African Union — Support for Youth and Women in Livestock, Fisheries and Agribusiness

Deadline for submission: 28 March 2019

The African Union aims to promote the entrepreneurial agribusiness as means for job and wealth creation for Africa’s youth and women. Proposed projects under this call should address actions in the thematic areas of fisheries, aquaculture, animal farming and agribusiness networks. Existing agribusinesses and agribusiness startups may request grants of US$10 thousand or US$20 thousand.

In order to empower African youth and women to effectively participate in the animal resources sector AU-IBAR will provide a Grant to support existing enterprises and early start-ups. This Grant aims to promote the entrepreneurial agribusiness as means for job and wealth creation for Africa’s youth and women. Through this Grant, AU-IBAR envisions to;

 i. Promote private sector driven business incubation in animal resources as a means of creating youth employment and wealth;

ii. Empower African youth and women by providing them with hands-on and transferable skills for sustainable jobs and wealth creation;

iii. Create jobs for would-be youth migrants or youths who currently crowd the cities with underemployment;

iv. Promote competitiveness of Africa’s animal resource value chains and quality of animal-based commodities from Africa;

v. Promote intra-African trade in animal commodities and services;

vi. Promote market-led technical capacities and upscale of ICTs and innovations in the animal resources sector.

vii. Promote technology driven animal resources development through increased technology uptake in high priority value chains

In the framework of the implementation of the Member state funds to “Support implementation of Youth and Women in Livestock, Fisheries and aquaculture Agribusiness Incubation”, AU-IBAR will undertake to utilize these funds to empower African youth and women to effectively participate in the animal resources sector. The beneficiaries of this call of proposals will be members of the newly formed African Union networks; African Youth in Livestock Fisheries and Aquaculture Incubation Network (AYL-FAIN) and the African Women in Animal Resources Farming and Agribusiness Network (AWARFA-N) and other African youth and women engaged in the animal resources value chain in Africa.

The proposed grant will support existing women and youth-led enterprises and early start-ups. The expected outcome of this Call for Proposals is to facilitate the industrial development and transformation of Africa’s animal resource sector.

Eligibility Information

Category 1-Existing Small and Medium Agribusiness incubation and acceleration phase: This category will focus on existing women and Youth entrepreneurs and enterprises in the animal resources sector. The impetus will be to support this category financially and technically to increase their on-farm profits by building their capacities to increase farm production, enhance market linkages, improve agripreneurial skills and reduce farming costs and risks. African youth and women already engaged in animal resources agribusinesses at primary production, processing, transport, marketing, or service provision levels are eligible to apply either through joint or individual applications. Applicants must be owners of legally registered business.

Category 2 – Start-up (Yet-to-be established agribusinesses): This will focus on African youth and women with innovative agribusiness models and ideas in any area across high priority value chains. The proposed ideas/concepts for agri-businesses must have a competitive, creative and innovative edge. Applicants with innovative, novel and dynamic ideas for improving farm profits and outputs through various upscaling or adoption of novel ideas are encouraged to apply. This category applies to African Youth and Women who are not yet operating an animal resource agribusiness and can demonstrate the ability and capacity to start and sustain a new agribusiness are eligible to apply either through joint or individual applications.

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