Our Young Entrepreneurs

is 28 years old. He holds a Master’s degree in Agriculture with Sociology. Fréjus is a GIZ certified expert in agricultural value chain analysis and rural land use. He is a regional representative of the AlimenTerre Benin Network. Fréjus has over six years of working experience in rural development and is passionate about sustainable agriculture and respecting the environment. Currently, Fréjus is the Executive Director of ‘Homme Développement’ ONG. His ambition is to contribution effectively to food security and agriculture revolution in his beloved Benin.

holds a Master's degree in agroeconomics from the University of Parakou, Benin. He worked for 5 years in two Non-Governmental Organisations (DEDRAS-ONG and CANAL DEVELOPPEMENT) in the field of extension and agricultural advice in Benin. He is currently a member of ISADA-Consulting (ICTs for Sustainable Agricultural Development) in Africa which aims to use new information and communication technologies, such as agricultural training videos, to revolutionise agriculture in Africa.

Another member of the team is Iyabo Angélique GNONLONSA. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agro-food process Bioengineering and has one year of working experience in agricultural extension thanks to PPAAO and PADA projects. She is vice president of a gardening cooperative in her district (Cove) and the manager of Agro Fenix enterprise which produces and processes garden products. Her ambition is to a pioneer in garden products production by using organic fertiliser in the Zou region and provide technical knowledge to garden farmers.

The third member of the team is Koubalo Ulrich AKATE. He is twenty two years old, and from Togo. Like the other members of his team he has a Bachelor’s degree in Agro-food process Bioengineering. He has two years of working experience including in quality and control management systems in BB Togo SA brewery and also at IMDID-TOGO NGO.

The fourth team member is Nabahani AYOA-SANNI TASFAOU, He is twenty- five years old and has a degree in Tropical Agricultural Studies specialising in garden products production. For one year he has been working at Homme Développement NGO with the garden farmers association. Nabahani also has his own farm so he can practise what he tells others!

is the Executive and Financial manager for a Women's Development NGO in Sharkia. He also works as a trainer and as a technician for mobiles and laptops. He has volunteered on several government run campaigns. He works alongside a team of Mohamed AbdelRehim, Rasmeya Samir and Esraa Mahmoud.

works in his village of Touh in Upper Egypt as an entrepreneur for rural access - even before having a projector. He has used his own field as a demonstration ground for farmers to come together and share experiences with each other.

is finishing her degree in Psychology and Special Needs Development and is the Executive Manager of Youth of Sharkia NGO. Working alongside her are Nader Diaa (a trainer with the Academy of Modern Sciences in Sharkia) and Aliaa Shaaban (finishing her degree in Dentistry) and Nourhan Haysam (finishing her degree in Agriculture). Youth of Sharkia NGO works on the development the skills of young people to become active citizens in the development of social, health and educational services for the local community.

is one of the founders of Women & Community for Development. This NGO aims to provide humanitarian and developmental services to raise individuals and community livelihoods. To reach their sustainable development goals they make sure to partner with other like-minded organisations. They have worked in collaboration with AIP (Agriculture Innovation Project) and other projects which focus on farming family livelihoods.

Our Children for Development NGO strives to support marginalised communities, including children, youth, women, and small-scale farmers. They do this by enhancing the capacity of the communities to depend on themselves and see opportunities for additional economic activities. The team consists of Maged Youssef, Mariam Fahmy, Mariam Sameh and Micheal Shahata.

is one of the founders of Women & Community for Development. This NGO aims to provide humanitarian and developmental services to raise individuals and community livelihoods. To reach their sustainable development goals they make sure to partner with other like-minded organisations. They have worked in collaboration with AIP (Agriculture Innovation Project) and other projects which focus on farming family livelihoods.

has an Engineering degree from Beni Suef University and is the founder of Colex for environmental services. He has received several awards for his design and entrepreneurship skills. Colex is a company for the production of biogas units and marketing sustainable agricultural products. Together with Saher ElAmir they also provide environmental and agricultural consulting services, especially in agricultural waste management.

was born and brought up in a farming family in a small village in Kadapa Dt, Andhra Pradesh and has a strong foundation in traditional agriculture practices. He graduated in Agriculture from Punjab Rao Deshmukh Krushi Vidhyapeeth, Akola (P.D.K.V) university. With the influence of his family, he always wanted to serve his village and society. He is currently working as a programme officer - Agriculture (Production/Training) in Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA) and also working with Farmer producer organization’s (FPO) in Agriculture Production. With his organisation he aims to create awareness of Sustainable practices (organic /natural farming) among the farmers through training, rallies, exposure visits, community level demonstrations, group meetings and video dissemination of evening exercises in villages and sustainable packages of input preparation.

