AFRICA AGRIBUSINESS ACADEMY SUCCESS STORIES

Vision grows with AAA MembershipFresh and Sweet

to the last bite

Networking with Successful Agro Entrepreneurs proves an Inspiration

Africa Agribusiness Academy

Jean Claude and Samuel

Within this succes stories edition:AAA Benefits from Trade fair 2.Our Business Thrives through AAA 4.

Thinking out of Addis 6. Vision grows with AAA Membership 7.Fresh and Sweet to the last bite

New Malawi Chapter finds Business Clubs and Sector 8.Desks key to the successful AAA model

Networking with Successful Agro Entrepreneurs 10.proves an Inspiration

December 2015

Follow us: www.aa-academy.org Facebook: Africa Agribusiness Academy Twitter: @AAAcademy1

“These 6 success stories speak for themselves: our AAA staff and AAA members enjoy multiple gains of being part of the AAA family. Sharing these experiences not only with other AAA members and staff but also with fellow SMEs, policy makers and donors that contribute to the dynamism of the Agribusi-ness sector”

Farid Karama, AAA Director

AAA can meanwhile outline its own services, strengthen its reputation and solicit potential new members.

To ensure a balance of opportunity and sustainability, AAA covers the cost of exhibition stands, whereas members cover their own transportation costs. Members, as well as AAA representa-tives, have participated in numerous trade fairs and exhibitions in the East Africa region. Membership participa-tion in these fairs has been increasing year on year; so whereas two years ago on average five members participated, these days there are up to fifteen. Be-low we present a number of examples.

Benefits of trade fairsDuring the Sabasaba trade fair in Tanza-nia, Asali Asilia Ltd from Arusha, exhib-iting under the AAA banner, was able to sell honey worth over $450 per day. By the end of the 10 day long trade fair, all of the company’s products had been bought. At the same AAA stand, Equa-tor Commercial Farming Ltd, a Ugan-dan company, managed to sell all of their tropical pumpkin porridge prod-ucts within five minutes of commencing the trade fair. Frank Amos Horticultur-al from Mbeya, Tanzania also partici-pated, gaining access to new buyers including several chain supermarkets; as a consequence his demand now ex-ceeds supply.

The Rwandan Agricultural show took place in June 2015 and involved several satisfied AAA members. For example, Rwanda Best which is owned by Mr. Jean Claude Ruzibiza, the Rwandan AAA Country Chairman, gained access to a new market for his products: sup-plying a big poultry company named

Sina Gerald (Urwibutso Entreprises). Another company, owned by Mr. Ru-gamba John Bosco, BC leader in the South of Rwanda, was able to sell more than five tons of rice at the fair itself and also gained new clients, resulting in an increase in turnover in the following weeks and months.

Dryland seed Ltd which is owned by Mr. Ngila Kimotho, has participated in all the trade fairs facilitated by AAA and has been able to make direct sales to customers during the trade fairs. He has also been able to market his product all over the country and the product is well known to most farmers. The turnover has increased due to increases in mar-ket share.

Mrs Yodit Hailu of Kalos Confectionary Ltd from Ethiopia, participated in the Nairobi International Trade Fair held in September 2015 in Kenya. She met distributors of bakery equipment and machinery and is now considering reg-istering her business in Kenya.

Finally, during the Uganda National Agricultural Trade Fair, Mrs Judith Ba-kirya of Busaino fruits was able to sell over 200 fruit seedlings and her prod-ucts were all sold out by the end of the fourth day of the ten day event.

What to consider?Participating in trade fairs may not be the best solution for every compa-ny. There are several factors that one needs to consider. For instance, trade fairs may at times be expensive de-pending on the proximity of the venue. AAA members should pay for their own travel costs and partial accommodation costs which may become prohibitively

AAA Benefits from Trade fair

Embracing trade fairs and exhibitions A Rwandan proverb says ‘If you don’t fly you will never know what your neighbor is doing’.

