Our young entrepreneurs

With Fréjus as a team member is Abdoul-Wahab ADJIBI FATAOU. He is thirty-two years old and has a Master’s degree in Project Management and Monitoring. Abdoul-Wahab is a GIZ ProCIVA Business Coach and has been working with young entrepreneurs for a number of years.

is from Benin Republic. She is 29 years old and holds a Master’s degree in Agriculture majoring in Management of Natural Resources. She has 7 years working experience with farmers mostly with garden farmers who use chemical fertilisers which is a dominant practice in Benin rural areas. However, thanks to many projects, she has facilitated training farmers on many concepts regarding the use of organic fertilisers and nutrition. Clémence is passionate about agriculture and specifically about natural resource management and preservation. What motivated her to apply for being an ERA was to use the smart projector to build farmers’ capacity and develop a business out of this.

Read about the successes of Clémence here.

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.

is twenty- three (23) years old and holds a Master’s Degree in Food Process Bioengineering. She is a Member of the Ashoka Sahel Changemakers network, and an agronomist who wants to improve the livelihoods of women. Her vision is to contribute to a world where responsible agriculture is a reliable and viable source of food and income. Gloria is co-leading with a team the startup AgriPreciz which aims to provide to agricultural actors the knowledge and means to be agents of change to solve hunger and poverty issues in Africa, particularly in Benin, through responsible and sustainable agriculture.

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.

Read about the successes of Mori here.

is a young agripreneur from Benin Republic. He is twenty-five years old and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agro-food process Bioengineering. He has three years working experience as an agricultural extension agent and is the owner of Agro Fenix enterprise and general secretary of a farmers’ cooperative in his district (Cove). Mahutondji is one of the founders of a journal call” PLUME VERTE DE L'UNA”. His ambition is to be an inspiring agricultural entrepreneur who contributes to the development of his community through support and technical assistance.

Read about the successes of Mahutondji here.

is a post graduate engineering student holding a Bachelor of Engineering. He has also completed an online course on “Ecosystem Restoration” run by UNDP. He is the founding president of the Sustainable Ecosystem Development Association (SEDA). Ache has over four years’ experience in community mobilisation with SUSTAIN Cameroon, and 3 years experience in project writing and development, as well as 5 years of youth leadership with Full Gospel Mission Cameroon. He is a social entrepreneur who is passionate about ecosystem sustainability and community development. His ambition is to have natural and sustainable ecosystems with equitable distribution of resources for improved livelihoods within Cameroon.

holds a professional qualification diploma in Organic Agropastoralism and a training certificate in office automation and computer maintenance. Damals is an agricultural entrepreneur, he has been involved since 2021 in the organic production of crops such as black nightshade, pepper and cassava. In animal production he has been involved with pigs, rabbits and chickens. Damals likes a job well done, and knows that means hard work. He aims to become a leader in the production and processing of cassava in Cameroon.

is a graduate of a Research Master in Agricultural Extension, Innovation and Development and a Master II in Agronomy at the Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences (FASA) of the University of Dschang. She is an active member of Cooperative Main Verte, and has acquired experience in monitoring and evaluation of project at Pouga service SARL. Erika has conducted surveys of actors in the poultry value chain at the departmental delegation of MINEPIA Wouri where she participated in the collection and processing of data. For two years she has been a consultant at RECOSAF (an organisation that supports sustainable local development of villages in West Cameroon through agroecology, responsible tourism and fair trade), assisting in drafting projects, redirecting current projects and helping those seeking funding. Erika is dynamic, enthusiastic and passionate about what she does, and aims to encourage young people to understand that together we can grow and accomplish great things.

is an undergraduate student-teacher at the University of Bamenda, with two years teaching experience in Government Bilingual Primary School (GBPS) Gangong. He is currently serving as Secretary General with Sustainable Ecosystem Development Association (SEDA). He has been a Volunteer Community Mobiliser with SUSTAIN Cameroon for the past three years. His ambition is to become a community developer and global citizen.

holds a professional Master's degree in Environment and Conservation Measures, with an option environmental assessments and land use planning. He works as a Trainer for SADEA Cameroon (Synergies of Actions for Development and Education for All) as part of the Integrated Agriculture and Organic Beekeeping Development Project in West Cameroon (Pro DIAAB).

Guibert is determined, diligent and very ambitious and aspires to be a member of a United Nations organisation for sustainable development so as to make his contribution to global and African development.

is a community animator for SADEA Cameroon as part of the Integrated Agriculture and Organic Beekeeping Development Project in Western Cameroon (Pro DIAAB). He holds an Agricultural Operator diploma obtained from the Rural Training Center (CFR) of Bafang. Hans trains farmers in sustainable agricultural practices within SADEA Cameroon. He is passionate about agriculture and livestock and dreams of becoming one of the most prolific agro-pastoral entrepreneurs in his country.

holds a professional qualification certificate (CQP) in organic agropastoralism, has been in involved with poultry and pig production for two years. In view of her experiences in the practice of organic agropastoralism, she sets herself the challenge of impacting and sensitising those around her on the benefits of this practice for both the environment and human health. She is an active member of two cooperatives which deal exclusively in organic agropastoralism, and which aim to popularise the practices and sensitise young people to take a real interest in it and by showing them the benefits of self-employment.

is an agronomist by training with a specialty in Plant Production. He is an independent trainer specialising in agroecology and organic farming. He has conducted several training sessions, the most recent of which involve training on organic good agricultural practices (GAP) and production of organic inputs in partnership with the National Directorate of Education ( DNE) and Alternative for Sustainable Development (ADD). Patrick has also been involved in training of organic agropastoral advisers on the production and use of organic inputs, as part of the PROFOCAP project in partnership with the Evangelical University of Cameroon. This aims to offer ever more efficient organic agricultural training services integrating digital technology and is geared towards young people and women.

holds an Agronomic Engineering degree in Animal Production and Aquaculture as well as an MBA. She is an independent trainer since 2018. She has already conducted several trainings in partnership with the GIZ on different projects for example training producers on the School of Agricultural Entrepreneurship (FBS) and on Good Breeding Practices. In 2022, she led the training of agropastoral advisers in agroecology, a project carried out by the Evangelic University of Cameroon in partnership with other organisations. Ruth  is dynamic and ambitious and wishes to teach others that organic farming is a profession of the future and essential for the environment.

holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and has two years of experience in teaching accounting, marketing, business maths, law and government in Harvard Anglo-Saxon College Yaounde. She has carried out three months internship in Alamandum Community Credit and Savings (ALACCS) and Bamenda Regional Treasury. Her ambition is to improve the financial status of people living below the poverty line and increase financial independence in her community.