has been working with Sabala NGO for 5 years on the formation of FPOs (Farmer Producer Organizations), training, and conducting meetings for the benefits of organic farming. By using smart projector, she wants to impart knowledge to farmers on how to do organic farming at a low cost and get high returns.

works with those farmers who are in SHGs ( self help groups) and farmers clubs. He conducts meetings with youth farmers of 7 mandals, does video screening, imparts training and creates awareness to adopt natural farming with less investment and earn more income. He also provides training on how to market as a group. He wants to make farmers more aware of the benefits of organic farming by using smart projectors.

has 15 years of experience working with farmers since 2006. Initially, he started with APRLP (Andhra Pradesh Rural Livelihood Programme), a government program. He formed many farmer groups with different ideas like improving soil fertility, fish farming and setting up seed banks that help farmers get good quality seeds and marketing their produce for premium prices. For the last 3 years, under RRACP (Revitalizing Rainfed Agriculture Conference Programme) he helped farmers to develop farmer groups and then continued to develop farmer groups under APPI (Azeem Premji Philanthropic Initiatives), Navkisan, FWB, NABARD, and also helped them to get loans. . With this smart projector, he wishes to continue helping farmers even more by showing videos.

works in SVDs (Sarda Valley Development Society). As part of her work, she conducts many skill development training programs to enhance the vibrancy of rural poor women and youth. She was involved in organizing CAT programs for Farmers Club members. She organized LEDP and MEDP training with SUSAG Millets FPO sisters with the help of NABARD. SVDS works in the areas of sustainable agriculture, productivity, and environmental sustainability. She is passionate about using smart projector in her work to encourage farmers to adopt organic farming.

has completed her graduation in B.Com and then started working in Vikasa NGO since 2014. This NGO is running thrift society in the name of Vikasa MACTS . She is working as a field officer and accountant in Vikasa MACTS . She works with tribal farmers to help them save and disburse those savings at low interest and create awareness about organic farming. With the smart projector, she wants to help farmers to understand organic farming better.

‘Revolution will be planted!’ The organisation was co-founded by Kumar Neeraj in 2017 with the idea of transforming the prevailing unprofitable agricultural system in his village Durdih from monoculture farming to ecological agroforestry where diversification of crops is welcomed. From his childhood, he has been passionate about rural life which he finds to be more sustainable and inclusive, close to natural environment. He realised that now his village is not self-sustainable any more. The people are migrating to cities and the new generation is not interested in farming in spite of having all basic resources. So, after his study, he founded Khetee at his own village which conducts community development projects focusing primarily on agroforestry.

is facilitating project activities at village level in Adivasamitra organisation. Her responsibilities include community mobilisation, organising meetings, training with community members, creating awareness and promoting skills, identifying grievances and assisting the community through government departments. She also identifies vulnerable members of the community and applies them to appropriate programs of the project as well as government schemes.For the future, she has a target to do organic farming in 15 villages on mushroom cultivation, nursery and model farming.

holds a diploma in Bio-intensive Agriculture from Manor House Agriculture Center (MHAC), Kitale in Kenya. She is currently working as a field trainer at Schools and Colleges Permaculture (SCOPE) Kenya, which empowers young people to transform degraded school lands into food forests through agro-ecology and permaculture practices. She also teaches life skills to children, particularly those with special needs. Maureen is passionate about organic agriculture and always aims at being an agent of change in her community. She has also worked with Grow Bio-intensive Agriculture Centre Kenya as a field staff and seed bank manager. Maureen sees the smart projector as a way to visually show children the practices that she previously had been teaching them using just papers. She also plans to invite young farmers and women in the surrounding communities to view the Access Agriculture farmer-to-farmer training videos installed on the smart projector.

is the Chairman for TIWALE Youth Club on the outskirts of Machinga. TIWALE is the brainchild of Merenia Paul who began the group. Unfortunately in 2017 Merenia passed away, not seeing success of TIWALE. However in 2019, the club became reactived and now works in areas of child protection, agriculture, HIV and AIDS, youth and women empowerment. TIWALE Club works with the agricultural extension officers on backyard and horticultural farming. They hope to grow this venture with the use of the smart projector and train more youths in contributing to their communities as they empower themselves. Currently the club has a membership of 15 members with 9 boys and 16 girls.