For the past two years AAA has em-braced trade fairs and exhibitions as an opportunity for its members to showcase their products and services to the world. Members get the chance to meet potential clients, partners, dis-tributors and government officials and

Jean Claude and Samuel

2

expensive depending on the number of participants per company. Compa-nies should be aware of the trade fair well in advance in order for them to plan sufficiently.

Market segmentation is another factor to consider; trade fairs in regions where the company has no target market may not be beneficial to members. However the companies can take the opportuni-ty to introduce their products in a new market, and familiarize potential new target customers.

At times trade fairs cover multiple days and this may prohibit members with perishable products, as they are not able to have their products available throughout the duration of the fair. Companies should also realize that trade fairs are not all about making sales; it is equally as important to cre-ate public awareness and acceptance of the product among the target cus-tomers.

Timings of trade fairs may not work well for some companies as they are engaged in other activities that are important and take priority. This calls for proper planning for the companies so as not to miss out on strategic fairs while avoiding participation in less suit-able trade fairs.

AAA’s own trade fairDespite possible drawbacks such as those mentioned above, trade fairs generally provide great opportunities and having heard so many success stories from their members AAA has decided to organize its own Agribusi-ness exhibition. The first AAA agribusi-ness exhibition was held in Kenya in

November 2015 with the ultimate aim of increasing SME business growth of AAA members by linking them to po-tential customers, funding institutions, development partners and new mar-kets. AAA believes that enhancing en-trepreneurship improves food security among farmers who are sourcing to/supplied by AAA members.

3

“AAA believes that enhancing

entrepreneurship improves food

security among farmers who

are sourcing to/supplied by AAA

members.”

Written by: Jean Claude Ruzibiza (Rwanda) and Samuel Kabiru (Kenya)

Our Business Thrives through AAA

A Passion for Entrepreneurship

Having an agricultural background and a Bachelors in Nutrition I always had a passion to engage in agribusiness. Af-ter my studies this passion inspired me to start a company called HD Agribusi-ness Enterprise together with my part-ner, dealing in rice processing and dis-tribution.

The choice of rice was down to it being one of the main staple foods in Tanza-nia and the continent at large, with a 47% increase in consumption in Africa in recent years. I managed to get onto a business plan writing training and succeeded in a competition for a loan from CRDB Bank of Tshs.60 million($27,273). With this loan my partner and I were able to in-stall a combine rice milling machine from China which could process both brown and white rice. At the time we had a comparative advantage because we were the only ones with a machine that could process both good quality white and brown rice.

Being a business person one has to take tough decisionsFresh from school with no practical ex-perience of running a company, we did not follow proper means of hiring per-sonnel. One of our biggest mistakes was hiring a relative as a supervisor, be-lieving that since she was a relative, she would take care of the business as if it was her own. We did not consider at the time that having a particular skill set is crucial for each position. The supervisor in question had poor skills with regards to record keeping, customer service and employee management.

Another lesson learnt was that we only trained one person as an operator and did not learn how to operate the ma-chines ourselves. Since the operator was the only one who knew how to run the machine, he felt superior to other employees and dominated the work floor. He also mishandled the machine leading to frequent breakdowns and this, coupled with poor customer care, chased away our buyers. The machine

that we installed was new in the area and therefore getting another opera-tor to run it was, to our thinking, near-ly impossible, despite the fact that the company performance was decreasing day after day. Even though the staff we employed were not hired based on a proper job description and skill set, which ultimately hindered the progress of the company, it was very difficult to let them go.

A turn for the better after joining AAAWhen we joined AAA we attended the business club meetings and through these we were able to network with other AAA members. In one of the meetings we were asked to sum up the challenges that we were facing in our businesses and what kind of support we required to overcome them. We chose to raise our issues aroundHuman Resource Management. One AAA member who is a consultant ad-vised us to fire the operator saying that we, the owners of the company, were supposed to know how to fully operate our machines and had a duty to hire qualified employees and train them as well. When we went back we learnt how to operate the machine and trained other employees and this is when we made the decision to fire both the supervisor and the machine operator.

