Value Chain Approach Economic Opportunities to youth in West Africa

Transcription

1 Value Chain Approach Economic Opportunities to youth in West Africa Karin Wied Thomsen, Oct 2014

2 Agenda 1. About BØRNEfonden 2. Value Chain interventions - Creating economic opportunities for youth in rural West Africa 3. Challenges to youth entrepreneurship in agriculture 2

3 Karin Wied Thomsen Advisor to BØRNEfonden s Income Generation programme M.Sc. in Social Anthropology + Agricultural Development Work record Danish development assistance NGO s, both Asia and Africa. 3

4 About BØRNEfonden Danish development NGO Member of Child Fund Alliance Annual turnover of 200 million DKK (34 million US $) West Africa: 5 programme countries 4

5 Our work Four intervention areas holistic approach Children families communities Health Education years community presence Income Generating Activities Children and Development 5

6 Youth entrepreneurship in agriculture 6

7 BØRNEfonden Value Chain interventions It s about making money - From production focus to market focus The NGO as facilitator : Exit before you enter Focus on women and youth 7 Examples from Benin and Mali

8 Benin: Women Micro Entrepreneurship ( ) Project title: Développement du Micro-Entreprenariat des Femmes (DMEF) 450 women with own micro-enterprises (<5-10 employees) Processing of: groundnuts, palm nuts, palm sap, cassava Film: 8

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12 DMEF Project approach Facilitation of links between value chain actors: Stakeholder workshops Negotiations, contracts Training Technical issues: quality assurance, standards Entrepreneurship and business management 12

13 DMEF Project approach cont. Individual post-training followup: mentoring, coaching Formalisation: Personal identity papers Formal registration of businesses Product Certification 13

14 Linking value chain actors Private actors: Input suppliers Microfinance Institutions, banks Producer associations Buyers: Middlemen, Supermarkets etc. Public actors: Chamber of Commerce Local authorities (Communes / Mayor's Office) Agricultural advisory services (Min. of Agric.) Research Institutions Certification Authorities 14

15 DMEF project results - highlights Access to (larger) loans Standardised higher quality products Joint purchase and sales= higher prices Increased income: 80% have increased their revenue by more than 15% (from 2010 to 2012) New, improved technologies Improved business management Improved market access (domestic + export) 15

16 Mali: Addressing all steps in the value chain both men and women Agricultural products: Maize, sorghum, ground nuts, vegetables Processed into eg. flour, peeled grains, biscuits, juice etc. Honey Processed into: honey for consumption, lotion, soap Milk 16

17 Mali example Production + storage/conservation A man s world! Men organised in producers groups Training: technical + business management skills Access to funding, credits investments (equipment, inputs) Links/agreements with input suppliers, research inst., ext. services 17

18 Mali example Processing, packaging, marketing, selling The women s domain! Women form Econ. Interest Group (EIG) Training processing techniques business + org. Management marketing/market analysis etc. literacy Supported for processing equipment + access to funding, credits Selling at market fairs, road shop 18

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20 Benin: Strengthening young rabbit producers Zou + Ouémé départements: High demand for rabbit meat Different types of support to young producers: 1. Facilitation of links to value chain actors 2. Organisation and support to formal registration of producers association 3. Manual + training in technical topics, individual follow-up 20

21 Key components of our value chain interventions Facilitation of links to other Value chain actors Training both technical and entrepreneurship-business skills Access to funding Encourage organisation/networking 21

22 Challenges to youth entrepreneurship in agriculture Agriculture perceived as old-fashioned, non-profitable Access to funding difficult High degree of mobility, little patience Limited practical experience Traditional perception of youth 22

23 Want to know more? Karin Wied Thomsen: 23

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26 Challenges to youth in rural West Africa Traditional hierarchies: Youth w. low status, no influence on decision making frustration, out-migration Early pregnancies, STI s, unsafe working conditions poor employment/income generation possibilities (particularly for young women) Limited access to relevant education (technical-vocational training) lack of skills to obtain (self) employment, end up in low-skilled, poorly paid employment Lack of economic opportunities, agriculture conceived as non-profitable and old-fashion demotivation, out-migration 26

27 BØRNEfonden s Youth strategy - A response to youth challenges LIFESKILLS TRAINING, SELF-ORG.ANISATION CITIZENSHIP SRH TRAINING, PEER EDUCATION VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRES + SHORT TERM ENTREPRENEURSHIP- BUSINESS TRAINING, ACCESS TO FUNDING Children and Development Health Education Income Generation 27