1. RURAL ENTERPRISES PROGRAMME (REP)
RURAL ENTERPRISES PROGRAMME (REP)
Ministry of Trade & Industry
STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIVE MEETING ON ENABLE YOUTH PROGRAMME IN GHANA
KOFORIDUA
3rd August, 2016

2. HIGHLIGHTS OF REP CONCEPT NOTE ON ENABLE YOUTH PROGRAMME IN GHANA
Cletus Kayenwee
M&E Manager

3. STRUCTURE OF PRESENTATION
INTRODUCTION
PROPOSED ACTIVITIES
STRUCTURE OF PRESENTATION
PROPOSED VALUE CHAINS
TARGETING
COLLABORATION
This outline is based on the structure of the report that was shared with you last week.
IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS
INDICATIVE BUDGET

4. The Theory of Change Background The Problem INTRODUCTION
Youth unemployment is a major problem in Ghana due to several factors including:
the overall economic environment, and the shrinking capacity of the public sector to employ on one hand; and
the apparent mismatch between training offered in tertiary institutions and human resource requirements of industry on the other
Opportunities for formal sector employment are out of sync with the increasing number of graduates from the tertiary institutions resulting in a large and growing army of educated yet unemployed youth
Given the opportunities and the right incentives, the graduate youth can be redirected profitably toward agribusiness, service provision and market-oriented agriculture with a huge impact upon their communities and the national economy.
The Theory of Change
Approaches to address graduate youth unemployment should be promotion of income-generating enterprise development, based on:
the energies and skills of the youth
initiatives that build their skills and offer incentives to venture into private sector businesses
focus on businesses that would increase farm income through greater productivity, access to markets, market intelligence, and revitalized rural industries - all of which create employment.

5. The ENABLE Youth Programme is:
INTRODUCTION ctd.
Background ctd.
The challenge: to develop a comprehensive program that reaches out to the youth, inspires positive attitudes among them, promotes the necessary sets of farming and agribusiness skills and creates the ecosystem in which youths can contribute to and thrive in rural communities.
The Empowering Novel AgriBusiness-Led Employment for Youth (ENABLE Youth) Programme offers some of these solutions.
The ENABLE Youth Programme is:
about youth employment creation through market-oriented farming and agribusiness
to be implemented in at least 20 Regional Member Countries (RMCs) of the African Development Bank Group including Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, D.R. Congo, Sudan, etc.
focused on college and university-educated youths at the higher level; and youth groups seeking greater impacts within their respective communities at the lower end
focused on replication and upscaling successful agribusiness incubation approaches over time.
Rationale for ENABLE Youth Programme within REP
REP is one of the AfDB co-funded projects in Ghana that reinforce the role of youth in rural transformation
2 years implementation of the YIA initiative in collaboration with MOFA

6. Preparatory Activities
INTRODUCTION ctd
Preparatory Activities
MTR Recommendation
Supervision Mission follow-up
REP study tour to IITA, Ibadan – Nigeria in April this year
Development of Concept Paper
Objective of REP ENABLE Youth Programme
To empower 16,000 tertiary level graduates, from 2016 to 2018, by providing:
information, life-skills education, financial services and proven technologies
a menu of agribusiness opportunities.
Opportunities under the ENABLE Youth Programme include at least 400 internships, 200 agribusiness startups and 600 new jobs in rural and urban areas.
To establish a number of business incubation platforms as well as 5 Rural Agribusiness Technology Facilities based on identified key value chains across the country.
To collaborate with identified stakeholders such as the District Assemblies, the MOFA Farm Institutes, private sector actors, etc. to support the training of agripreneurs on an on-going basis. IITA-Ibadan has been identified to be well positioned to provide the lead technical backstopping role in this effort.

7. Cluster 1: Technical/Business Skills Development
PROPOSED ACTIVITIES
Cluster 1: Technical/Business Skills Development
establishment of framework for graduate youth support through agricultural value chains based on the agribusiness incubation platform concept
training for selected graduate youth on returns to selected agricultural value chains, agribusiness investment, access to financial services, business management, ICT and social media in agribusiness development
internships and business exposure visits for trained youth to successful agricultural and agribusiness ventures in selected value chains
technical assistance in business plan development, agribusiness proposal and loan application preparation, including the development of departure incentives that interface with lending institutions
establishing linkages with research institutions and the private sector to identify/explore promising technologies, innovations or ventures for commercialization along the selected value chains
tracking agribusiness startups to assess best practices/economic viability/expansion

8. PROPOSED ACTIVITIES ctd
Cluster 2: Incubation Centre Facility Development
establishment of infrastructure for agribusiness incubators including farms/agribusiness as centers for profitable innovation in collaboration with IITA-Ibadan, MoFA Farm Institutes and identified Private Firms,
establishment of 5 value chain based Rural Agribusiness Technology Facilities for training of agripreneurs.
Cluster 3: Access to Finance
continuing the existing and seeking new partnerships with rural financial institutions including universal and commercial Banks to establish long-term social impact funds
organise meeting with commercial bankers and Africa Agricultural Risk-Sharing Facility and Africa Risk Insurance to discuss how a similar/improved set-up can be adopted under the ENABLE Youth Programme in Ghana.
promotion of innovative financing products like the youth start-up funds, matching grant funds, risk sharing guarantee funds.