Machine breakdowns used to incur considerable costs each week but now we spend less than 50% of those previ-ous costs for servicing. Because of this, we have now gained customer trust as the machine is always up and running and they are now delighted with our stellar customer service. Since joining AAA our sources have grown from 30 to

Dina and Barbra

4

105 smallholder farmers and from 2013 to 2015 our turnover has doubled.

Even more improvements with a prop-er business system Besides the many networking opportu-nities, we have also been able to par-ticipate in AAA’s marketing training. This training helped us to improve our marketing skills as well as the visibili-ty of our products and services on the Tanzanian market. Another opportunity was given when we had a chance to participate in the Sabasaba exhibition which guided us in adapting our vision for the business. We were able to learn from the differ-ent ways fellow entrepreneurs run their businesses and brand, package and market their products. Through exhibi-tions and networking at business club meetings, we also gained 5 new cus-tomers.

Besides all this, we shifted from run-ning our business locally and we now use proper business systems to track our performance. Our future plan is to diversify by creating added value to a number of other food products and to develop and sustain our strong brand on the market. In a nutshell, we have learnt a great deal and very much enjoy and appreciate being part of AAA.

“One of our biggest mistakes

was hiring a relative as a supervisor,

believing that since she was a relative, she

would take care of the business as if it was her

own.”

5Written by: Dina Kikuli (Tanzania) and Barbra Nafula (Uganda)

Thinking out of Addis

The impact of AAA training on an agro-busi-ness in Ethiopia

Friendship participating in trainingsAAA has invested a great deal in a diverse set of trainings to support members in dif-ferent countries to improve their businesses. Through the trainings members share knowl-edge, skills, experiences and advice and have a valuable opportunity to network. In Ethio-pia, AAA trainings have been a resounding success. Friendship Agro-industry Ltd is one company that has benefited.

Before attending the AAA trainings, Friend-ship Agro Industry, a feed production busi-ness based in Addis Ababa, often had fi-nancial shortfalls which hindered expansion and the operation was confined to a rental property.

After joining AAA, Mr Mekonen, the owner of Friendship Agro Industry, took part in a set of 4 trainings:

1) Business Planning, which taught members to develop bankable business plans in order to attract investors.2) Managing Business Growth, which fo-cused on good management principles and practices.3) Branding and Packaging, where members learnt how to design an attractive brand, package products to respond to customer requirements and market products more ef-fectively.4) The Inclusive Business Model, which ex-amined the role of socially inclusive business-es in poverty reduction.

Friendship becoming bankable Each training gave Mr Mekonen fresh inspi-ration and impetus. For instance upon his return from the Branding and Packaging training, he immediately registered the com-pany logo, put it in a legal patent and set to work on revamping the brand. Following the training on Managing Business Growth, Mr Mekonen reviewed the company structure, in particular its Human Resource Manage-ment. The staff were trained to increase their knowledge and the organizational structure was revised to ease communication and command. As a consequence the business became more viable and they were able to construct their own factory in 2015.

Finally, leading on from the Business Planning training, Mr Mekonen wrote a bankable busi-

ness plan which proved fundamental for gain-ing additional financial investment. Since that time, Friendship Agro Industry has received a 50.000 USD grant and a bank loan of 75.000 USD. With these funds, they are constructing a new animal feed factory which will ensure more competitive feed prices in comparison to foreign imports.

The grant also assisted the company to pur-chase machinery for the production of poul-try cages which led to a substantial increase in production capacity. As a result, farmers will have improved access to cages which saves time, money and energy, leading ultimately to further increases in egg production.

Friendship rewarded by the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Increased productivity undoubtedly has a positive knock on effect on national food security. The company’s success in this direc-tion was recently rewarded with a prize called ‘Successful youths who make a difference in a short time’, which was presented by the Ethi-opian prime minister.