LifeVision NGO focus its work on marginalised communities, especially women and youth, providing them with the tools necessary to improve their agricultural practices through farmer field schools, sustainable agricultural practices and producing agricultural videos. Abeer Adly has worked with them since 2013 and has gained extensive experience in managing and facilitating farmer field schools. Neema AbdelMessih, Marola Youssef and Nora Samir are all coordinators of farmer field schools. Each of them is responsible for follow-up with 80-100 women and 2 farming villages and have been trained extensively by the NGO.

has more than 8 years’ experience in training and technical education. He has worked in several youth development projects to help youth develop skills to have better access to employment and a secure future. The team also includes Mohamed AbdelRahman and Mohamed AbdelSalam.

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.

has a degree in Business Administration and farms on his own piece of land. He is passionate about learning and sharing knowledge about new agricultural technologies and advancements with his neighbours and community to help provide a better standard of living amongst farmers.

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.

comes from Sohaj governorate in Upper Egypt. She is the founder of Sawa NGO in her local community in Assiut which supports small-scale farmers and their families. She started working on biogas projects linking clean energy production and improving soil fertility. She has trained over 2000 farmers. Asmaa has collaborated with many projects and organisations to provide much needed knowledge and new ideas in organic agriculture, health, education and community peace building.

has volunteered in many youth-led volunteer programs for the development of the local community, including community development and arts. The team also includes Mohamed Helal, Reda Ibrahim and Sara Gamal.

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.

Bader NGO is a youth organisation working in Awna village in Asyut Governate of Upper Egypt. Through it, Elham Ahmed and Ali Abdel Megid focus on agricultural community development and consider it a main pillar for personal and community development. Bader NGO does this by supporting projects with a sustainable development focus, in collaboration with government, civil society, and funding agencies.

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 worked in agricultural development since graduation. He worked as a development specialist in an NGO in a small rural village until he started working as projects manager with Eid Ala Eid Foundation, who work in most governorates in Upper Egypt. Together with his colleague Gamal Eid, they believe that there is a rich culture and resources, which needs to be used carefully and efficiently for a better future for Egyptian farmers.

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.

Marianna Zarif, along with Wafaa Rizk, Sabri Lahzi and Thanaa Fawaz all work with Local and Agricultural Community Development in Doweir NGO. They aim to increase small-scale farmers' livelihoods by increasing their revenues, encouraging export agriculture and growing women's role in agriculture. The NGO has worked in collaboration with many other organisations, including CARE and the Ministry of Irrigation.

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.

is finishing his degree in Development and has been trained in ICT technologies. He has volunteered with agricultural cooperatives and has implemented water saving solutions with their help. Working alongside him are Manal Hafez (Agricultural Engineer at the Agricultural Research Center), AbdelRahman Ahmed (farmer) and Hagar Ouda (Accounting student). The team strives to develop farmers' skills in implementing new technologies and bettering their livelihoods through added value businesses.

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.

comes from Sohaj governorate in Upper Egypt and has a BSc in Agricultural Science. She graduated with a passion for promoting organic farming in her community. Olfat has collaborated with many development projects and trained over 2000 farmers on good agricultural practices in soil fertility, irrigation, fruit farming and animal production. She is an active field person and her time is spent with group training as well as one-to-one field visits to help farmers with their organic farming as well as harvesting and processing techniques to increase their income.

s from Fayoum governorate in Upper Egypt. She is the co-owner and board director for Egypt’s first farmer-registered company “Ard El Tayeba” for the export of medicinal and aromatic plants. Her company brings farmers together and supports the growth of their enterprises for farming, sun-drying, storage and access to finance. She sees the need for farmers to access knowledge on organic farming practices and to improve their product quality for export, but also to promote improved farming practices for the sake of community health and environmental protection.

has worked in development since 2003 and strives to enhance the livelihoods and increase awareness of side-lined communities. The team includes Hamada AbdelNazir Sabet, Azza Sayed and Shaymaa Mahmoud. The NGO Afdal (Better) for Community Development was founded by the team to provide services to these communities in a formal manner. They focus on bettering the livelihoods of small-scale farmers by helping them increase production. The NGO has worked with many funding agencies, including USAID, UN and Save the Children.

has a BSc in Agricultural Sciences and works with farmers on organic agriculture practices and with rural women on sun-drying methods for fruit, vegetables and medicinal and aromatic plants. She is based in Aswan governorate in Upper Egypt and travels great distances to work with farmers in lands around Lake Nasser. She has collaborated with many projects and NGOs working in agricultural extension and has trained over 200 rural women groups. Her past work has focused on helping farmers with composting, vermicomposting, integrated pest management to improve their incomes and enhance their work skills.

is a field coordinator for IDAM's project, 'Supporting small-scale farmers'. The project and NGO focus on small-scale farmers, who own two fedans or less, and support them in increasing their production and diversifying their crops. Sami has worked for agricultural cooperatives. He also enjoys working with children and teaching them about agriculture.

is currently working as coordinator and field officer at Janajivan MACS, a farmer producer organisation in Nallacheruvu that empowers youth, women, children and farmers on the benefits of agriculture. She plans to use the smart projector as a visual learning tool to demonstrate ecological practices in rural communities during field visits and develop the business of Farmer Producer Organisations by empowering consumers and producers.

graduated in Agricultural Science in 2016 and has been working with various organisations and farming communities to develop a sustainable and agro-ecological model of agriculture in Andhra Pradesh. Currently he is a member of WASSAN organisation which is working on developing replicable and scalable institutional models, agro-ecological planning tools, capacity-building models and incentive mechanisms to promote sustainable agriculture in India. His ambition is to train and impart knowledge to communities using smart projectors that will help them practice agro-ecological farming methods to combat climate change and global warming.

is from Jangampalli, Kadapa District, Andhra Pradesh and has a strong foundation in traditional agriculture practices. He graduated from Punjab Rao Deshmukh Krushi Vidhyapeeth, Akola (P.D.K.V) university with BSc in Agriculture. Currently he is working as Programme Officer - Agriculture (Production/Training) in Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA), working with Farmer Producer Organisation’s in agriculture production and the development of organic /natural farming package of practices. Through his organisation he aims to create awareness of sustainable practices to farmers through training, rallies, exposure visits, community level demonstrations, group meetings and video dissemination in villages.

Jasmine was born and brought up in a small farming family and graduated with a BA Arts. She has done a lot of awareness work on health and nutrition of school children, women and especially pregnant women. Since 2019 she has been volunteering at the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA) promoting organic/natural farming and nutrient gardens/kitchen gardens in her village in Panchayat. She started Bio Enterprise 2 years ago with help from her husband and technical support from CSA, to promote and organise farmers towards organic farming.  With the smart projector she wants to create awareness and promote organic/natural farming practices.

has been with Sabala NGO for 5 years working with tribal people to assist with forming Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs). She works in Vizianagaram District, her main emphasis is to assist farmers to carry out Natural Farming.