is a Social worker and holds a Diploma in Community Development. He is a Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) Alumni and the founder of Arise Youth organisation. Francis was raised in rural Malawi, a place with increased unemployment among the youth. Francis believes that agribusiness is a powerful tool that can economically transform lives of the rural youth. Through Arise Youth, Francis embarked on a bee keeping project, which empowered youth economically. Youths were equipped with start-up capital, skills and knowledge of bee keeping. More than 50 people benefited from the project. Francis is currently working with an initiative called Grow Digital Youth in Chikwawa District. Grow Digital Youth is aimed at building an agriculture and food system engine powered by committed youth through inspiration and mentoring processes. This initiative is centred on digitalisation to enhance agriculture productivity. Francis hopes to grow his digital effort and with the smart projector to share agricultural videos with youths in Chikwawa.

graduated from College with Diploma in Business Management. He joined Dzimwe Community Radio Station where he was producing agriculture radio programmes. Innocent developed a passion for helping farmers through the radio programmes. He was awarded a certificate in producing farmer programmes through training provided by Farm Radio International. Innocent decided to form an Organic Farming Resources and Knowledge Hub, with the goal of promoting organic agriculture for increasing the value of farm produce and finding better markets. Innocent works with 3 other colleagues; Desire Nyondo who has a Diploma in Animal Health, and Kenneth Nazombe and Fred Saulosi, who both have a Diploma in Agriculture and Natural Resources. Together they are a passionate team of graduates from Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) providing agriculture extension advisory services. The team are planning to show videos on better ways and methods of practising organic agriculture.

has B.Sc. in Aquaculture and Fisheries from the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Mbumba has spent over a year working as a MasterCard foundation youth think-tank researcher. Mbumba met Pempero Kumbani at the KAWJO foundation in Lilongwe where they have been working together as field officers. Pempero also studied for a B.Sc. Degree in Aquaculture and Fisheries. Together they co-founded AquaLink Service, an organisation seeking to empower young people and women in aquaculture and entrepreneurship. They want to show videos to empower the youth and women into entrepreneurship and organic agriculture.

Mizu Organic farm was established in 2018 by 3 young people concerned about the use of synthetic chemical inputs and conventional farming techniques. The three in the team are Montfort Kwatani (pictured) the Production and Operations Manager), Mike Muwawa the Sales and Marketing Manager and Conscious Jabesi who is the Farm Manager. They are investing in both livestock and horticultural enterprises to produce healthy food under strict principles of organic agriculture, this will ensure consumers eat healthy products. Mizu Organic farm is located in Namitete, 49 kilometres west of Lilongwe. The team aims to expand and grow into a leading agribusiness market server in local and exotic organic food and ecological agritourism. They are planning to establish a Farm Business School to enhance farmers’ capacity in agribusiness skills. They will use the smart projector to enhance sustainable farming systems and techniques within Namitete. The team will also collaborate with other farmers in pioneering and developing a marketing cooperative to sell and promote sustainably produced organic products both for local and international markets.

holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness Management from Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR). He is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Agribusiness Management from the same institution. In 2019 he registered a company named GAP Commercials, a market development agency with a mission to provide working tools in agricultural diversification, agribusiness investments, value addition, enterprise development and access to agricultural market information to farmers. He is working with 3 colleagues, Kondwani Maiko, Racheal Mpambira and Lorrain Namande to ensure the start-up is well established. Much work has been done related to consultation for small businesses and value addition of soya, sweet potato, sausage making, Irish potato and grafting trails of citrus fruits. With the smart projector they are planning to incorporate video shows to disseminate extension messages and agricultural videos on innovative technologies, agricultural diversification, value addition training and practicing farming as a business. Famers will also be exposed to Agribusiness tools and helped to make important decisions for their enterprises.

is 26 years old and from Mali. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture. After various internships, Mahamoud has decided to set up his own enterprise in order to provide services to Malian farmers. Passionate about agriculture, Mahamoud’s ambition is to contribute to food security in Mali by building farmers capacity. He sees video as a great way to do this.

is a young entrepreneur from Mali. He is the founder and CEO of an enterprise called Africa Connecting. After creating this enterprise in 2013, he went on to launch in 2014 a distribution network for organic products. This initiative aims to identify and provide organic food to households in Bamako. In 2016, Africa Connecting was chosen as a Green Innovation Center Partner in order to help build the capacity of Malian farmers. In 2018, he set up a hydroponic agriculture system to train young Malians on a system which he thinks can excite young entrepreneurs. Amadou’s ambition is to contribute to the transformation of Malian agriculture from household agriculture to agribusiness and sees video as an integral part of that strategy.

