KIC and Mastercard Foundation are organizing a series of Bootcamp trainings as part of its Business Booster Program. Agri-MSMEs and Farmer Based Organizations are receiving capacity building on enhancing their business to increase profitability and investor readiness as well as organizational strengthening for selected Farmer Based Organizations to effectively work with their association members. Through a joint partnership, KIC and the Mastercard Foundation are enhancing work-readiness and employability skills among young individuals, steering them toward dignified and fulfilling career paths in entrepreneurship
Through the support of business and development experts, the Agri-MSMEs and Farmer Based Organizations receive coaching on their business records management, operational efficiency, financial management, investor readiness checklist and business pitch decks. In addition, the participants were taken through topics such as Business Strategy and Access to Market. For the farmer-based organizations, topics such as association membership management, good agricultural practices and enhancing the efficiencies of various agricultural value-chains were provided by the experts. The experiential nature of the training enables the entrepreneurs to identify areas of improvement on best practices for business management. There was also experience and knowledge sharing among the participants.
Through KIC support to the Agri-MSMEs and Farmer Based Organizations, they have been able to create additional jobs in the communities they operate in. On average, each KIC booster business has created 2 additional job opportunities over a five-month period since joining the program and this is expected to grow.
Speaking at the training, Terence Tienaah, Program Manager for KIC reiterated KIC’s commitment to supporting Agri-MSMEs and FBOs to achieve long-term business growth. “ At KIC, through programs like the Business Booster, we provide coaching and information to support your business growth journey.”
In his remarks, Frederick Odame Phillips, Agribusiness Specialist for KIC said: “There are many opportunities within the agricultural value chain, and through the Business Booster Program, we are looking forward to providing you with the tools and resources to build upon your businesses”.
Since its inception, the KIC Business Booster has trained more than 127 AgriMSMEs, out of which 72 are women led businesses.
This year, more than 500 agri-MSMEs and FBOs are taking part in the Business Booster program across the country.