As her work involves giving training and conducting meetings on the benefits of natural farming, she wants to make use of the smart projector to show farmers how to do organic farming at low cost and still be able to get high returns.

has been working with Sabala NGO for 5 years on the formation of Farmer Producer Organisations, training and conducting meetings on the benefits of organic farming. She wants to use the smart projector to educate farmers on how to do organic farming with less investment and higher returns.

works with farmers who are in Self-Help Groups and Farmers’ Clubs, conducting meetings with young farmers, screening videos, imparting training and creating awareness to adopt natural farming with less investment so as to earn more income. He also provides training on how to market as a group. Through using the smart projectors, he wants to make farmers more aware of the benefits of organic farming.

has been working in BSI (Business Service Information) MACS (Mutual Aided Cooperative Society) as an operator in Vikarabad District, Telangana state for 7 years. She helps farmers by supplying good quality seeds, local variety seeds, implementing agricultural techniques, participating in farmer meetings and providing information about rainfall patterns amongst others. She is very keen in helping farmers through using the smart projector by screening the videos.

has over 15 years of experience working with farmers.  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 next 3 years, under RRACP (Revitalizing Rainfed Agriculture Conference Programme) he continued to help farmers develop farmer groups and this continued under APPI (Azeem Premji Philanthropic Initiatives) and others, helping the groups to get loans. With the smart projector he intends to continue to help farmers by showing practical videos in local languages.

has been working at SVDS NGO which is a community-based organisation since 2015 as a team leader and has extensive experience in managing and facilitating Farmer Field Schools and sustainable agriculture. He has over 8 years experience working with mostly tribal farmers and marginal farmers and the Millet Sisters who are doing organic farming. He is a trainer and has been using his skills to train farmers on biodiversity conservation and bio inputs, nutrient preparation and use. Naidu is passionate about organic agriculture, especially natural resource management and conservation.

has been working at SVDS NGO as a “Master Sangamithra” for 3 years with Susag Millets Sisters. As such he strengthens, mobilises and motivates the FPO members, helps them with getting loans and trains them on natural farming practices.

He intends to use the smart projector and the Access Agriculture videos to improve farmers knowledge.

has an MA in Economics and was determined to work in the community. Since 2017 she has been working at Susag Millet Sisters FPO as a Community Education Officer. She is very happy working in this FPO as it has enabled her to create awareness about organic agriculture with a large number of farmers. She is keen to use the smart projector to enable farmers to get more income by adopting natural farming.

is working at Vikasa NGO as a field officer for natural farming. He helps to motivate 800 farmers to do natural farming and supports them by forming Farmer Producer Organisations to help with their marketing.

completed her degree in Bachelor of Commerce and then started working in Vikasa NGO in 2014. This NGO runs a thrift society called Vikasa MACTS and Hemalatha is working as a field officer and accountant there. She works with tribal farmers to help them save and disburse savings at low interest and create awareness about organic farming. With smart projector she wants to help farmers 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.

has a BSc in Computer Studies and is facilitating project activities at village level in Adivasamitra organisation where she is involved with facilitation and mobilisation. Her work includes working with vulnerable members of the community. For the future she will be involved in plans to expand organic farming and setting up a model farm, including using the smart projector.

works in Alluri Seethararaju District of Andhra Pradesh. She has worked closely with tribal farmers for the past 28 years, creating awareness and motivating the farmers to practice Natural Farming.

is facilitating project activities at village level in Adivasamitra organisation. Her responsibilities include community mobilisation, organising meetings, training community members, creating awareness and promoting skills, identifying grievances and assisting the community in redressal through government departments.

She also identifies the vulnerable members of the community and applies for suitable programs in the project as well as government schemes. For the future she has targeted to expand organic farming in 15 villages, especially on mushroom cultivation, developing a nursery and a model farm.

has been working for Adivasamitra organisation for over 7 years. He received training on organic farming techniques from ZPNF and RYSS and has achieved in converting 100 families to practice natural farming. In future, he aims to bring organic farming to hundreds more unskilled farmers and help develop mushroom cultivation together with marketing facilities so as to bring income to communities.

His passion for entrepreneurship started when he was a student following a conference in 2017. While working in collaboration with his associates, he co-founded the start-up “Fang Group” (specializing in the design and implementation of agricultural projects). He became a student-entrepreneur and joined the Entrepreneurship Club of INP-HB (Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët Boigny de Yamoussoukro) where he is the Community Manager since 2018. After obtaining his diploma in Agricultural Engineering, he joined the company Société Africaine de Plantations d'Hévéas (SAPH) where he is currently working as a phytopathologist while at the same time continuing his entrepreneurship projects to help his community.

holds a diploma in Agriculture and Biotechnology from Bukura Agricultural College and has participatory certificates for courses on permaculture, bio-fertilisers and bio-dynamic Agriculture. He has worked with Seed Saver’s Network as an Agricultural Extension Officer. Currently, he is a farmer trainer in biodiversity conservation at Slow Food Kenya at the same time he is the coordinator for Slow Food Youth Network in Kenya and a communication person for the same network in Africa. Elphas is also a Green Ambassador for Climate in Africa Programme at Climate Change Africa Opportunities (CCAO) in addition to being a country representative for the Association of Social Media Professional (ASMP). Elphas is a true environmental activist and coordinates several community clean-up and tree planting activities in Kenya. He recently campaigned to stop littering roads by walking 70Kms of the Nakuru-Nairobi highway to create awareness of the problem. He plans to use the smart projector to facilitate his field training activities at Slow Food especially in rural areas that have limited access to electricity and internet.

holds a diploma in IT and has taken courses on Business and Design, Data Analysis and Management, Civic Leadership, Smart Farming and Organic Farming. He is completing a Diploma in Project Management from Coast Institute of Technology (CIT). He has a hands-on experience in organic farming as well as field experience.
Currently, he is the founder and project manager at Inua-biz Kenya, a community-based organisation that trains youth to start-up and manage enterprises. He is a lead representative for Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) in Taita, Taveta County.
Christopher plans to use the smart projector to facilitate field training activities for Inua-biz Kenya especially in rural areas that have limited access to electricity and internet, and address challenges related to environment, food security and modern farming techniques in his community.

