Eight youth agripreneurs from the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), trained in agribusiness by IITA–CGIAR and its partners, have received grants under the PICAGL project funded by the World Bank through the Congolese government. This was done during a gala presentation of the young entrepreneurs’ business plans organized in Bukavu. The awards ceremony took place in Bukavu on 27 January.
During the event, 16 young entrepreneurs from South Kivu, trained by IITA and its partners involved in producing, processing, and marketing agricultural products, presented a bankable business plan. The jury selected eight of these 16 business plans because they incorporate value creation, innovation, sustainability, and feasibility.
The company, Impact for Nutrition, which produces flour based on biofortified crops rich in micronutrients for children, was awarded US$1,500. The second business plan received a grant of US$1,400, the third US$1,350, the fourth US$1,300, the fifth US$1,250, the sixth US$1,200, the seventh US$1,100, and the eighth US$1,000.
Head of the President Olusegun Obasanjo IITA Research Station, Jacob Mignouna, congratulated all 16 youth for their efforts in presenting business plans. “It is through agribusiness that the DRC can achieve food self-sufficiency and job creation,” said Mignouna.
“The objective of this evening was to give young Congolese the tools to develop their business in the agricultural sector. They spent three months in theoretical and practical training, and today you saw what they presented as a business plan. In the room, there were investors, and for me, it is already good because these young people need them. We have all seen young Congolese who are ready to engage in agricultural development in the business aspect,” said Mignouna, who also coordinates the projects that are part of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda in DRC (ATA-DRC).
PICAGL has trained nearly 1,200 youth in agribusiness, and they have created 780 agribusinesses in the project implementation areas. During the four years of implementation of this project in South Kivu and Tanganyika provinces of DRC, 66 young Agripreneurs have received grants from the PICAGL project. This is thanks to the technical support of IITA on entrepreneurial agriculture, the creation and formalization of businesses, the development of bankable business plans, and the facilitation of access to the market and credit.
Contributed by Isabelle Buhoro and Michèle Kimpwene
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