SheTrades - An initiative supporting women in business. Join Today!! 

Are you a woman owned or managed company in

• Agriculture(including coffee,tea &Horticulture)

• Textiles& apparel

• Services (in one of the sectors listed)

• IT&BPO

• Tourism

ITC,the joint agency of the world trade organization and united Nation is implementing SheTrades in the common wealth project,funded by the UK DFID, a 2 year project from April 2018-march 2020.The aim is to increase economic growth and job creation by enabling the increased participation of women in international trade.

For more information about the project and how to be part of, kindly email me ASAP on mmunjua@agriprofocus.com. I can also be reached on 0735 145 307

Or talk to Anne: 0721384915 Email: achepkoech@intracen.org

Selection criteria

Must be 30% owned, managed and/or controlled by women,legally registered business enterprises in Kenya. Enterprises must be actively trading in listed sectors for either local,regional or international m

Partnerships at the centre of inclusive finance! 

4 highlights from the inclusive finance forum in Nairobi were

- Develop industrial parks and models farms for capacity building and market linkages

- Establish sharing and learning platforms 

- Develop the capacity o financial institutions

- Develop central information portals 

Read more on the INCLUSIVE FINANCE REPORT here

Watch inspiring take home messages in our short video clip 

We look forward to collaborate with stakeholders to establish a vibrant and relevant inclusive finance platform for sharing, learning and co-creation . If your institution is interested in being part of this platform kinldy contact us through kenya@agriprofocus.com

Taking the Dairy sector in Kenya to the next level! 

In May 2013,just a month after joining the network, i shared with one of our member organisations - SNV - dairy advisor about this innovative company in the Netherlands that i knew that offers dairy training courses at farm level - Cowsignals.  At the time it was a discussion around the corridors of whether there is a demand for such services in Kenya. SNV and its Dairy program have been working alot with Dutch expertise to improve the dairy sector at production and market and with a market led approach. Focus on quality is key but also with interventions on fodder to improve productivity. So this introduction at the time was to explore areas of synergy with their existing engagements. 

Proud to say the corridor discussion after three years has culminated in the development of CowSignals East Africa edition.  This is the 35th translation/adapted edition of the CowSignals book. The whole content has been revised and adapted to East Africa. Close to 100 illustrations have been changed with illu

The true network spirit - Results from AgriProFocus Kenya 2015

Partners and stakeholders I am proud to share RESULTS OF THE NETWORK IN 2015. It was a fulfilling year of new strategic partnerships, bigger ownership of the network by you our partners and stakeholders and more co-creation of joint activities. That is the true spirit of a network. We are bigger and better together. Have a look at our achievements!

RVO-EKN learning Event -- Report

Dear Partners;

With the links below find an insightful report from the RVO-EKN learning event held on 26-27th January 2016 and a video capturing key lessons.

Report 

As a knowledge network, we look forward to hosting more insightful knowledge sharing and experience sharing platforms.  

We are looking for an exceptional candidate to take the business coordinator role within AgriProFocus Kenya. 

EKN - AgriProFocus Kenya -- Exploring collaboration 

Insightful meeting with Agriculture counselor, Bert Rikken and Agriculture officer Liz Kiamba at the Dutch embassy in Nairobi during our Managing Director's Mr Sander Mager visit to Kenya accompanied by the network facilitator. 

Investing in the entrepreneurial [SME] farmer - a step in promoting farmer entrepreneurship

Through the support of the Dutch Good Growth Fund [DDGF], Financial Access have developed a financial platform - FACTS (Financial Access Commerce & Trade Services). FACTS aims at bridging the so-called ‘Missing Middle’: the working capital gap of small producers and suppliers who must wait long periods to get paid for delivered products or services in domestic supply chains. 

The investment, divided into a seed capital investment and technical assistance grant in the first instance, will support the launch and roll out of the FACTS financing businesses focused on agricultural supply chains in Kenya and Uganda. For more details click on the press release here

More information about Financial Access http://www.factsafrica.com

Dear Partners, through this post i would like to share presentations from our just concluded learning event held on 26th and 27th January 2016 on Sustainable Partnerships for Food Security at Safari Park Hotel and Latia Resource Centre. 

Presentations:

RVO 

Kenya Market led Horticulture programme [KMHP - SNV]

Kenya Market led Dairy programme [KMDP - SNV]

Kenya Market led Aquaculture programme [KMAP - Farm Africa]

Providing Analytical Services for Informed farming in Kenya [PASIFIK- SoilCares]

Food Security through Improved Resilience of small holder farmers in Kenya and Ethiopia [FOSEK - Solidaridad]  

Food Security via Vertical Integration of a new Kenyan Potato chain [Agrico]

Theme: Access to additional finance and markets - Equity Group Foundation 

Theme: Financing options for scaling up PPP - Chase Bank 

Theme: Alternative financing options through private equity for scaling up PPP - Voxtra Foundation 

Theme: Monitoring and evaluation - RVO 

Available now: AgriProFocus Kenya Annual Plan for 2016!

A happy new year to you all from the network secretariat!

I have the pleasure to share with you our Annual Plan for 2016

We highly appreciate the input from our members therefore, this plan has been compiled based on contributions during our annual network day held on 1st October 2015 and consultations with various members after that. We will make sure that 2016 is a year full of opportunities for you when it comes to farmer entrepreneurship!

What you can expect from us:

· Membership growth both in numbers and diversity. We believe the value of our network is drawn from the diversity that members bring to the network.

· Key highlight events throughout the year with members with an underlying theme in food security

· Explore local, regional and international partnerships to scale up the initiatives under the youth in agribusiness theme

· Continue to offer a neutral platform for debate, mutu

Consultancy opportunity -- Ware Potato Market Study

Deadline for application -- 8th December 2014

Netherlands Development Organization (SNV) Kenya and Centre for Development Innovation (CDI), Wageningen UR are jointly working in identifying information / knowledge gaps that exist in the marketing and consumption of ware potatoes in Kenya. SNV and CDI recognize improving the prevalence and enhancement of demand in ware potatoes will greatly boost food security in Kenya, increase smallholder farmers earnings, besides providing an excellent opportunity for expanding the business of the multipliers of seed potatoes.

The ultimate objective of the market study is to identify the key systemic issues in the ware potatoes that prevent farmers from investing in better inputs like the high quality seed potatoes. The consultant should assess necessary linkages, inputs accessibility, interrogate post-harvest issues and market dynamics in the ware potato sector in Kenya.