Global Agri Entrepreneurship Academy (GAEA)

Duration	10 years starting September 2024
Budget	[min $400,000 to the end of 2025]
Location	[Sub-Saharan Africa]
Outreach	[10,000 Agri Entrepreneurs and 2m Smallholder Farmers]
Partners	[Private Sector businesses, NGOs, Governments, etc.]

Global Agri-Entrepreneurship Academy (GAEA) is an initiative of IFC, SAF Africa, and Syngenta Foundation India to enhance the capacity of partners (agribusinesses, governments, NGOs, and non-profits) in implementing the Agri-entrepreneur model for last-mile distribution of products and services to smallholder farmers. SAF-A is the GAEA Hub in Sub-Saharan Africa and will establish and operate the “Global Agri-Entrepreneurship Academy” (GAEA) programs on the continent.

Objectives:

1. Provide standard operating procedures: The global AE academy will provide a franchised operating system with standardized operating procedures and templates for launching AE networks.
2. Capacity Building: To build capacity in implementing organizations, key components include training on the common operating system, training trainers for AE programs, and training market and financial service specialists.

3. Digital Tools and Innovations: Provide implementing organizations with digital tools to support AE training, mentoring, and business operations, facilitating engagement with suppliers and service providers.

4. AE Learning & Alumni Network Establish a global AE alumni network, to facilitate training, learning, and knowledge sharing. This approach will lower costs through economies of scale and increase efficiencies by synthesizing success and failure stories globally.

5. Develop Global Partnerships: Establish local and global partnerships for the AE program, with the global AE academy focusing on onboarding global companies and linking them with franchisees.]

6. Policy Advocacy, Monitoring, Evaluation & Impact Assessment: Provide monitoring, evaluation, and learning frameworks to guide course correction and improvement.

Key Activities:

• [Development of the GAEA business strategy for SSA]
• [Supporting the Development of Common Operating Systems]
• [Business development: Finding clients and partners for GAEA in Africa)
• [Identification of tools and innovations for GAEA]
• [Operating the certification and alumni network for GAEA in SSA]
• [Development ME systems for GAEA]

Achievements (so far):

• [GAEA strategy for SSA developed]
• [Common operating system in place]
• [Business development is a continuous exercise. In SSA we have one client (East and West Africa)]