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.

holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce - Human Resource from Kenyatta University. She is currently working as an administrator and field officer at Community Sustainable Agriculture and Healthy Environmental Program (CSHEP) Kenya. CSHEP empowers youth, women, children and indigenous people on the benefits of agroecology. She plans to use the smart projector as a visual learning tool to showcase agroecological practices in her rural community and during her field work activities at CSHEP.

obtained a Diploma in Agriculture in 2015. Brian developed a passion in Crop trading, before joining the Ministry of Agriculture as an Extension Officer. This created an opportunity of collaborating with local farmers to search for viable markets and to sell their produce in bulk. After observing some market failures in crop trading in 2017 he embarked on value addition. He co-founded "Zafarm Group" together with his colleagues Alexander Kadyampakeni and Erick Anafi. Alexander is the finance and human resource manager, while Erick is the operations manager. Zafarm Group works with farmers in peanut butter production and sausage making. Their vision is to impart the necessary entrepreneurial skills in local farmers and entire communities, so that they view agriculture as a viable business that can transform their lives and consider it as a drive to economic growth of Malawi. The smart projector will be another tool to move their vision to reality.

is a member of Ubunthu Go Green a Mangochi based youth club along with colleagues MacDonald Mthaphwi, Francina Hante, Austin Phiri and Luka Bulla. Ubunthu Go Green provides advisory services to smallholder farmer clubs. In-addition, it works with organisations like Arts and Documentaries Malawi to empower youths financially by engaging them in income generating activities like agriculture. Ubunthu Go Green aims to promote sustainable agriculture as it helps to improve livelihood of rural people and the smart projector will provide a great source of information on this for farmers.

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.

from Sourthen Malawi in Nsanje district, started his business in 2011. Initially he sold movie DVDs and music CDs in markets around the district and remote areas. However in 2013 he realised his passion of copying music and videos into CDs and DVDs. In 2015 he started working with Access Agriculture and his business grew to provide not only movies, but also agriculture videos to farmers. When farmers buy a phone and a memory card from his shop, he is able to put on videos from Access Agriculture. Overtime, he has seen an increase in interest for the videos from farmers. The smart projector will enable him to spread good agriculture practices across communities in Nsanje. He is hoping to reach more than more than 1000 farmers. Finiyasi hopes farmers will learn new techniques to increase yield, reduce post-harvest losses and utilise different seasons for cultivation. The smart projector will not only assist in spreading agricultural messages, but will also be used to spread information on health, gender and human rights from other organisations.

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.

is from M’bang’ombe in Lilongwe District. Grace’s parents are farmers and she started showing interest in agriculture at a young age. Currently, she is in her final year of secondary education. At 17 she joined a club developed by Total Land Care in her village which aims to teach farmers more sustainable farming practices. The club performs drama called Muulimi muli Phindu (which means “farming is profitable”) in the surrounding communities. Besides her other responsibilities as a secretary, she is also responsible for mobilising youths to join the club. Grace is working with a team of three other colleagues - Binfred Mthambala, Kambeni Chimtolo and Precious Chimangiro. Together they aim for farmers to learn better ways of farming in a short period of time through seeing videos from across the world, but most importantly, hearing them in their own language.

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.

has been operating a video burning centre on the outskirts of Lilongwe for many years. He now is able to reach remote villages where electricity is a challenge with a Smart Projector and show the “farmer to farmer” videos in Chichewa language. He says people still come to request the Access Agriculture videos at his burning centre, but he is able to reach many more people with the video shows.

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.

has a Bachelor of Science in Human Science and Community Services obtained from Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR). Sam has worked as an Associate Lecturer in Nutrition and Food Security at Vision College of Management and as a Science teacher at Biazo Private secondary school. Sam has also worked in Food and Nutrition and Agriculture Gender Roles Extension Support Services (AGRESSO) as an intern for three years. Through this experience, he realised his passion to reach more youth and women for access to agricultural extension messages and become Agri-entrepreneurs to satisfy food security and livelihood needs, the smart projector will help him realise this passion.

is 25 years old and holds an MBA (Master of Business Administration) degree and a Bachelor’s in International Trade. He is currently an officer in charge of exterior relationship for JSM association (Jeunes Startups Maliens), that aims to promote youth entrepreneurship in Mali. Before co-founding this association, Aboubacar had worked as a humanitarian agent with Caritas in Oron, Algeria. This experience motivated him to start up JSM association. His ambition is to help the association become one of best enterprises in Mali that builds capacity among farmers and young entrepreneurs.

is a young Malian passionate about agriculture. He has a Master’s degree in geography but has built his knowledge on agriculture through various trainings that led him to Burkina-Faso and Cassamance (Senegal). He wants to establish his farm in Moti region and develop a business model with farmer’s organisations by training them on organic agriculture using videos. Aliou’s ambition is to have in Moti region an organic agriculture centre where farmers can be trained.

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 agricultural engineer who after his graduation worked for Tambaroua farming enterprise. There he was responsible for training students in the Sakolar centre and supervising the agricultural activities of the enterprise. Currently, Fainke is the founder and the manager of Koolfarmer. Koolfarmer is a start-up which has developed an innovative web platform for the sale of vegetables and fruit. It also provides services to farmers by building their capacity through training and facilitating access to seed and organic fertilisers. Fainke’s ambition is to build farmers’ resilience and enhancing their livelihoods.

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 man from Mali who holds a Master’s degree in Science of Education. Mamadou is a service provider to farmers. He builds farmers’ capacity and facilitates access to agricultural inputs, tractor services and markets. He is passionate about the rural world and he wants to promotion organic agriculture throughout Mali.

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.

is a young Malian entrepreneur, 29 years old, who holds an MBA in Organisation Management. She is a Co-founder and CEO of Herou Alliance Sarl enterprise. This company, which employs 5 people, aims chiefly at promoting and trading organic moringa products through an inclusive value chain that integrates women and young farmers in Mali. The enterprise has developed a business model which provides technical assistance to its target audience and transforms them into suppliers of organic moringa products. The technical assistance is not only for moringa, but for other cereal crops as well. The enterprise has been working with 80 youth and woman farmers in Baguineda zone, where a nursery has been set up of 5,100 moringa plants. Roakitou’s ambition is not only to possess at least one million plants of moringa by 2025, but to develop other activities alongside through video trainings. Thanks to her initiatives, the company has been a winner of several programs such as West African Program of Climate Leadership for Women, One planet fellowship, African Innovation Fellowship, Young African Leadership Initiative, Young Innovation Lab and Women Act West Africa. Rokiatou’s leadership has resulted in her being nominated as a Green Ambassador for Climate in Africa.

Abdelilah comes from El Rashidia. He is an agronomist and founder of a farmer agricultural consultancy called ''Tashheel'' which supports farmers through agricultural advice, training, finance, equipment and marketing. He promotes organic farming practices through seminars, farmer field schools and individual farm visits, as well as on social media. His work focuses on providing better economic opportunities for farmers and developing profitable ecological models, especially in the palm tree sector.

Jihad is from Tiflit, he and his wife Abeer are the founders of "Facyla Ecological Farm". They demonstrate there the important benefits of agroforestry, seed saving and living soil to produce vegetables, fruits, medicinal and aromatic plants and poultry, while preserving water and biodiversity. Training is held on their farm with practical demonstrations but also with farmers across the country to support their transition to ecological methods. Jihad also works on producing videos to show the benefits of ecological farming to wider audiences.

