Supporting female agribusiness entrepreneurs in Ghana and beyond

The Ignite Programme, supported by the Sustainable Employment through Agribusiness (AgriBiz) project in Ghana has the objective to build the capacity of aspiring female entrepreneurs in agricultural production, services and the agri-processing sectors. The overall aim of the AgriBiz project is to improve the conditions for productive employment in the agribusiness sector and is implemented by GIZ since April 2021 with the support of AFC. 

Ignite is an accelerator model for young African women in agribusiness. In partnership with the Ghanaian NGO Guzakuza, 60 industrious African women (32 Ghanaians) were trained, coached and mentored by agribusiness experts in a 4-month programme, which ended in the first quarter of 2022. Female agribusiness entrepreneurs got the opportunity for hands on training in business and management skills such as business planning, revenue modelling, pitching, onboarding, basic accounting principles, decision-making, problem-solving, customer review, digital agribusiness, communication, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, negotiation and time management in order to help them operate a successful business. Online modules and sessions as well as a two-week in-person workshop helped to build resilient businesses and improved participant's self-development. 

The supported entrepreneurs were connected with specialized business coaches and mentors, who spent time to help them evaluate their business, provide advice that would shape their business and personalities, unlock self-imposed limits, see their blind spots, tackle specific tasks and objectives, open their minds to new ideas and habits and help them navigate challenges and meet their goals. 

Sub-sectors covered included vegetable production, mixed and poultry farming, service provision, trade and delivery, livestock/snail/fish production as well as food processing. 

Currently the participants for the new training cycle 2022-20023 are being selected. 

If you would like to learn more about this project, please contact our project manager Matthias Webendörfer (Matthias.webendoerfer [at] afci.de) or our Team Leader on site Christoph Pannhausen (Christoph.pannhausen [at] afci.de).