How can we create a business model to boost youth employment, productivity and the socio-economic development in rural Kenya? This is the main question that the AgriVijana project aims to answer. The goal of this project is to create a business model that young entrepreneurs in rural Kenya can adopt and replicate. AgroCares, as one the partners in the project, is supplying the technology used by the young “agripreneurs” to offer soil testing as a service. Other partners in this one-year project are ProPortion Foundation, Vijana Reloaded and SNV.
Encouraging entrepreneurship and creating employment
Youth unemployment in Kenya is estimated to be as high as 35%, while 80% of unemployed Kenyans are below the age of 35. The percentages are even higher in rural areas. This makes creating alternative employment a matter of urgency.
Young people in remote areas are the driving force behind creating jobs for themselves and for their community. That is why the focus of the AgriVijana project is to encourage entrepreneurship among young people by offering trainings to improve their entrepreneurial, ICT and social skills. Furthermore, the AgriVijana project aims to encourage youngsters to embrace agriculture and see it as a viable sector for making an income. The ultimate goal of the project is to create a network of rural youth who offer innovative digital services to farmers such as soil testing with the AgroCares Scanner.
AgroCares’ role in the project
It is impossible to manage what you do not measure, and reliable soil tests are inaccessible for most Kenyan farmers. When available, they are often too expensive and the delay between the sampling and the result is too long for the farmers to make good interpretations.
DigiFarm as part of AgroCares service provider network will bring an affordable, quick and easy-to-use technology for smallholder farmers to test their soil: The AgroCares Scanner.
More about the Project
The AgriVijana Project is a one-year project that started in April 2018. The business case development is led by ProPortion Foundation. The business case is implemented and owned by Vijana Reloaded, a social business for entrepreneurship training for youth in Kenya. Partners in the project are AgroCares, providing digital soil testing technology and SNV, bringing in expertise in innovative agricultural services & network. The project is made possible with funding of SNV HortImpact and Rabobank Medewerkersfonds.
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