Idriss is from Tiznit. He is the founder of a youth-led company called ''Igrino'' for the production and marketing of ecological products. It also offers agricultural services to help ecological farmers with irrigation, tree pruning, fencing, seed saving, poultry raising and vegetable production. Idriss has his own ecological farm that he uses to host training and exchanges to promote agriculture to young people in his region. He supports beginners who want to start ecological farming and create income-generating enterprises in organic farming.

is from Marrakech. He is the founder of a farmer-led association called “Friends of Organic Farming” and is also a trainer. With a degree in ecology and environmental management, he promotes organic farming methods and local seed production. His organisation supports the establishment of food gardens, nurseries, beekeeping, composting and poultry production. He is eager to work with farmers and rural women but also to create programmes for children and students.

has been a facilitator at the Early Childhood Care and Development Center (ECCD) in Kablewa with Plan International Diffa. In 2020, he participated in a training programme to learn video editing in Diffa. He now aims to become a leader in his community through video training.

holds a Bachelor's degree in Agronomy from the University of Diffa. He has participated in several training courses including on leadership and entrepreneurship. He aims to pass on his knowledge and professional experience to his community.

has a Master’s degree in Biodiversity and Management of the Sudanese and Sahelian-Saharan Environment (BGESSS) from the Dan Dicko Dankoulodo University of Maradi. He is a teacher at the General Education College of Sayam, and previously was a facilitator at ANIMAS-SUTURA in the municipality of Agadez. He is both a rice producer and poultry farmer, he aims to become a model entrepreneur in the Diffa region.

holds a Bachelor's degree in Environment and Ecology with an option on fishing and management of aquatic resources. He has undergone various trainings in ICT and entrepreneurship, among others. Moussa aims to become a great entrepreneur in his community.

holds a Bachelor’s degree in Statistics Applied to Economy from INES-Ruhengeri in Rwanda. He has worked as a volunteer at Save the Children in Mahama Refugee Camp where he acquired skills on personal development as well as learning English as a second language. Angelo has also participated in Rwanda Organic Agriculture Movement (ROAM) training for promoting organic agriculture. He works with refugee farmers in Kirehe district to enhance productivity and improve the livelihoods of the farmers. Angelo plans to use the smart projector to show videos on organic farming practices that can be done by farmers to produce food with quality to improve their nutrition and hopefully so they can earn additional income from sales.

holds a Bachelor’s degree of science in Statistics Applied to Economy from INES-Ruhengeri in Rwanda. After graduation, he couldn’t find a job so he decided to join his fellow Burundian refugees residing in Mahama camp to start simple indigenous farming activities. He later had an opportunity to partcipate in training conducted by Rwanda Organic Agriculture Movement (ROAM) where he attained skills and knowledge related to sustainable organic farming and environmental conservation methods that can be used in rural areas. After training, Prosper and Angelo started up a youth cooperative in the camp to grow tomatoes. With the smart projector, he plans to use Access Agriculture farmer-to-farmer videos to teach his fellow youth refugees and other farmers on best organic and agroecological practices which in turn may improve their cooperative tomato business productivity.

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.

has Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy attained from the University of Rwanda. He is currently working as a Food and Drugs Port of Entry Inspection Specialist at Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority. During days off and at weekends, he spends most of his time in rural community-based project development. He co-founded Uruhimbi Kageyo Cooperative (UKC) which deals in training farmers on growing hydroponic fodder for their animals. Sylvestre is also the president of the supervising council for Rwanda Village Community Promoters (RVCP). He hopes that his team at UKC will gain substantial capacity to train more farmers at less cost using the smart projector farmer-to-farmer videos.

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 an Accountant by profession, holding a Bachelor’s degree in science of accounting attained from the University of Rwanda College of Business and Economics. He has furthered his knowledge through various trainings and internship related to accounting. In 2020, Theoneste joined the Nutrition Advisory Council Rwanda Ltd (NAC Rwanda) as an internee, after 6 months he became their Finance Manager. He has been closely working with field officers who normally face a challenge of lack of visual materials to train smallholder farmers to improve their crop productivity. At the same time, the marketing and production departments require quality raw materials from farmers to products that meet consumers’ preferences. This motivated him to apply for the smart projector which can show case farmer-to-farmer videos in Kinyarwanda and as it is solar powered it can be taken to rural areas where there is no electricity. The team looks forward to using the smart projector, a tool that will facilitate the work of field officers when training farmers on best organic and agroecological farming practices.

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.

holds B.Sc. in Food Science and Technology in Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), University of Rwanda. He is a social entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Nutrition Advisory Council Rwanda Ltd (NAC Rwanda), a youth led community-based organization, which aspire food security worldwide through a sustainable agriculture value chain for improving nutrition and food security for smallholder farmers. Jean Felix also does consultancy jobs related to good Agriculture practices and post-harvest losses management among other practices. He is also among the workshop organizers for Journalism for Sustainable Biodiversity Conservation and Natural Resource Management in Southern Rwanda. He plans to use the smart projector in conducting field training with NAC Rwanda suppliers and recruit new farmers who are based in rural areas where his team could not reach due to lack of tools. With a solar powered smart projector that consists of farmer-to-farmer videos in local languages, he is very optimistic that this will lead to cost saving for his company but also improve knowledge for smallholder farmers.

is 28 years old and holds a Master’s degree in Agroforestry. He is currently a doctorate student but also the founder of Or-Durable enterprise. This organisation has a team of 7 people and aims not only to produce and sell compost to farmers but also to build their capacity. It was the promotion of organic agriculture using organic fertiliser that led Mamadou to create his enterprise. His ambition is to make his enterprise one of the key players in Senegal for compost production.

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 29 and a young entrepreneur. He has a Professional Aptitude Certificate (Certificat d’Aptitude Professionnelle) in horticulture and currently is responsible for training at Waidemha company de Louga. The company operates in many fields of which the most important are horticulture and the environment. The smart projector will help to improve the quality of training they can offer. Before joining Waidemha company, Pape Tolibouya worked with a number of enterprises including SCL (Société de Culture Légumière), SEEN FRAISE enterprise and TAARU ASKAN society. His ambition is to have one of biggest companies in horticulture in Senegal.

Colile is a dynamic and passionate agricultural advisor and mentor, holding a Bachelor's degree in Agribusiness Management (Honours). With her African Entrepreneurial Action for Others Certificate in community engagement, Basic Principles of engine repairs, and completion of a course in agricultural contracting, she is well-equipped to empower farmers with skills and resources.

Colile gained invaluable experience during a two-year placement funded and facilitated by Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs. She worked in various roles, including general farm worker, Project Manager, Strategic Planner, Farm Manager, and Office Administrator. The farm she worked on was 52 hectares and housed 77 cattle, over 100 goats, and had a primary vegetable farming area of over 1 hectare. In addition, they bred fish for ornamental purposes.

