Twelve participants from Madagascar, including four newly recruited Entrepreneurs for Rural Access (ERAs) team members, took part in a 3-day programme designed to enhance their skills in providing agricultural extension and rural advisory services using digital tools. The programme was organised as part of the GIZ-funded Knowledge Centre for Organic Agriculture in Africa (KCOA) initiative, 20-22 February 2024, in Antananarivo, Madagascar.
The four ERA teams were selected through the Access Agriculture’s Young Entrepreneur Challenge Fund programme which helps identify, equip and coach young entrepreneurs who provide farming communities with relevant training videos in local languages using a solar-powered smart projector.
In addition to the ERAs, representatives of partner organisations – three members from GSDM Agroecology Professionals association, two from the Malagasy Union of Organic Agriculture (SYMABIO), two from the GFRAS (Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services) Country Fora in Madagascar and one from the Ministry of Agriculture – attended the training programme.
The interactive training programme covered sessions on the use and functionality of the smart projector and a monitoring and learning tool to collect data. It also familiarised the participants with the different steps required for a successful video screening.
A session was devoted to ERAs’ business capacity evaluation – using a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis. This also included a brief introduction of a Business Model Canvas, which is a strategic management and entrepreneurial tool to quickly and easily define a business concept.
The participants enjoyed the training programme, appreciating especially the session on how to conduct a video screening, which was led by two existing ERAs (Mamadou Diarra from Mali and Elphas Elkanah Masanga from Kenya). They were also happy to get a better understanding of using the SWOT tool to develop their own business model.
The Access Agriculture resource persons included Karine Rakotoniainasoa, Ezra Masolaki, Blessings Flao, Nafissath Fousseni Barres and Abdul-Baaki Bankole.
