Liberia: UNDP, iCampus Hold Cohort II Boot Camp on Agricultural Cooperatives
Participants at the boot camp in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County
With funding from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), iCampus Liberia and Accountability Lab have concluded the second edition of its Growth Accelerator Agricultural Cooperatives Boot Camp in Buchanan City, Grand Bassa County.
The program, which is also being supported by the Ministry of Commerce, East Africa Market Development, Associates Lab, and AgroTech Liberia, provided participants with adequate knowledge and experience sharing, which will impact their future goals and actions.
The Growth Accelerator Liberia program is mainly a UNDP and the Government of Liberia initiative under the livelihood, employment creation, and accelerating impactful for-profit ventures across the fifteen counties of Liberia.
iCampus Liberia CEO, Luther Jeke, who spoke at the opening session of the boot camp, said the boot camp was intended to provide basic business development skills and help scale cooperatives as well as empower local entrepreneurs.
He said the Growth Accelerator Liberia Programme is a business and agricultural cooperative accelerator, targeting impactful, innovative ventures and cooperatives across Liberia in all industries.
"Today was the last day of The Growth Accelerator Liberia Programme (GAL) Cohort II-Agricultural Cooperatives Bootcamp. It's been a rewarding last few days.
"We look forward to welcoming a new batch of innovative entrepreneurs for the MSMEs Cohort of the GAL in the coming weeks," he said.
According to him, the program targets post-revenue businesses and cooperatives to assist them to scale and grow with a combination of co-financing grants up to US$40,000 and provides mentorship and technical assistance.
"The three days were used for learning, sharing, and networking between the ten semi-finalists from Nimba, Lofa, and Montserrado who converged to learn how to improve their local businesses through the boot camp," he said.
The semi-finalists include Darbodakel Farmer’s Cooperative Society, Rescue Women Micro-Agriculture Cooperative Society, Nimba Livestock Farmers Association Inc., Nimba Women Agricultural Venture, and Rural Women and Girls Promoters for Sustainable Development.
Others are Makona River Farm and Agricultural Services, Voinjama District Women's Organization for Peace and Development, Multi-purpose Farmers' Cooperation Society, Community Empowerment and Innovation in Agriculture, Rural Agriculture Promoters Cooperative Society, and Geh-Zoedoar Farmers Association.
For his part, UNDP Liberia Program Team Leader, Dosla Facarthy, lauded iCampus CEO and extended greetings on behalf of the UNDP resident representative, adding that entrepreneurship is a fundamental part of growth and development in Liberia.
He said the project is set to include eight post-revenue MSMEs and five agriculture cooperatives and provide entrepreneurs that are impact-driven with business development training, mentorship, and access to funding that will enable them to grow and scale.