Aged of 25, Mamadou DIARRA is cofounder of an enterprise called Expert Elevage Consulting (EEC SARL). Mamadou obtained his degree in zootechnics and worked as a development community agent for more than 2 years with ICD NGO (Initiative Conseil Development). Mamadou has also worked as a consultant for the United Nation’s Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) where he trained shepherds in breeding techniques. Mamadou is passionate about agriculture, mostly livestock, and his ambition is to contribute to the development of the breeding sector in Mali and also to food security.

is a young agripreneur from Mali. Having no background in agriculture but passionate about it, he decided to further his knowledge in this sector by attending agricultural training centers in Kayes in the west of Mali. He has been trained on agricultural entrepreneurship at CFAPK (Centre de Formation Agro-Pastorale de Kayes) and at Songhai Center. He is a founder of Elohim Agro-Business enterprise which specialises in horticultural products, and his ambition is to service Kayes’ demand for these products as well as export to other regions.

holds a Bachelor of Arts in Global Challenges from the African Leadership University (ALU) Rwanda. He has two years of experience in Research and Development and two years of experience in project management. Benjamin is currently working as a manager at Uruhimbi Kageyo Cooperative (UKC), a youth-led entity committed to providing innovative and climate resilient technology for wholesome quality hydroponic fodder that is cost effective and sustainable for livestock production. His mission is to contribute to the world with sustainable agriculture practices and products to help end hunger and poverty and which can provide well-being for rural based small holder farmers. He is a member of the ROOM, a network of global leaders committed to unlocking opportunities for undiscovered talents originating in Africa. Benjamin plans to use the smart projector to conducting trainings in rural areas on how to grow hydroponic fodder in addition to other practices that can improve smallholder farmers’ livestock productivity.

holds a bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from the University of Rwanda. Pacifique is a social entrepreneur and founder of Real Green Gold Ltd which grows and supplies organic tropical fruit and vegetables for local and export markets. He trains and works with smallholder farmers to equip them with modern organic farming skills. Pacifique has worked with various organisations including Digital Opportunity Trust, where he was a start-up facilitator and business coach, and Mastercard Foundation, where he served as a youth engagement consultant and researcher. This experience grew his passion in community and peer-to-peer based leadership and led him to join the Young Professionals for Agriculture Development and he became a founding member of Rwanda Youth in Agribusiness Forum. He plans to use the smart projector for training suppliers and out-growers of his company and hopes that this will save time and cost when training on organic and agroecological farming practices and principles.

is a produce trader and entrepreneur experienced in buying and selling of agricultural produce in the southern region of Rwanda. She is self-employed and operates under her business name of Hope and Fine Limited. Esperance has a certificate in advanced level of education. She is one of the suppliers for NAC Rwanda Ltd. She looks forward to the use of smart projector which will help her to directly work with farmers and use visual means to explain to them the quality of produce required. This will also support Esperance’s produce retail business since she can teach the farmers on improving certain farming practices so that she can have good yields to supply to her clients. Indirectly, she hopes to use the smart projector as a value addition to her farmers’ network which will give her a competitive advantage during peak seasons when many produce traders “fight” for farmer loyalty.

is 22 years old and comes from a farming family. As a child she used to work in the family farm with her grandmother. From the age of 13 she started her own poultry enterprise. This environment whetted her appetite for agriculture. After her scientific baccalaureate she joined Aix Marseille University Institute of Technology in France to study agriculture. In 2019 she began studies at Montpellier SupAgro for an agriculture engineering degree which she will finish in 2022, with agrifood as her major subject. Being an entrepreneur from childhood, while at the Institute of Technology, Marie set up an enterprise called AFRICAGRICULTURE. This enterprise based in Senegal aims to build the capacity of farmers and agripreneurs in agrifood. She is co-managing the enterprise with her colleague Octave Emmanuel FAYE in Senegal and together they will be making good use of the smart projector for training. Her ambition is to own a well-known company in Senegal that helps millions of people out of poverty (mostly women and youth) by assisting them both technically (capacity-building) and financially.

is a primary school teacher from the Lake region of Tanzania, in Musoma, Mara region. Besides his teaching career, James is engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry activities. He is a community-based entrepreneur that produces and sells cassava planting materials. James is also a district youth representative in the Tanzania Teachers Union (TTU). He plans to use the smart projector to showcase videos on use of clean planting materials and agroecological agronomic practices. He hopes that this strategy will increase his clientele and productivity for the farmers in his community.

holds a Bachelor of Science in Agronomy from the Sokoine University of Agriculture. He is currently working as an agriculture advisor at Lilany Greenpro Business Co.Ltd. He is also co-founder of Ayegro Group Ltd, a company whose mission is to influence youth and women engagement in productive agriculture. This is concerned with economic growth, fighting poverty and eradicating hunger in Tanzania. He is also secretary-general of the National Sunflower Farmers Association of Tanzania (NASUFAT) and secretary of the Grape Farmers Platform in Tanzania. Peter is also an active member of Sokoine University Graduate Entrepreneurs Cooperative (SUGECO). He will use smart projector and Access Agriculture videos in Kiswahili to improve on his efficiency while training rural smallholder farmers by showcasing agronomic practices done by other farmers.

