Agribusiness Development Centre- ADC, a brainchild of the Dutch Rabo Foundation and DFCU Limited, has held a day-long pitch session for the first cohort of participants that participated in their Business Accelerator Program (BAP).
The women-led businesses put their learning to the test as they pitched in front of a panel of six judges representing DFCU Bank, Truvalu, Plus Plus, United Social Ventures, and BiD Capital.
The purpose of the pitching session is to attract investor firms for funding opportunities and/or linkages to finance, seeing as the enterprise leaders have been trained by different skilled and experienced trainers exploring topics pertinent to agribusiness management and acceleration like building a model canvas, marketing, financial, and risk management, to name a few.
Ronald Kasasa, dfcu’s head of business banking, says that these sessions show that the potential for Uganda‘s agricultural sector is being appreciated, with an indication of increased capacity building.
“Most of the pitches by these women-led enterprises have been looking for grants as opposed to loans. This is due to the cost of financing, so the real question should be how banks are coming in to finance agriculture-based businesses while mitigating the cost of financing because margins on agriculture are sometimes quite thin,” he adds.
Athea Ibembe of Apa Original Kisubi Tea Limited, one of the pioneer beneficiaries of BAP, says she is expecting positive feedback from the panel of investors. Her business needs a financial boost of $2,500 to buy an envelope tea bag machine to replace the one they have been using for the last 11 years.
She says, “After participating in pitching sessions like this numerous times, I have found that investors look for impact. For example; the impact your business has on the community you operate in through direct and indirect employment.”
Over 22 enterprises have pitched their ideas and hope to get funding as a grant or loan from the various panelists who are potential investors.
The Agribusiness Development Centre launched its Business Acceleration Program (BAP) to its partners and stakeholders on August 11, 2022, to enable 350 agribusinesses (40% women-led) to become self-sufficient, create new jobs, and link at least 50% of these agribusinesses to financing and markets.