Growing agribusiness entrepreneurs in East Africa

The work to grow agriprenurs in East Africa continues to progress very well.  There are currently 183 students participating in the Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness training in 6 locations in Uganda, Kenya and Somaliland.  Most of the courses are drawing to a close soon and we are looking forward to receive about  50 business plans.  We have a team of experienced agribusiness experts who will review the Plans and provide input to the students how they can be further improved.  With their input, we select the winner per location that will be awarded a prize of 1000 USD. 

In October we also launched the course on-line as a Pilot to allow young people to follow it individually.  A further 140 young people are participating on-line, 92% of them being from Africa.  A number of organisations are interested in promoting this course within their networks to bring increased scale of input.  However, we want to incorporate all the learnings from this on-line Pilot (which has no physical trainer) before expanding further.  We know that it is very tough to start a business all on your own without a support network around!

The young people who followed the Training in 2018 are progressing really well. For example, Ritah,our young pig farmer (see photo), who was one of the prize winners in 218, now has 200 pigs.  They multiply very fast under the right conditions and a healthy feed regime!  She is training unemployed youth in the villages around her farm, giving them piglets with the commitment to buy back the pigs once they have grown.  In Uganda there is a big demand for pork that is raised under hygienic conditions with proper care for animal welfare.  Ritah is currently seeking financing to build what will be the second slaughterhouse in Kampala for pigs (a city of 1.7 million people!). Most pigs today are slaughtered with little concern for hygiene.  Ritah was awarded an internship to spend 3 months in Germany on two German pig farms. She is learning a lot, even though the weather is a bit of a challenge right now, after Kampala which is 25°C year-round!

We wish you a very happy Christmas and all the very best for 2020!  A HUGE thank you for all your support that is changing lives and giving new hope to hundreds of young people.