Colile is the Director of Imbwewu Seed Supply, this company supplies indigenous grain crops like cow peas, bambara groundnut and mungbean. She also provides assistance in animal and plant production, along with report writing. Colile has successfully established a roadside market to support local farmers, and she envisions its growth into a local fresh produce market spot. She has also developed training materials and conducted business skills workshops to empower people in plant production and primary agriculture.

Colile is fluent in English, Xitsonga, SiSwati, and Tshivenda, enabling her to effectively communicate and engage with a diverse range of individuals and communities.

Through her expertise, dedication, and commitment to empowering farmers, Colile is making a substantial impact in the agricultural sector, contributing to the growth and development of local communities.

Thamari Mirriam Dlamini is a dedicated and accomplished professional and a passion for innovation and technology in agriculture. She has a Bachelor’s Degree with Honours in Physics and brings a solid foundation of scientific knowledge, research and analytical skills, to her role as Innovation and Technology Officer at Imbewu Seed Supply.

Thamari firmly believes in the power of information dissemination for community sustainability. She sees technology, particularly the smart projector, as a tool to attract and inspire youth towards agriculture.By exposing them to innovative gadgets, she aims to ignite their entrepreneurial spirit and interest in the agricultural sector. She envisions that the economic flow within the community will improve as the revenue generated from events showcasing the capabilities of the smart projector can be reinvested to support other local entrepreneurs.

Thamari is passionate about merging innovation, technology, and agriculture to make a positive impact in the industry. Her goal is to promote sustainable practices and inspire the next generation of farmers through her expertise and dedication.

David Letsoalo is from Limpopo Province. He holds a Diploma in Project Management. David developed a passion for farming in 2011 through Mr Manamela, is a community activist dedicated to agriculture and food sustainability. David then started attending workshops and skills training through various networking organisations and government institutions of agriculture. This created an opportunity to engage with local community-based farmers to share and transfer skills and to sell their produce to potential markets. This in turn led to the registration in 2013 of an organisation called Tswaranang Youth and Community Development. The organisation works with farmers on crop planting and vegetable farming of tomatoes, potatoes, cabbages and butternut squash. They also help farmers in checken and egg production, as well as production of chillies for making chilli sauce. The aim and vision is to create access to necessary agricultural information and skills for local farmers and entire communities of rural Limpopo so they can view agriculture as a viable business that can transform their lives. The smart projector will add an advantage to move focus to the reality of food safety and quality and ultimately make communities self-sustained with knowledge about food security.

Dineo Kgatle is from Limpopo Province. She works as an administrator at Tswaranang Youth and Community Development. She studied office administration in Business Management. Dineo is a young dedicated female youth with a passion for community development. She works with other local farmers on funding applications and recruitment of youth and women in backyard farming projects in the communities. Dineo works together with David Letsoalo in both businesses, as they were motivated through their passion for farming. She is planning to teach and train vulnerable groups (youth, women and child headed families) in organic farming to alleviate poverty and create sustainable job opportunities.

was born and raised in a farming family in the rural area of Dininkosi near Libode in Eastern Cape. He has a strong background knowledge of many farming practices. He graduated with a Diploma in Farming Management from King Hintsa Technical and Vocational Education Training college and is currently an agricultural student at Central University of Technology (CUT) on an agricultural extension course. He is deputy chairperson for Youth in Agriculture and Rural Development (YARD) that empowers youth and farmers on the benefits of agriculture. Indiphile is planning to use the smart projector as a visual learning tool to show other agricultural practices in his rural communities and to develop the business of learner and student assistance by equipping them in different careers. He also wants to equip farmers with knowledge on how to do organic farming at a low cost and get good profits.

Holds a Master’s degree in environmental education. Lwazi started “Nolali wase Dolophini”, a private company that contributes to rural development as well as youth and childhood development through research, consulting, training and development in agriculture and the arts. She looks forward to using the smart projector to train rural farmers in agroecological practices and to explore the use of digital learning as a catalytic rural development

attended several short courses and seminars on agriculture. He has had diverse experiences in multiple sectors of community activities and advocacy for development in the villages. Since 2012 he has been the Executive Secretary of Inua Jamii Group (Lifting-Up the Community Group) which operates in the Greater Mahale Ecosystem (GME) - a remote area with little electricity and access to internet. This makes dissemination of knowledge through videos very difficult but is where the smart projector can be used to great effect. Asheri is using the videos to promote the use of sustainable agriculture as current unsustainable agricultural practices in the Greater Mahale Ecosystem are causing problems with soil erosion leading to decreased soil fertility and reduced crop yields.

has a bachelor’s degree in Aquaculture from Sokoine University of Agriculture. While at university, Gabriel set up a consultancy firm, Blue Aquaculture Tanzania (BAT) with Salma Makungu. After graduation, they couldn’t find jobs so they decided to continue their business by providing extension services to farmers in aquaculture on the mainland and in Zanzibar. He plans to use the smart projector to improve the efficiency of the firm’s training actitivities by demonstrating practical visual farmer-to-farmer videos to the fish farmers in Morogoro region.

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 Arts in Tourism and Cultural Heritage Management from the University of Dodoma. Lilian has also been on courses on agribusiness, leadership, gender and entrepreneurship innovation from Sokoine University of Agriculture and Michigan State University in USA. She is the CEO & Co-founder for Lilany Greenpro Business Co. Ltd based in Tanzania which deals in producing and processing of African bird eye chili for export and other horticulture crops for local consumption. Most of their produce are outsourced from rural based small holder farmers which include youth and women. They train these out-growers in different agronomic practices and smart climatic resilience agriculture principles. Lilian believes that she will save time and money by using the smart projector to train the out-growers especially on organic and agroecological practices.

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.

holds a bachelor’s degree in Aquaculture from Sokoine University of Agriculture. She has worked as a volunteer field officer at Mwambao/Marine and Coastal Community Conservations Ltd (MCCC). After a long search for a formal job, Salma decided to restore the consultancy firm she had set up with Gabriel while at university. Currently, she works with fish farmers in Morogoro region to improve their practices for increased productivity and improve the livelihoods of the farmers. She plans to use the smart projector to showcase videos on fish farming practices and other crops that can be grown by fish farmers to reduce their dependency on aquaculture and to improve their nutrition.

holds a bachelor’s degree in Project Planning, Management and Community Development from the University of Dodoma in Tanzania. He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Monitoring and Evaluation from the Open University of Tanzania. He is also working as a Project Officer at Mtandao wa Vikundi vya Wakulima na Wafugaji Kilimanjaro (MVIWAKI) Tanzania, which facilitates capacity building initiatives to farmers and pastoral groups in the Kilimanjaro region by supporting extension services and advocating for sustainable agriculture through agro-ecological and organic farming practices mostly to women and young people. He is also involved in advocacy issues such as human rights and gender equality, environmental sustainability, access to market information and ICT for farmers. Stephano is passionate about promoting organic agriculture and sustainable farming practices to farmer groups. As a member of Slow Food International, Stephano is working with other members to promote farmers’ seeds and food systems through community and school gardens to ensure good, clean and safe food. He sees the smart projector as a proper visual means of promoting organic farming practices to farmers’ groups in the northern parts of Tanzania. He also plans to use the smart projector to show farmer-to-farmer training videos while conducting field work activities with MVIWAKI members and other farmers within his community.