is currently a third year Ugandan student at Center Universitaire d’ain Temouchent in Algeria pursuing a BSc in Science of Matter in Chemistry. He is a self-motivated social entrepreneur with a certificate in French from Oran school of Languages. He is a co-founder at Care Promotion and Poverty Alleviation Initiative (CPAI), a community-based organisation serving less privileged communities in the rural areas of Mbarara district in Western Uganda. Azaria is currently an expert behind the girl “Inspire” project which aims to build the capacity of young vulnerable girls that are victims of child early marriages, teenage pregnancies and gender-based violence. He is also communications, sales and marketing coordinator at AgroMush Uganda, a youth led enterprise dealing in mushroom growing, production and value addition. Azaria is an alumnus of Venture Capital Africa, a member of Young African Leader’s Initiative (YALI); a global youth ambassador against gender-based violence; innovator’s award winner at Citizen’s International Youth Summit; and a volunteer at a high level youth summit on sustainable development. He has also attained a certificate in Monitoring and Evaluation from the Philanthropy University; and is a certified GBV instructor with the Federation of International Gender and Human Rights. Whilst in Algeria, Azaria meets virtually with his team at AgroMush in Uganda. He intends to use the smart projector to learn more about agroecology practices so that his team will train the local youth farmers to generate more money.

holds a diploma in business studies majoring in accounting from Uganda College of Commerce in Aduku, northern Uganda. She is the co-director for Adyaka Rural Youth Development Initiative (ARYODI) which runs Aryodi Bee Farm in Lira. ARYODI mainly trains over 2,000 farmers on modern beekeeping techniques and value addition for a profitable apiculture business venture. The team also empowers rural farmers on growing crops and rearing livestock using environmentally friendly practices that may sustain the ecosystem of bees. Rebecca was one of the victims of early teenage pregnancy which led her to dropping out of school. She later joined the college to complete her studies. This motivated her to initiate an organisation called Network for Women in Action which trains young girls and teenage pregnant school drop-outs in artisan skills such as: making paper bags, weaving baskets and making bee hives using locally available materials. Rebecca is passionate about farming and transforming the livelihoods of rural based smallholder farmers in her community through economic empowerment and social entrepreneurship. She plans to use the solar powered smart projector to inspire other young girls into agriculture in addition to generating income from showing videos and trainings.

has a certificate in journalism and media studies from Metropolitan Management Institute in Uganda. He is currently pursuing a diploma in Social Work and Social Administration from Metropolitan International University. Abdallah co-founded a community based organisation (CBO), Situka Youth Development Project in his community aiming at empowering individuals and transforming the community through capacity building and mind-set change. Due to good youth mobilisation strategies, Situuka has attracted more development partners to organise the youth into farmer groups. This led to the birth of Zirobwe Kalagala Youth Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd where Abdallah is currently working as the secretary. He is also a tomato and banana farmer, trader, volunteer and Socy Uganda and Luweero Policy Youth Advocacy Champion. His co-operative aims to be a one-stop centre for farmers in Luweero district and become a leading youth-led co-operative in agricultural value addition. He plans to use the smart projector to train the youth on reducing on money spent on buying agrochemicals but use it to grow crops organically.

Edward Sibeene is a young social and economic development professional and researcher with over three years’ experience in social science research. He also has over five years experience in fostering meaningful youth engagements in youth-led research. Edward holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Demography (with a focus on Research, Monitoring and Evaluation) with Development Studies (a focus on management and human development) from the University of Zambia. He is currently pursuing an MSc in Project Planning and Management at the Information and Communications University. Edward also holds certificates in information technology, business mathematics, communication skills, data management systems, community organising for action, management strategies for people and resources, and climate change mitigation. Since 2013, Edward has been actively involved in organising and facilitating community engagement workshops covering agribusiness, rural livelihoods and other developmental topics such as poverty reduction. Edward has extensive experience in community mobilisation, advocacy, conducting and organising focus group discussions. Currently, Edward is working at Chedic Associates as a Programs/Operations Associate.

Nomsa Shaba is pursuing a BSc in Agriculture Business Management at Mulungushi University. Nomsa is a 21-year-old student and farmer, rearing chickens and goats. Nomsa works together with Luckson in both businesses, as they were motivated to farming through their agribusiness lecturer. She is planning on training youths in organic farming to fight poverty and create jobs for them.