Deadline: 28 March 2019
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.
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;
- Promote private sector driven business incubation in animal resources as a means of creating youth employment and wealth;
- Empower African youth and women by providing them with hands-on and transferable skills for sustainable jobs and wealth creation;
- Create jobs for would-be youth migrants or youths who currently crowd the cities with underemployment;
- Promote competitiveness of Africa’s animal resource value chains and quality of animal-based commodities from Africa;
- Promote intra-African trade in animal commodities and services;
- Promote market-led technical capacities and upscale of ICTs and innovations in the animal resources sector.
- Promote technology driven animal resources development through increased technology uptake in high priority value chains
Objectives
- The overall objective of the call of proposals is to promote entrepreneurial agribusiness as means for job and wealth creation for Africa’s youth and women. The expected outcome of this Call for Proposals is to select applicants with innovative ideas that can lead to new products or service development, or improved commercialization of products and services that will subsequently facilitate the industrial development and transformation of Africa’s animal resources sector.
- The specific objectives are to:
- Launch a call for proposal to select suitable/ priority actions to be supported within Members of the African Youth in Livestock Fisheries and Aquaculture Incubation Network (AYL-FAIN) and the African Women in Animal Resources Farming and Agribusiness Network (AWARFA-N) across the continent
- Offer technical support to the selected AYL-FAIN and AWARFA-N led-initiatives and other women and youth led agribusiness projects.
Award Information
- The minimum number of co-applicants should be 2 and a maximum of 5 Applicants. The financial allocation available as African Union contribution is as follows:
- Category 1 – Existing Agribusiness at the incubation or acceleration phase
- Total allocation for joint applications: Twenty thousand United States Dollars (USD20,000)
- Total allocation for individual applications: Ten thousand United States Dollars (USD10,000)
- Category 2- Agribusiness Start-ups (Yet-to-be established agribusinesses)
- Total allocation for joint applications: Twenty thousand United States Dollars (USD20,000)
- Total allocation for individual applications: Ten thousand United States Dollars (USD10,000)
- Category 1 – Existing Agribusiness at the incubation or acceleration phase
Eligibility Criteria
- 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.
- Applicants must have a well defined prototype or proof of concept/idea and that the product(s) should not have been introduced to the market. Applicants under this category must have a registered or corporate entity.
Types of Project
Types of Project proposals will focus on components across the animal resource value chain
- Project proposals aimed at promoting competitiveness of Africa’s animal resource value chains and quality of animal-based commodities from Africa;
- Project proposals aimed at marketing, supply chain management, distribution and aggregation
- Project proposals aimed at improving value addition, processing, packaging
- Actions aimed at increasing technology uptake and transfer across high priority animal resources value chains
- Project proposals aimed at increasing Agro inputs and improving animal disease management
- Project proposals aimed at incorporating innovation across high priority animal resources value chains
How to Apply
Soft copies of applications should be sent via email at the address given on the website.
For more information, please visit https://bit.ly/2Nw2eWl