Agribusiness
2SCALE: Incubating inclusive agribusiness in Africa
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We forge partnerships in agribusiness
Collaboration is growth. An agricultural ecosystem is stronger when it’s built on strong partnerships and mutual trust. When agribusinesses work together, they become more competitive, resilient and innovative.
Technical interventions need supportive interpersonal infrastructure to transform our food system. It can be challenging to earn stakeholder commitment, guide smooth collaboration and scale innovations. Partnerships create fertile ground to adopt new practices.
When agribusinesses cooperate they thrive long-term. Agricultural markets become more inclusive, productive and innovative. So we build cooperative networks called agribusiness clusters (ABC). ABCs are local and commodity-specific networks of agribusinesses interested in win-win commercial arrangements. Clusters co-create strategic plans and search for solutions to shared challenges. Together they enhance product quality, reduce transaction costs and increase business volumes. They also share the risks and benefits of innovation. Trust and communication are essential to understanding other’s interests. We optimise agri-food ecosystems by building partnerships that get the right services, products and quality to the right place at the right time.
Facilitating partnerships at scale
Agribusiness networks don’t emerge spontaneously. Regional agribusiness trainers and a dedicated coach guide each cluster towards independence. Through mentoring and coaching agribusiness people gain requisite communication and collaboration skills. We emphasise learning by doing supported by collective reflection, rather than classroom teaching. Our training-of-trainers model disperses partnership facilitation skills at scale. We train regional agribusiness trainers who guide the coaches who facilitate clusters.
Our in-country partners tailor iCRA’s services to meet the needs of the context. This model enables us to scale our impact far beyond our organization’s size. It also gives agency to local agricultural professionals.
Opportunities for the next generation
Agribusinesses that collaborate capitalise on technological innovation and become more competitive and resilient. These businesses provide attractive career prospects for young people and improve food security.
“I'm motivated by the results achieved at the end of a support program. For example, the ABC Soja de Guilmaro in Benin increased their soybean production volume by 168%.”
Our solutions
Training agribusiness trainers
By training trainers, iCRA nurtures a global pool of agribusiness partnership facilitators. Our regional trainers support coaches who guide regional agribusiness clusters towards independence.
Facilitating partnerships
iCRA supports agribusiness partnerships throughout the life cycle. We uncover mutual interests, incentivize collaboration, and mitigate risks to catalyse business relationships based on trust.
What to expect
Establishing Agribusiness Clusters (ABC)
ABCs are local, commodity-specific networks of agribusinesses. Cluster members are ambitious and interested in win-win business arrangements. Clusters co-create strategic plans and solve shared challenges.
Expert trainers and coaches
Each ABC is supported by a regional agribusiness trainer and a local coach. By training trainers, we nurture a global pool of expert agribusiness partnership facilitators. This model gives agency to local agricultural professionals.
Building shared strategies
iCRA gathers agribusinesses who have the ambition to form long-term strategic partnerships. Using the Future Search method, we identify common challenges and objectives before forming a joint action plan.
Cultivating loyalty
It is difficult to build loyalty within agribusiness markets. Trust cannot be forced.. We guide negotiation and contracting processes to create outcomes that are mutually beneficial We uncover shared interests, incentivize collaboration and mitigate risks to kick-start the process of building partnerships.
ABC meetups
We hold monthly Agribusiness Cluster meetups. These events create an international community of expert partnership facilitators. This regular peer-to-peer learning space allows trainers to share success and receive advice.
In-country partners
Our in-country partners are invaluable. They enable us to tailor our training to a trainer or coach’s context. They also support us to design and deliver up-to-date training.
Our impact
Our pool of partnerships facilitators is the legacy we leave. Because we focus on training local professionals, our results grow along with our network.
99
Countries in our network
979
Agribusiness cluster coaches and trainers trained
490
Agribusiness clusters facilitated
167
+Educational institutions supported
1657
Educators and researchers trained
9.0
Average participant's course rating out of ten
Building partnerships to optimize agribusiness ecosystems
When technological solutions are combined with strong partnerships, agricultural value chains become more competitive and resilient. iCRA builds agricultural networks on a foundation of trust. Creating a bigger pie for everybody, not just bigger slices for some.
Cluster formation: optimizing agricultural markets
We call these networks agribusiness clusters (ABCs). ABCs are regional, commodity-specific networks of agribusinesses that are committed to win-win business relationships. Clusters co-create strategic plans based on their common interests. A local coach facilitates each ABC with the support of regional agribusiness trainers.
Trainers & coaches: facilitating partnerships at scale
iCRA uses a training-of-trainers model. This allows us to form clusters and disperse partnership facilitation skills at scale. It also gives local agricultural professionals the agency and autonomy they need to create measurable impact.