Faouzia comes from Gabes, she is the founder of the El Mandara, providing consulting for agricultural training and services focusing on agroecology. She works with farmers to develop their rural enterprises and find project finance from public bodies. Faouzia is also working on setting up a network of model farms to demonstrate agroecological practices, she also develops income-generating ideas in agriculture and fish farming. One of her passions is raising awareness in her community to improve soil and irrigation while protecting the ecology of the local oasis in collaboration with local NGOs.

Haneen is from Sidi Bouzeid, she is a member of the Victory Association for Rural Women Empowerment which focuses on strengthening rural women's organisations and empowering them to be in legal structures and marketing their agricultural products. She supports rural women with access to knowledge and finance from public bodies to help them start their collective enterprises while motivating them to use organic and environment-friendly practices in their work.

Salwa is an agronomist from Qibili in Southern Tunisia, an area known for date palms. She is a member of the association ‘Lovers of the Environment for Sustainable Development’. Salwa works to promote organic farming practices and is actively networking with civil society organisations to promote environmental and sustainable development.

is an agronomist from Qibili in Southern Tunisia, an area known for date palms. She is a member of the association ‘Lovers of the Environment for Sustainable Development’. It supports small scale farmers and enhances their economic empowerment by delivering agriculture extension services, especially for date palm growers. Marwa has trained over 200 farmers and works to promote organic farming practices. She actively networks with civil society organisations to promote environmental and sustainable development. 

Maha is part of the Tunisian Permaculture Association which supports farmers to transition towards agroecology and linking them to consumer groups through Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS). She leads the field visits and markets to support farmers with technical knowledge and raise awareness among consumers on healthy food in addition to preserving traditional foods. Maha runs workshops and outreach events across Tunisia that promote local seed saving, ecological farming, product development and marketing directly to consumer groups.

is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture (BSc Argic). He holds a diploma in animal production and management and a certificate in general agriculture. Charles has worked for several NGOs and volunteered with local government. Currently, he is running a project of black soldier ant farming and feed formulation for livestock in northeastern and eastern region of Uganda. He is also a commercial beekeeper and offers consultancy in various aspects in agri-business projects.

Charles is self-driven with a passion for agriculture with the overall goal of transforming local communities to have sustainable livelihood for both food security and commercial benefits.

grew up on his family farm and had the opportunity to have hands on training in agriculture skills and lessons with his family. From there he developed his passion for agriculture.
Later he graduated in Agriculture from Uganda Martyrs University. He has had years of experience working in agronomy and livelihoods. His experience includes working at World Vision Uganda in the area of environment. He is now actively involved in showing video programmes for rural farmers and refugees from south Sudan and Congo in refugee settlements in the West Nile region of Uganda. The training is mostly for vegetables, field crops and environmental protection. The participants are really embracing the new technologies and implementing them at their own household gardens and fields.

While in college, Canary Ahabwe started working with his father on a family project as a project record manager. It was through doing this, he was inspired to study Agriculture. He made enough savings during school breaks to enable him to study an agricultural course at Rwentanga Agricultural Institute in Uganda where he obtained a National Certificate of Agriculture. Towards completion of the course, Ahabwe was among the selected students to join Agrostudies in Israel for a Diploma in Applied Agriculture and a Certificate in Irrigation. While in Israel, Canary got hands-on training from Marina Tevapost Israel which deals in mushroom production and packaging. On returning to Uganda, he started AgroMush where as managing director he transferred his knowledge obtained in Israel to Uganda’s context. Through this entity, Ahabwe has been in position to grow his own mushrooms and sell packed products through supermarkets in western and central Uganda. He has also trained more young farmers to add mushroom to their farming enterprises so as to diversify their sources of income. Canary looks forward to attaining a smart projector which will simplify his team’s training activities and facilitate them in reaching more youth in their local communities. The farmers supplying mushrooms will be able to access videos on other crops that can be grown in limited spaces using sustainable agroecology practices which will diversify their sources of income.

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.

is a young mother, leader, farmer and an entrepreneur. She completed ordinary school level with a Uganda Certificate Education (U.C.E) from Bulemezi Senior Secondary School. Unfortunately, she became pregnant before joining college and she was forced to drop out of school. Nevertheless, Teddy has not given up with her dreams regardless of her education level. As a single parent, she has set up a mobile money retailing business and she grows maize and bananas so as to earn a living. Teddy is also the current vice chairperson for Zirobwe Kalagala Youth Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd. This position has nurtured her to speak out and share opportunities and platforms with men and women of influence. Her mission in this co-operative is to become the chairperson and later become women councillor for her district as a political leader. Teddy advises women to actively participate in all value chains of agriculture and she always reminds the girls to take up every opportunity to focus on completing their education instead of hanging out with “bad boys” while at school. Teddy plans to use the smart projector to increase on the percentage of the co-operative members who are transiting from conventional to organic farming.

holds a certificate in General Agriculture and a Diploma in Animal Production and Management. She acts as Finance officer for JELM-T-HUB YOUTH FARMERS group which together with fellow team members James and Francis supports young farmers in the greater Karamoja and Moroto municipality. It is this group that inspired them to apply for the Smart Projector. Eunice is currently working with PAGE-KIDEP as a Project Officer for a project directly involved with communities especially on improving the indigenous communities’ lives through establishing different farmer groups, youth, women and PWD groups in Moroto District and the sub-counties of Nadunget, Rupa, and Loputuk. She is also currently the marketing manager at Jemoz Media and Languages translators Hub Karamoja (JEL-T-HUB KJA) where she practices her entrepreneurial skills like music and business marketing with experiences of language translations, video coverage, photography, audio recording and production, and business and music promotions. Eunice has worked with humanitarian organisations including Caritas Moroto that works with Catholic Relief Services in the districts of Moroto and Napak. Here she participated in supervising farmers and training them on better agronomy practices and livestock immunisation. Eunice is really passionate about farming and agriculture and that has always been her key activity as a young person and an innovative woman.

is a passionate environmentalist and youth advocate. He comes from the Nabilatuk District in the extreme south of the Karamoja region. Frank is currently a member of the Working Group for Children and Youth on Environment in Uganda. He is also a youth champion under the YIYA 2022 champions’ award of FAO for youth influencers in Agriculture in Northern Uganda. 

