By Comfort Sena Fetrie-Akagbor
Tamale, May 8, GNA – The Kosmos Innovation Centre (KIC) has organised AGRI-Biz Sprint and Build-up Final Pitch in Tamale to celebrate innovation and entrepreneurship for the remarkable strides being made in the agricultural sector, particularly within the framework of the KIC.
The three-day event was under the USAID-funded Feed the Future Market Systems and Resilience (MSR) Activity in northern Ghana in a consortium with the Agriculture Cooperative Development International/Volunteers in Oversees Cooperative Assistance (ACDI-VOCA).
It was to enable sustainable commercial relationships between business and communities towards inclusive growth of local economies, especially in the northern sector.
Mr Benjamin Gyan-Kesse, the Executive Director, KIC, said the programme was aimed at accelerating agricultural modernisation and growth and strengthen collaboration between actors to improve the rural entrepreneurship ecosystem.
That was to enable greater market participation, particularly for women and youth, while expanding the availability of agribusiness services and link targeted policy initiatives to improve local economic governance.
He said that was to engender a successfully developed young, vibrant, and visionary entrepreneurs with brilliant business ideas and economically viable solutions for transformative change and serve as a testament to the immense potential that existed within the agricultural value chain.
Mr Ahmed Yakubu Mohammed, Sagnarigu Municipal Chief Executive, whose speech was read on his behalf, said agriculture was one of the main economic pillars, which needed strengthening to boost the economic fortunes of the nation.
He noted that due to the important role agricultural played in the socio-economic development of the country, the Government had implemented a number of economic programmes and policies aimed at promoting livelihoods and food security.
He pledged his support towards the KIC AGRI-BIZ programme to empower more young people to be economically self-reliant and build agri-MSMEs and start-ups to improve livelihoods of the people, especially those in northern Ghana, including farmers and their households.
Mr Cecil Osei, the Deputy Director of Party, Ghana MSR Activity at ACDI-VOCA, said the KIC AGRI-BIZ initiative had empowered the youth to make positive lasting changes in their lives.
He said the initiative was to increase incomes, improve livelihoods, and create opportunities for those who had traditionally been excluded, especially from the agricultural sector.
There was a pitch competition and business fair to showcase the participants’ products and services to create market linkages.
GNA