2014 Annual Performance Report: Ethiopia Sustainable Agribusiness Incubator (ESAI)

The project supported companies were distributed in 22 Zones of the country. Emphasis was given to three main result areas: successful support to incubatees and operation of the incubation center, ongoing support for implementation of existing companies' projects, and contributions to industry-wide value chain transformations. In the reporting period, the project provided various incubation supports to 24 incubatees and 12 existing companies, with 31% of the companies being female-owned. One of the major areas of support for companies was the creation of access to finance. The project supported incubatees to access finance from different sources, including bank loans, equity investment, and grant programs. Additionally, the project piloted crowd funding and capital goods financing as alternative financing options and encouraged incubatees to mobilize their own resources for investment. The project also solicited the support of Irish Aid and raised 520,000 USD Innovation Fund to support innovative businesses in the dairy subsector. The Fund was officially launched, and a business plan competition was initiated. Winners were being screened through a rigorous and transparent process involving a Steering Committee comprising representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Industry, USAID, Irish Aid, and PCI. As a result, a total of 167 million Birr (8.3 million USD) new private sector investment was leveraged with ESAI's facilitation supports, with 63% of the investment being contributed by project-supported companies themselves. Trainings were conducted on ten different business-related topics, with a total of 158 company owners and their employees participating, including 32% females. Through ESAI's facilitation support, honey and beeswax processing companies linked and signed formal contracts with 8,341 smallholder beekeepers for the supply of raw honey. This arrangement not only secured a sustainable market for the companies' product but also provided technical assistance to the farmers and supplied beehives and other equipment on a credit basis. ESAI also assisted companies in accessing both local and international markets by facilitating marketing strategy development, participation in international trade fairs, conducting surveys on the New York sesame oil market, and developing urban milk distribution models. Additionally, the project organized Business to Business (B2B) discussion sessions in Tokyo in collaboration with the Ethiopian Embassy in Japan. ESAI promoted problem-solving technological innovations by encouraging and supporting local technologists to develop, modify, or adapt technologies to local contexts. In this reporting period, the project supported the development of sesame raw planter, milk powder production, mechanical milking machine, and mechanical milk churner technologies. The first Agribusiness Investment Forum was successfully organized by ESAI on January 16, 2014, with more than 200 business leaders in attendance. The forum provided a platform for business leaders to discuss and explore investment opportunities in the agribusiness sector. Overall, ESAI's efforts in 2014 contributed to the growth and development of the agribusiness sector in Ethiopia, with a focus on enhancing the competitiveness of value chains and promoting sector-by-sector transformation.