Frank is Founder and Team Leader of KAYESE 256 (Karamoja Youth Effort to Save Environment), a community organisation championing environmental stewardship and youth empowerment in the region,. Through this social movement, he has been leading campaigns aiming at increasing forest cover in this semi-arid region.

Frank is also the regional coordinator for Youth Go Green Uganda, Earth Day Network (EDN) - Uganda, Youth and Advocate Network Uganda, Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN) Uganda, (YADNET), and a board member for YADNET Uganda.

Frank was the 2021 fellow for the #StandUp4Nature fellowship.

is a self-motivated farm manager at Kinano Organic Farm located in Luweero district in Uganda. As a mitigation measure to COVID-19 after-effects, her team sells vegetables produced on the farm via an online shop, Organo Basket. She holds a BSc (Hons) Degree in Agriculture from Makerere University. In 2018, she participated in International Training Course on Organic Agriculture (ITCOA) conducted by Go Organic in Eastern Uganda. She is a business partner and Agronomist at Farmer Investment Opportunities and Market (FIOM) Uganda, an Agribusiness consultancy and marketing company. Martha is also a focal point person for the Youth Agri-Investment Club (YAIC) project implemented by FIOM Uganda. YAIC project aims at inspiring and supporting the youth to engage in profitable farming businesses that conserve the environment. Before the Young Entrepreneur Challenge Fund competition, Martha had already been using Access Agriculture videos to train farm workers on how to make vermicompost among other practices. She is passionate about organic farming and sustainable development. Martha plans to use the smart projector to train farmers in the neighbourhood communities such that Kinano Organic Farm can meet the demand for their organically produced vegetables in Kampala.

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.

has a Diploma in Development Studies majoring in community development attained from Nsamizi Training Institute of Social Development. He is currently the manager for Zirobwe Kalagala Youth Multipurpose Co-operative Society Ltd and at the same time he manages activities at Amahoro Community Development Initiative. Moses and his friend, Abdallah Seryazi developed the idea of Situka Youth Development Project while visiting a village in Kalagala where they noted the need for improving the livelihoods of the youth. Moses resigned from his job and joined his friend to establish the CBO. Other stakeholders in the community joined them to for Zirobwe Kalagala Youth Multipurpose Co-operative Society Ltd. Moses has participated in entrepreneurship training and business incubation from different organisations. This has facilitated him to use limited resources to run the co-operative and also his poultry farm. He plans to use the smart projector to empower more youth with knowledge on sustainable agriculture.

is from the Karimojong tribe and most importantly is passionate about modern agricultural innovations and production techniques adoption by the rural communities to reduce or minimise incidences of food insecurity and malnutrition. He joined Busitema University for a Diploma in crop production and management and then after graduation worked for the Dry Land Integrated Development Project Karamoja (DIDPK) Millennium promise as the Senior Agricultural Community worker in Lotome Sub County. Whilst there he was very involved with agricultural extension service delivery.

In 2019 he went back to Busitema University Faculty of Agriculture and Animal Science for a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture. Whilst in his first and second year, Stephen balanced studies with managing Arecheck Mixed farm in Napak District. In his third year at the university he has been running a turkey production project as well as with two other Karamojong students doing a business of oyster mushroom production (fresh and dry) at the university farm for income generation.

fell in love with agriculture as a child. Whenever it rained he would support his mother and father in their garden and would sometimes go to graze animals. As he grew up the love and passion of agriculture also came out in his studies at school where he would end up with distinctions. His parents encouraged him to study agriculture, and he graduated with a Diploma in crop production and management from Busitema University. After university he wanted to cascade the knowledge he had gained to other farmers.  

For 5 years he worked with Warrior Squad Foundation in Kotido, where he was able to train farmers on how to establish gardens and make organic pesticides and compost. He then worked with Mercy Corps in Kaabong under the Apolou programme and Catholic Relief Services under the DINU programme (Development Initiative for Northern Uganda). This enabled Ochen to network with other partners like the Slow Food movement that deals on issues of traditional foods and culture preservation, agroecology, and organic farming – all issues close to his heart. Ochen was elected as a food leader and a community organiser in the Karamoja region and a Board Member of the Africa regional council, as technical advisor for the slow food youth network in Uganda.

Innocent Chansa started his agricultural career working with Agbit as an agribusiness supply chain officer working with smallholder farmers through village groups. Later he developed an initiative to link farmers to markets through a digital platform called eMakwebo and established relationships with farmers groups, supermarkets, and others. More than 100 smallholder farmers benefited from the eMakwebo by having their produce linked to market. Innocent is hoping to work with more farmers using the smart projector by planning to show videos on sustainable farming techniques for skills development. Innocent holds a Bachelors Degree in Demography from the University of Zambia, and Post Graduate Certificate in Monitoring and Evaluation.

Choolwe holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Engineering from The Copperbelt University and has more than two years of experience in software development. She also holds certificates in agripreneurship, leadership and communication skills, women's health rights as well as information and technology. Since 2019, Choolwe has been actively involved in combining agriculture with technology by building mobile applications to bridge the communication gap between farmers.
Currently, Choolwe is working with Chedic Associates as their ICT-lead Associate.

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.

Luckson Banda is finishing a Bachelor’s Degree in Science with Agriculture Business Management at Mulungushi University. Luckson is an entrepreneur, he started his journey of farming in 2018 with poultry after being motivated by his lecturer in Agribusiness who taught him the importance of farming. The lecturer kept emphasising that “farming is a business not a way of life”. Luckson is currently not only running a poultry business, he is also rearing goats and planning on venturing into horticulture. He intends to use the smart projector to train farmers and sensitise them on the importance of organic farming. He hopes to fight poverty and create jobs for his fellow youths to stop them migrating from rural areas.

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.

Sussana is a young farmer passionate about agriculture and scaling up Food and Nutrition Security. Sussana cites the value she has for farming to the children she has encountered as a teacher: “Children who feed on nutritious food focus and learn better at school and also adapt themselves more efficiently to society”. Sussana considers increased farmer education tailored for particular farming groups as an effective way to increase productivity. She engages with women and young people in farming communities learning and sharing techniques that will boost productivity with respect to the needs of the environment. With time, she has learnt that in addition to expert training, farmer–to–farmer training is an outstanding way to increase productivity. She plans to use the smart projector to bring more organic agriculture knowledge and skills closer to farmers in rural areas especially the women and youth. Sussana holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Chalimbana University.

Zaali Nakalonga holds a diploma in Agribusiness Management from the Natural Resource Development College in Zambia. He is a co-founder of Poju Farm whose mission and vision is improving and saving lives through Agribusiness. Zaali is a member of Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program Youth Network Zambia, an official Youth Representative of Zambia Initiative Community Development and a Youth trainer of Leadership and Entrepreneurship skills. Zaali is also a member of Zambian Empowerment Hub for Entrepreneurship and Skills Training organisation.