Sub-Saharan Africa has high food insecurity as well as a large youth population facing unemployment. At the same time, the region is rich in fertile soil and nutritious crops. The SIANI Expert Group lead by the Agripreneurship Alliance aims to bridge these contradictions.
Working with the African Management Initiative and universities in East Africa, the Group supports graduate and post-graduate students in developing business ideas within the agricultural sector, supporting them in becoming agripreneurs. During its first phase, the SIANI Expert Group supported the development of 18 high-quality youth-led agribusiness plans and cooperated with five academic institutions in Uganda, Kenya and Somaliland – reaching more than 100 young agripreneurs.
The Expert Group also brought together representatives from Gulu University and IITA Youth Agri-Hub (Uganda), Egerton and Laikipia Universities (Kenya) and the IGAD Sheikh Technical Veterinary Training School (Somaliland) to participate in a training for trainers focusing on preparing the participants for facilitating courses about entrepreneurship and agricultural business with their home institutions.