Agribusinesses championed to create wealth

A stakeholder forum for small and growing agribusinesses has been held to address food security, wealth and job-creation among underprivileged farmers in the country.

Participants were drawn from public sector institutions, investors, technical assistance providers, development partners and entrepreneurs to help generate tangible solutions that will help build the supporting ecosystem for small and growing agricultural businesses in the country.

Spearheaded by Engineers Without Boarders (EWB) and Mobile Business Clinic (MBC), the forum examined three models by Mobile Business Clinic, Kulemela Investments and Growth Mosaic as jumping-off points to creating practical next steps to improve the support available to small and growing agribusinesses. It was also aimed at uncovering the challenges that are limiting the flow of funding to investment-ready small and growing agribusinesses.

Agribusiness now accounts for nearly 50 percent of the continent’s economic activities. According to the World Bank, Africa’s agriculture and food market is worth US$310 billion and has the opportunity to grow to US$1 trillion by 2030. 

For this projection to be realised, there is an urgent need to grow and expand Africa’s food markets.

Post-harvest losses in the production of agricultural products in Africa hover around 50-60 percent, and it is argued that if the continent can add value, or if Africa had strong and reliable energy sources to be able to help farmers and communities process their foods and store them before they are taken to markets, hunger would be reduced -- because it would probably make 50 to 60 percent more food available in the supply chain.

Mr. Marindame Kombate, Project Manager of MBC, said the non-governmental organisation provides a learning platform to support the growth of local agribusinesses, with a focus to improve the skills and capacity of CEOs and management teams to enable them to better solve their day-to-day business challenges and access resources for growth.

MBC started in 2012 with financial support from the Canadian International Development Agency, Lundin Foundation and Engineers Without Borders Canada.

Mr. Kombate said the MBC’s overall goal is to contribute significantly to food security, increased incomes for local businesses, and improved living conditions for people at the base of the pyramid.

Since its inception, MBC has successfully organised clinics in Accra, Tema and Kumasi, reaching about 36 agribusinesses.

Mr. Kombate said through its coaching programmes, experienced people identify the problems facing companies and proffer solutions.

Ms. Megan Campbell, EWB Portfolio Manager, said the organisation is a social change incubator for people, ventures and ideas to accelerate innovations to break the barrier of poverty.

She said EWB has been working for over 10 years to support innovation in agriculture in Ghana, and currently supports a number of social enterprises that are working to support small and growing Ghanaian agribusinesses.

“We accelerate the development and growth of ventures that have the potential to change the systems of development. There is therefore the need for greater interventions in developing the informal value chains and also linking them with the formal value chains,” she remarked.