All in all Friendship Agro Industry benefited enormously from AAA trainings and are in no doubt that other AAA members would gain from them in the future. The trainings helped them to overhaul their management proce-dures, but also to gain access to new sources of funding. Future plans for Friendship Agro Industry include; - Producing animal feed of 10 TON /10,000 K.G- Installing a hatchery to produce day old chicks- Egg export for Sudan, Djibouti and Somalia- Proving advanced training for their human resources - Adopting an advanced accounting software package which will include all their services and products in one stand solution.

Abel, Celestin and Constance

6Written by: Abel Mekonen (Ethiopia), Celestin Hakizamungu (Rwanda) and Constance Munyenyembe (Malawi)

Vision grows with AAA MembershipFresh and Sweet to the last bite

In the beginningKalos was founded 10 years ago. The inspiration came from the Yodit’s aunt who sold bought-in cakes at her small cafeteria. Quite simply, from the large number of customers who would stop she realized that producing these cakes may generate more profit. At the beginning, only 150 pieces of cake were produced and supplied each

day to five cafeterias which did not have their own bakeries. Production started as a small manufacturing facility, in a single room, at her parents’ house. As start up capital was low, there was nei-ther a mixer nor other important baking machinery; merely a single deck baking oven and handheld equipment.

Getting biggerGradually the business started to ex-pand and the manufacturing facility grew from a single room to a full rented compound. Now Kalos is a full bakery, equipped with all the necessary machin-ery and as a result, production capacity has reached 200kg of cookies and 500 cakes per day. Staff numbers have also grown, from 1 to 30 employees. A large customer base has been established, with the company now supplying 130 supermarkets in Addis Ababa. Most im-portantly, Kalos has managed to open its own sales outlet that generates one third of the company’s total income. It is at this stage that the company joined AAA’s Ethiopian chapter in 2014.

Kalos and AAA MembershipJoining AAA has led to a monumental change in the company’s vision. Where-as previously Kalos aimed to conquer the confectionary market in Addis Aba-ba, nowadays, they plan to be the best confectionaries manufacturer in East Africa.

Participating in AAA trainings was both insightful and inspirational. In addi-tion to the benefits of the trainings the company has been able to examine the confectionary market in different East African countries. With this knowl-edge and exposure, the company was inspired to register a branch in Kenya,

based on the judgement that they have a competitive edge in the Kenyan mar-ket in terms of the uniqueness of their product taste.

During an AAA meeting in Arusha, the owner was furthermore able to meet fellow AAA member, Godfrey Mosha who is also in the bakery business. His company model focuses on the input side of the chain; importing bakery in-gredients for supply to bakeries and supermarkets. In addition to providing the ingredients, he offers training to his clients on how to use the ingredients in various recipes. This model sparked the interest of Kalos’ owner and she is now planning to incorporate this approach into her own venture in the future, with the support of Mr. Mosha and his link-ages with ingredients suppliers in South Africa.

Fresh and Sweet to the last biteAs well as useful contacts and inspira-tion, participation in AAA trainings has helped the company to prepare a bank-able 5 year business plan which guides business operations and enhances ac-cess to finance. Thanks to the support on branding the company has also introduced a new slogan: “Fresh and sweet to your last bite!” The hope is that this will help build customer loyalty to products that will ultimately cover a large market share of the region.

Yodit and Mable

7Written by: Yodit Hailu (Ethiopia) and Mable Charity Namala (Uganda)

New Malawi Chapter finds Business Clubs and Sector Desks key to the successful AAA model

Africa Agribusiness Academy is a network platform for small and medium agribusi-ness entrepreneurs. The platform seeks

to foster innovation and growth of Small to Medium Enterprises and ensure food security in Africa. In 2013 the Academy started its activities in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania with 15 members and in 2014 ex-panded to Rwanda and Ethiopia. AAA has recently opened its doors in Malawi.

