Agasaro Organic helps local farmers by adding value to their produce Pineapples grow easily in the fertile soil of the Nyamasheke District in Rwanda’s Western province. But with the fruit in such high supply during the harvest season and no local means available to process it, farmers here have always struggled to get a decent
Former president Jakaya Kikwete has urged Tanzanians to support the local fashion industry and praised local fashion houses for producing high-quality clothing of international standards. Mr Kikwete made these remarks during a recent visit to Binti Africa in February, the fashion house from which he has been buying his vintage African print shirts since his
It is no secret that Africa needs to add much greater value to the metals and minerals extracted by the continent’s mining sector. Commentators often highlight the need to attract foreign investment to help move Africa up the value chain by building the capacity to process the commodities it currently exports. Yet, the important role
Opening a large business in an area where almost 50 percent of the population live below the poverty line might deter some of the hardiest business people, not so Mr. Christophe Kanyandekwe, owner of Bugesera Agribusiness Company Ltd, also known as BABC. A mechanical engineer, Mr. Kanyandekwe bought BABC which is located in Gashora, Bugesera district, Eastern Province of Rwanda, in 2014.
Women entrepreneurs play a pivotal role in the private sector comprising micro, small and medium enterprises in Tanzania. Women owned enterprises increased from 35% in early 1990s to 54.3% in 2012, according to estimates by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The ILO Women Entrepreneurs Survey 2014 revealed that 85% of women interviewed in Tanzania financed
After transforming Rwanda into a model for conflict-affected states, the Government of Rwanda is now focusing its reform efforts on a vital needs sector: agribusiness. What makes this sector so crucial is that over 75% of Rwanda’s workforce is concentrated in agriculture. Against this backdrop, GroFin is deepening its efforts to reach out to agribusinesses
Even as ‘The Economist’ noted in an authoritative piece at the start of 2017 that impact investing has come of age, moving into 2018 it looks like the rise of impact investing is indeed an age-related phenomenon. Powering the growth of impact investing are the millennial youth, the freshly minted generation of the 1980s and
Ivory Coast is facing challenges in catering for a rapidly rising labour force, counting 14 million workers in 2015 and poised to rise to around 22 million by 2025. As more and more workers enter the emerging economy, the issue is not so much employment for everyone, as it is to guarantee a decent wage. Indeed,
GroFin, a pioneering SME development financier, has opened its office in Senegal, furthering its expansion into West Africa’s Francophone belt after Ivory Coast. With the opening of this office, Senegalese entrepreneurs can expect to benefit from the unique model of appropriate, medium-term finance and specialised, value-added business support that GroFin extends to Small and Growing
With an overwhelming majority of the population at 97.6% consisting of native South Africans, and only half the households having access to piped water, Kaalfontein in Johannesburg is a typical township that is struggling to cater for a high BoP population. While townships are economically and politically significant in South Africa, they continue to lurk
As impact investing comes of age, to quote the Economist, it is time to take a look at the largest survey of the Impact Investment landscape, and see how this nascent industry is fast becoming a mainstream phenomenon. A decade into the creation of a formal impact investing industry, the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN)
Africa’s education story is waiting to be written, but whether it will be written by Africa’s children is a pressing question that haunts the emerging continent. Consider this – Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) still has 30 million children out of school, and tertiary education is suffering from severe capacity constraints. SSA is also the worst-performing region
Firm Foundation Ghana has become the school of choice for parents in the catchment area and is consistently the top performing school in the Ga West area for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). An average of 25% of students that obtain their BECE at Firm Foundation continue their education through tertiary institutions. The school’s student
Kenyan Entrepreneur Pamela Muyeshi has always had a passion for traditional and authentic Kenyan cuisine. So, it’s no surprise that Amaica Restaurant in Nairobi, would successfully grow to serve a customer base of roughly 43,000 diners per year, and triple its employment level to meet the growing demands of its customers. Since receiving GroFin finance in
Ghanaian entrepreneur, Richard Owusu-Poku, and owner of Linklaters is a prime example of a successful fuel retailer in Ghana. Richard currently manages five out of six Shell filling stations in Koforidua, in the Eastern Region of Ghana. And of the five petrol stations he runs, he owns and operates two while managing the other three
Entrepreneur Irene Wanjiru Mwangi is a pioneer in the field of potato processing in Kenya. Her company, GAEA Foods Ltd., processes potatoes for the local urban market mainly consumed by fast food restaurants, main stream hotels and centralised kitchens for some universities. Consumption is highest amongst the fast food chains: that is estimated to consume
In its most basic form, management accounting allows a business to control its operations and take informed decisions in line with its performance objectives. For small and growing businesses, management accounting is a way to ensure that the business stays within its means as it grows. Indeed, management accounting is crucial for entrepreneurs as it
Investment in agriculture is key to ending hunger and poverty in Africa. Statistics by the European Commission show that, in Africa, agriculture accounts for 65% of total employment and 32% of GDP. Most importantly, agribusinesses tackle food insecurity on two fronts – stimulating increased food production on the one hand and creating wealth for smallholders
“We have a great story to tell and I impress on all of us to continue writing this great STORY!” Sello Malatji, CEO – Rothe Plantscapers. GroFin South Africa investee Rothe Plantscapers has won gold in the Productivity SA Gauteng Regional Awards. As a regional winner, our client was automatically entered as a finalist for the National Productivity
At GroFin, we not only use our resource base of over 110 in-house investment professionals to help our investee businesses become sustainable, but also leverage external expert networks to propel our women entrepreneurs to the heights of success. Last year, we introduced our women entrepreneurs to the 2016-17 Vital Voices Grow Fellowship Program, which helps