COLEACP-CABA agreement
- 17/03/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Caribbean, News
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COLEACP and the Caribbean Agri-business Association (CABA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate in support of the SMEs and businesses operating in the agri-food sector in the Caribbean. The joint COLEACP-CABA action plan includes the following areas of cooperation, among others: Industry and market intelligence – information on international, regional and national policies and regulations impacting private sector operators, and joint information and communication products Business support – technical assistance to business proposals to improve production, access markets,… +Team Europe partners with Equity Bank to support Kenyan business and agriculture amid Covid-19
- 10/03/2021
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: Kenya, News
The European Union (EU) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), working together as Team Europe, are providing €120 million (KES 15.8 billion) of new support for Equity Bank to enhance financing for Kenyan companies most impacted by the Covid-19 crisis (European Commission press release, 3 March). The financing package will support access to finance under appropriate conditions for Kenyan SMEs, including in the agriculture sector, through €100 million loans from the EIB to Equity Bank and €20 million of EU… +International Women’s Rights Day 2021
- 08/03/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa, Caribbean, News, Pacific
Celebrate with PAFO and COLEACP women innovations in the agrifood sector! Women still face too many challenges in finding jobs in the formal economy or starting and developing businesses, due to insufficient conducive policies and normslow rates of land ownership, as well as access and control over resources and limited access to credit. However, women are a significant entrepreneurial force as owners of farms, input supply stores, service delivery businesses, and processing and export firms whose contributions to local, national,… +Vert Limited – Working towards a sustainable and inclusive business
- 26/02/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Kenya, Mangoes, News
During 2020, Kenyan SME Vert Limited received support from COLEACP’s Fit For Market programme to update its policies towards social compliance. Vert Limited is a Kenya-based, indigenous company specialising in growing and exporting fresh produce, targeted specifically at the European market. The company sells fine vegetables on the export market and has ventured into mango puree and dried mango. Social compliance has become an important sustainability parameter for consumers. Proof of social welfare in the form of certification has been… +COLEACP’s new training in performance management for horticultural SMEs
- 18/02/2021
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: Chillies, Kenya, News
COLEACP has been providing training in performance management, effective communication and lean management principles for the senior managers of AAA Growers, one of Kenya’s leading exporters of premium and prepared vegetables and the country’s largest commercial grower and exporter of chillies. “For a firm, nothing can give more satisfaction than seeing your customers delighted, which can be due to the satisfaction they derive from the product or the customer service. To achieve this, the issues and concerns of the customers… +Innovation series – Session N°2 – Grow local: Conquering local markets
- 14/01/2021
- Posted by: Gaetan Dermien
- Category: Africa, Caribbean, News, Pacific
Session N°2 Grow local: Conquering local markets 21 January 2021, 12h00–14h00 (GMT) English–French interpretation available The second session of the Pan African Farmers Organization (PAFO)-COLEACP Innovation Series will focus on ‘Grow local: Conquering local markets’. Key points for discussion: In serving local markets in value-added products, what are the main challenges encountered by business and SMEs and how can innovation help them to grow? Are we seeing changes by consumers towards buying local products? What should public and private sector… +Business support for Kenyan horticultural SMEs
- 06/01/2021
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: Kenya, News
Reviewing the business plan During the second half of 2020, COLEACP’s Fit For Market and NExT Kenya programmes supported five Kenyan SMEs to update their business plan via an in-depth review or coaching. The companies particularly appreciated the detailed support from experts in the horticultural sector. An external view to critically assess the company’s operations and underlying assumptions has been an eye-opener for many SMEs. Joint construction of the business plan and priorities ensures ownership and provides companies with clarity… +Impacts of Covid-19 on horticultural SMEs in Ghana
- 24/09/2020
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: Ghana, News
COLEACP’s surveys in the early months of the pandemic aimed to gather first-hand information on the impact of Covid-19 on operators of horticultural businesses, and assess how support from COLEACP and other partners could best be redirected as a response. These were not intended to be systematic surveys – respondents were self-selecting, and the operators taking part varied greatly in size and operation. But the results provide an illuminating qualitative snapshot of the key impacts of Covid-19 to date, and… +Impacts of Covid-19 on Kenyan horticultural SMEs
- 22/09/2020
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: Kenya, News
A COLEACP survey on the impacts of Covid-19 on companies’ operations in May shows that despite all the measures taken to cut costs and secure revenues, almost three-quarters of companies responding did not financially break even in May, an increase on 64% that failed to do so in April. Many companies will struggle to survive if this situation persists. This survey, covering May 2020, was carried out among the 65 horticultural companies in Kenya that benefit from COLEACP’s technical assistance… +Impacts of Covid-19 on horticultural SMEs in Ethiopia
- 18/09/2020
- Posted by: Sandra Borma
- Category: Ethiopia, News
COLEACP’s surveys in the early months of the pandemic aimed to gather first-hand information on the impact of Covid-19 on operators of horticultural businesses, and assess how support from COLEACP and other partners could best be redirected as a response. These were not intended to be systematic surveys – respondents were self-selecting, and the operators taking part varying greatly in size and operation. But the results provide an illuminating qualitative snapshot of the key impacts of Covid-19 to date, and… +