Business Clubs for gainsOne of the Academy’s big successes has been its Business Clubs. These are formed by groups of agri-entrepreneurs who come from the same area or region. With a to-tal of 19 Business Clubs the Academy has brought together more than 250 agribusi-ness entrepreneurs who share business opportunities, knowledge, challenges and solutions. Business Clubs enable members to view each other as partners in business rather than as competitors and members often get inspiration from inviting guest speakers on different agribusiness topics. Through visits to one another members have come to understand their respective businesses and by so doing have been able to offer support and advice, refer cus-tomers and even reach supply agreements with one another. For instance, JACKMA in Tanzania has now become the main sunflower refiner for AAA members in the Dodoma Business Club, whilst Jediah suc-cessfully trained Kate’s Organics on how to grow Moringa.

AAA has also been training members on different topics that have enabled them to improve their businesses. The trainings include; Branding and Packaging, Inclusive Business Management, Marketing Strate-gy, Managing Business Growth and Busi-ness Plan Development.

This last training in particular has increased members’ ability to identify and access funds from different financiers. Members

have frequently relayed how these train-ing have transformed their businesses. Through the business planning coaching and training more than 10 members have been able to submit their business plans to financiers including local banks and in-ternational institutions such as AECF. Meru Greens of Kenya and Meru Agro of Tan-zania are among the members who have been granted AECF funding.

“I have learnt a lot from the training. I have been trying to brand and have gotten a lot of insight on how to brand and position my products in the market,” noted Christopher Irungu of Ava Chem Limited, member of AAA in Kenya, after the branding and pack-aging training.

“I enjoyed the training a lot, especially the session on the business pitch. I learnt how to present my business to a potential inves-tor in the least time possible while captur-ing the key elements,” Gerald Mgaya of Tanmush in Tanzania, who participated in Facilitation training.

Sector Desks for successAnother essential resource for AAA mem-bers are the Academy think tanks. The Finance, Entrepreneurship and Partner-ship for Productivity Knowledge Network which, as its name suggests, fosters mem-ber skills in the core business domains of finance, entrepreneurship and partnership, is a prime example. Sector Desks for Dairy, Honey, Agri-Input and Poultry offer more sector specific advice and also aim to link up members with similar interests so that together they may work to improve their sectors in Africa. A lot of business deals, knowledge-sharing and improvements have taken place thanks to these Sector Desks. To date the Academy has 4 Sector Desks involving 58% of its members and

Grace and Frank

8

by the end of October 2015.”

Based on prior AAA achievements in the East Africa region, the Malawi Chapter sees a lot of opportunities for growth in the agribusiness sector. Members have al-ready been inspired by the interaction they have had during exchange visits with other Chapters in Uganda and Kenya and are full of energy: “The Malawi members are very proactive and have embraced the concept of AAA and will scale it up in no time.” (Ma-lawi chapter Coordinator)The Malawi Chapter expects to benefit greatly from best practices that AAA has developed through initiatives in the five East African countries. These best practic-es relate for example to peer to peer train-ings, how to add value in the Business Club meetings and sharing of information. Cur-rently members are benefiting from peer training on Business Plan Development provided by Elijah Kangara from Uganda and gathered networking tips during a visit by the Malawi task force to Kampala.

The approach of using member needs and reported challenges to develop a Business Club and Chapter work plan will no doubt assist the business growth of members. There is also excitement around the pros-pect of new Sector Desks: “I cannot wait to have a Sector Desk on Horticulture, be-cause I know this is a platform where knowl-edge will be shared in line with horticultural business growth” said Frank Washoni from Hortnet Company in Malawi.

In conclusion, the steady growth of the Academy reflects the positive impact it has had across the region. The Malawi Chapter is the latest addition to the AAA family and its members are enthusiastic about the Academy and the future growth of their businesses.

new Desks may be established in the future to meet demand for other sectors.

The Academy uses Sector Desks as a plat-form for members to promote and improve their businesses. In September 2015 for example, the Academy held its first Dairy Event in Kampala with 10 members. During this event members were trained on the best breeds in the region and best prac-tices in artificial insemination. Members now know how to increase their produce (milk) by using the best breeds and feeds. Similar events were held by the Honey and Agri Sector Desks in Uganda and Kenya respectively. These events created several business opportunities for members in the East Africa region. During the Honey week in Kampala for instance, Uganda members were introduced to the honey market op-portunities in European countries. They also learnt about different hives products such as propolis, honey wine, wax and bee venom.

