed Lungi–Freetown bridge. The project will link the capital city, Freetown, to the country’s sole international airport, which is presently accessible by ferry or helicopter.

The Bank also expressed keenness to support the development of critical infrastructure in the West African country and to open up space for greater private sector participation in the economy. Adesina said the Bank would deploy the African Legal Support Facility to help the country better manage its natural resources.

Adesina commended President Bio for his decision to join the African Leaders for Nutrition as a nutrition champion in his country, and for Africa. “Sierra Leone is an important country to the Bank,” We will support you to build a more robust and resilient economy, to transform the lives of your people. That is our role as a bank, putting people at the heart of development.”

“The Bank’s footprint is everywhere in Sierra Leone,” Chief Minister David Francis told Adesina. “The Bank has remained committed to the post-Ebola reconstruction. You have remained a faithful partner, and the country is grateful.”

Sierra Leone was one of the Bank Group’s founding members, and the Bank has financed projects there since 1967, to a cumulative sum of $758 million.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Africa Should be Allowed to Use its Resources –African Energy Chamber.

November 29, 2019

Against the backdrop of the climate change debate, Africa finds itself in an unfortunate position where it is required by the global energy industry to slow down its progress and not explore its hydrocarbons potential to its fullest. This has been described as unfavourable to the continent’s quest for development using its vastly endowed natural resource wealth.

African Energy Chamber’s Executive Chairman Nj Ayuk

In a statement from the African Energy Chamber, the group pointed out that while it does not deny the impacts and severity of climate change, it equally recognize the role and significance of the Paris Agreement which over 30 African countries have signed. However, “we believe the energy transition should be gradual and considerate of the power gap that exists in Africa”, the statement said.

The group further maintained that the foremost obligation as industry leaders in Africa is to ensure that Africa’s people have access to energy. “We are determined to address the everyday issues that the continent is faced with”. Noting that energy poverty is Africa’s most critical concern, “for us, it is a life and death situation. In Africa, over 600 million people still do not have access to power. And, we remain a net importer of energy yet we boast 125 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, accounting for 7.3 percent of global oil reserves and, 509 tcf of gas – accounting for 7.2 percent of global reserves”.

African Energy Chamber’s Executive Chairman Nj Ayuk said that “our natural resources are important for our development. We cannot ignore what the continent needs, in the interest of supporting global trends when our economies remain underdeveloped. Our hydrocarbon potential is vast and Africa is home to a number of emerging economies who are steadfast on taking their rightful place in the global energy sector, our time to industrialize is now”, he added.

Continuing, he said that we applaud our brothers, sisters and friends in the west such as Norway and Germany for having used their oil and gas resources to develop their countries and build thriving economies. But, Africa deserves the same opportunity to build world-class economies.

“At the African Energy Chamber, we understand that issues of climate change are important but, this new drive for environmental colonization bullies African countries to leave their resources and depend on the sun,” NJ Ayuk said. In the past, Africa has been far too reliant on foreign aid and while in some ways it has been extremely helpful and beneficial, it has also taken away our independence. In several instances, Africa has always taken the passenger seat when it comes to deciding its future but, it must end now.

“Our continent needs to be left alone to decide its own fate”, he urged. The African Energy Chamber he noted, strongly stands against the idea that Africa should ignore its potential and ability to leverage its resources as a means to drive growth, create opportunities for investment and development.

He further stated that as the voice of the African energy industry, we are proud to announce our counter-campaign on the insistence that the continent should pursue a less carbon-intensive energy future as a way to support global interests which Africa has not yet benefited from.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Getting women in the driver’s seat of Africa’s agribusiness revolution

November 25, 2019

by Mariam Yinusa and Edward Mabaya

Monica Musonda, CEO of Zambian food processing company Java Foods, certainly faced hurdles in her rise to the top, but she overcame them. “Although the barriers to entry for women can be frustrating, they are often basic and relatively easy to resolve,” she said, playing down her struggles. “My climb up the agribusiness ladder has been challenging but definitely worthwhile.”

Musonda, whose company produces affordable and nutritious food snacks made from local ingredients, is one of just a handful of female agripreneurs who have successfully broken through the proverbial glass ceiling in Africa’s agribusiness industry.

Women are the backbone of Africa’s agricultural sector. From farm to fork, African women are players along the entire agricultural value chain, be it as farmers, livestock breeders, processors, traders, workers, entrepreneurs or consumers. While their influence on the continent’s growing agribusiness industry is undeniable, more solutions are needed to address the gender-specific challenges they face to boost their participation.

The average African woman is a budding entrepreneur either by choice or by circumstance. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Women’s Report 2016/17, the continent has the highest percentage of female entrepreneurs in the world, with one in four women starting or managing a business. The agribusiness industry is often the natural focus of this entrepreneurial drive.

Across the continent, women dominate as primary processors post-harvest, as traders with bustling market stalls, as owners of fast food restaurants and with increasingly frequency as manufacturers of packaged ready-to-eat food products. Yet despite this dynamism, female-led agribusinesses tend to remain small, fragmented and informal in nature. They struggle to sustain and scale-up their agribusinesses into well-organized profitable enterprises.

Admittedly, the challenging business environment in many African countries including poor infrastructure and unreliable legal and regulatory systems affects all business activities of both men and women. However, in addition women-led businesses must also grapple with a number of gender-specific constraints, inhibiting their expansion into more lucrative market segments.

Firstly, African women often lack the technical know-how. Despite the gains in female education on the continent, highly productive agribusinesses require specialized vocational and technical skills in fields such as food safety, food conservation, packaging and product certification which many African women do not readily possess.

Access to finance is the most frequently cited obstacle by African SMEs. Women entrepreneurs face multiple difficulties in securing funding mainly due to lack of collateral in the form of land and other tangible assets and a high-risk perception. According to the African Development Bank, an estimated $42 billion financing gap exists for African women across business value chains, including $15.6 billion in agriculture alone. Women are forced to rely on personal savings and family loans which are rarely enough to fund their businesses to scale.

Thirdly, socio-cultural barriers and stereotypes persist. African women remain the primary caregivers in families meaning that managing those responsibilities while growing a thriving business can become a difficult balancing act.

Over the last two decades, many governments and development institutions have rolled out programs to promote access to finance agricultural inputs and provide technical support and business training to female agripreneurs. The African Development Bank recently set up the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA), a bold pan-African initiative to bridge the financing gap facing women. It adopts a three-pronged approach centered on improving access to finance, providing technical assistance and strengthening the enabling environment.

It often takes very little to make a difference. The capital injection required by the majority of female led SME agribusinesses on the continent is typically less than $50,000. And women have consistently proven to be more credit-worthy than men, usually paying back loans within agreed timeframes. Successful solutions by women for women such as microfinance and saving groups, peer-to-peer training and information sharing should also be reinforced and taken to scale.

More of such initiatives are urgently needed across the continent. Solutions must be based on in-depth engagement with the women business owners themselves to properly understand their frustrations and needs. Tailored programs designed to specifically address these pain points are critical. The Global Gender Summit is a timely opportunity to drive this forward.

Women are central for Africa’s agricultural transformation to be successful, sustainable and inclusive. More African female agripreneurs must be supported to grow and progressively transition into the business segments of agricultural value chains which are most profitable. It has been proven time and time again that when African women thrive the entire society shares in those dividends.

Mariam Yinusa and Edward Mabaya are Principal Economist and Manager, respectively, in the Agribusiness Development Division of the African Development Bank.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.