9. PROPOSED VALUE CHAIN CANDIDATES
Cassava/Yam
Aquaculture
Poultry
Sheanut
Soya
Cashew nuts
Oil palm
Groundnuts
Bee-keeping
Mushroom
Fruits and vegetables
Goat & Sheep

10. TARGETING
Unemployed Graduate Youth from the Universities and Polytechnics who are interested in venturing into agribusiness
Implementation Results Targets
16,000 tertiary level graduates provided with information, life-skills education, financial services, proven technologies and a menu of agribusiness opportunities
400 university and/or polytechnic graduates trained in various aspects of agripreneurship
400 graduates placed on internships
350 graduates start-up in agribusiness and
600 direct high value new jobs created in the rural and urban areas
(This is the broad spectrum of direct and indirect beneficiaries)
It is assumed that 50 of the 400 graduates may have other sources to start-up business or they will fall off.
Participation based on screening and selection criteria.

11. IITA identified as international lead Technical Collaborating Partner
COLLABORATION
IITA identified as international lead Technical Collaborating Partner
National Public Institutions (MoFA Training Institutes, National Board for Small-Scale Industries, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Universities/Polytechnics/Research Institutions, National Service Secretariat and Bank of Ghana) could be possible local implementing collaborating partners
Private Institutions as potential collaborating partners for mentorship.

12. IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS
There would be a direct link of the ENABLE Youth Programme in Ghana to IITA-Ibadan and the IITA Youth Agripreneur Program (IYA Core).
The agribusiness incubation cycle would cover a period of 18 months and would be youth-led
There would be consideration for departing youth as service providers in subsequent incubation cycles as part of the inbuilt sustainability mechanisms of the Programme
There would be opportunities to expand the value-chains to include others such as horticulture, seed production and marketing as they are proven to be winning, high-value enterprises elsewhere
The youth-led agribusiness incubation facilities are intended to become self-sustaining operations within a short period of the establishment: - very strong collaboration with the relevant and interested public and private sector actors adopting youth-led activities is key
Involvement of the financial sector to provide the much needed investment capital based on the business plans of successful graduates of the Programme
M&E would make appropriate adjustments to address the peculiar information requirements under the Programme.

13. INDICATIVE BUDGET
Direct activity-related budget for 2016 to 2018 is US $20 million
This amount will cover:
technical training;
business incubation for interns and mentoring; and
a special fund for the provision of modest, non-monetary departure packages for successful graduates to launch their businesses and provide collateral for expansion.
Financing for business start-up loans for graduating agripreneurs estimated at US $26.25 million.
Total indicative budget therefore is US $46.25 million.

14. INDICATIVE WORK PLAN 1. Technical/Business Skills Development
Programme Cluster/Activity
Responsibility
Time Frame
1. Technical/Business Skills Development
Establish framework for graduate youth support through agricultural value chains based on the agribusiness incubation platform concept
REP/IITA/MOFA
Jul – Dec 2016
1.2 Organise training for selected graduate youth in selected agricultural value chains, agribusiness investment, access to financial services, business management, ICT and social media in agribusiness development
Sept – Dec. 2017
1.3 Organise internships and business exposure visits for trained youth to successful agricultural and agribusiness ventures in selected value chains. This will include a 2-3 month practical attachment period within the total incubation period for the interns with existing (i.e. “brownfield”) companies in the value-chain of interest.
Jan – Dec. 2017
1.4 Organise technical assistance in business plan development, agribusiness proposal and loan application preparation, including the development of departure incentives that interface with lending institutions
REP/IITA/ARB Apex
Jan – Mar 2018
1.5 Establish linkages with research institutions and the private sector to identify/explore promising technologies, innovations or ventures for commercialization along the selected value chains
REP/IITA
1.6 Track agribusiness startups to assess best practices/economic viability/expansion
REP
Jul 2018 onwards
2. Incubation Centre Facility Development
2.1 Establish infrastructure for agribusiness incubators including farms/agribusiness as centers for profitable innovation in collaboration with MoFA Farm Institutes and identified Private Firms
REP/DAs/IITA
Jul 2016 – Mar 2017
2.2 Establish 5 value chain based Rural Agribusiness Technology Facilities for training of agripreneurs
REP/IITA/DAs
Jul 2016 – Jun 2017
3. Access to Finance
3.1 Establish linkages with Financial Institutions to provide financial services under the Programme
3.2 Organise a meeting with commercial bankers and Africa Agricultural Risk-Sharing Facility and Africa Risk Insurance to discuss how the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk-sharing Mechanism for Agric. Lending model used to leverage additional lending from commercial banks by reducing the risk exposure to the sector and target clients can be adopted under the ENABLE Youth Programme in Ghana
3.3 Liaise with regulatory authorities for the management of credit or grant funds for business start-up by the graduate youth under the Programme
Jun – Dec 2017
3.4 Facilitate the relevant processes including preparation of business plans for presentation to the Financial Institutions

15. Thank You