The Malawi Chapter: gaining from the other 6 AAA chaptersIn July 2015 AAA opened a Chapter in Malawi with 10 members from various sec-tors including fruit and vegetables, honey, livestock and agri-inputs. Its establishment was smooth thanks largely to the experi-ence the Academy has acquired in estab-lishing other Chapters. Already within a few months of operations, members have start-ed to see the benefits. Fredrick Matress of Honey Products Industries for example says, “through AAA Malawi, (who has been behind showcasing our products at this year’s Agriculture fair in Blantyre), our com-pany has secured a business deal with a new bottle manufacturing company called NAMPAK. The company has promised to produce high quality bottles with a good design to suit honey packaging standards

9Written by: Grace Mhina (Tanzania) and Frank Washoni (Malawi)

Networking with Successful Agro Entrepreneurs proves an Inspiration

Coming from a background in Interna-tional Relations, Business Management and Social Work, agriculture and agro entrepreneurship in particular was unfa-miliar territory.

I joined AAA in 2014 as a Coordinator

of the Ethiopian Chapter and I quickly learned how to organize and structure meetings in an effective way and to devel-op bankable business plans by sketching out the road map of any given company. Through my interaction with AAA mem-bers I discovered that they face a myriad of challenges. Fortunately, with the skills and knowledge acquired through AAA, I have been able to learn and grow and ultimately contribute to the formation of viable business solutions.

The role of an AAA Country CoordinatorBesides offering business support, the aim of AAA is to build a legitimate organi-zation for and with members. The estab-lishment of such a membership-based organization requires competent and highly qualified staff and relies heavily on membership fees and membership en-gagement. In order to become a sustain-able, self-organized membership struc-ture, a careful balance must be struck between funding and subsidy on the one hand and members’ contributions on the other.

The role of the Country Coordinator is very crucial in this sense as they have to facilitate, coordinate and broker between the members, service providers and oth-er partners. A membership organization also needs a decision making unit, the Board; with the power and legitimacy such a body deserves. The Country Co-ordinator serves as the essential linchpin between these various actors.

The Ethiopian Chapter has had its fair share of ups and downs. Perhaps the biggest test we have faced to date has been our continuous efforts to be official-ly registered as AAA whilst being hosted by a different company in Ethiopia. It has

certainly been a challenge and yet at the same time it has given us an opportunity to hone our lobbying skills; vying to in-fluence national policy with regards to multi sectoral associations like AAA in order to make them more dynamic and business-friendly. I would say that the struggles we have faced have made the journey towards legitimacy even more remarkable.

From offering support to a fully grown contributor Involvement with AAA has changed and shaped my mindset about agribusiness and agro entrepreneurs and given me great opportunities. As a facilitator I can contribute to the capacity building and linking of AAA members and also stimu-late the adoption of technology and scal-ing up of best practices from one country to another. Moreover, by recruiting new members I help to increase the visibility of the entrepreneurs’ business and per-sonal achievements to the rest of the agri-world, represented by different AAA Chapters.

My biggest reward has been to share the journeys of successful agro entre-preneurs from the five countries, and to share these success stories with fellow Ethiopian members. Getting to know the entrepreneurs; their challenges and achievements, and visiting their compa-nies has been a true inspiration. So much so in fact that I am thinking of starting my own business with the wealth of experi-ence I have gained. My inclination at this point is to establish a poultry business and I have made initial steps in this direc-tion. I wouldn’t hesitate to say that AAA has kick-started my ambition.

Kalkidan and Isaac

10Written by: Kalkidan Kassaye (Ethiopia) and Isaac Kazanga (Malawi)

EditorLindsey Pextonlindseypexton@hotmail.comGraphic designBVO Graphic Designinfo@bvographicdesign.com