WHO WE ARE:

AWAN Afrika is a Pan African non-profit organization limited by guarantee that provides a platform for African women and youth in Agribusiness to access markets, trade information and finance as envisaged in The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 5, 8, 2 and 1.

OUR VISION:

To create a platform for women and youth in agribusiness to access markets and inclusive finance for continental and global competitiveness.

OUR STRATEGY:

To facilitate, enable and accelerate growth for women and youth owned agribusiness through our four pillars, with focus on agriculture.

WHAT WE STAND FOR:

• Inclusivity: Our propositional bet is that the youth are the ones that are going to change the face of agriculture in Africa. They are bringing in new ideas and taking risks.

• Technological Innovations: Agricultural biotechnology has the potential to transform African agriculture by raising agricultural productivity and farmers’ incomes. Therefore, we seek to introduce new technologies such as drones, efficient mechanical tools, new production technologies like aquaponics, permaculture, aeroponics, hydroponics, applying the Internet of Things (IoTs) in agriculture among others to increase productivity along the value chains.

• Global Competitiveness: We create a platform that facilitates market participation, access to trade information and finance, to enable African women and youth in agribusiness to become significant players in the continent and in global trade.

• Sustainability: We facilitate, enable and accelerate the growth of women and youth-led agribusinesses through financial inclusion, market access, trade facilitation, and technology for sustainable development.

OUR GOAL:

To empower women and youth to leverage opportunities to increase trade in the regional markets, tap into the newly created Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the global market.

OUR TARGET:

Our target is to connect

15 MILLION

WOMEN & YOUTH IN AGRIBUSINESS ACROSS THE CONTINENT BY DEC 2025.

SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS:

• 70% of women in Africa engage in agriculture for economic growth in micro, small, medium and large enterprises.

• Fewer women’s businesses are involved in export trade than those owned by men (The International Trade Centre’s (ITC) Non-Tariff Measures Surveys conducted across 20 countries (ITC, 2015a).

• Africa has 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land

•Population pressure and improved market access are intensifying African agriculture. (World Bank, 2017)

• Non-farm enterprises in rural Africa are often operated due to economic necessity and survival. Consequently, they tend to have low productivity levels, do not create many jobs and do not drive structural transformation in Africa. (World Bank, 2017)

• Access to credit is limited for farmers (World Bank, 2017)

• Forecasts indicate that by 2030, nearly 9 in 10 extremely poor people will live in Sub-Saharan Africa. (World Bank, 2018)

• ICT broadband penetration is estimated to rise very sharply to 99% of the population in 2060. (AfDB, 2011)

• By 2060, the average life expectancy in Africa is projected to reach 70 years, compared to 56 years in 2010. (AfDB, 2011)

• Literacy rate is projected to continue rising, reaching around 96% in 2060. (AfDB, 2011)

• It is contended that by 2060, the Green Revolution will be supplanted by a Gene Revolution. (AfDB, 2011)

• Under business-as-usual, the agriculture sector alone will almost reach the 2-degree target emission levels for all sectors in 2050. (IFPRI, 2018)

• By 2060, aid will have decreased in importance as a driver of Africa’s development. (AfDB, 2011)

• By 2060, Africa’s population will have radically shifted from rural to urban areas. (AfDB, 2011)

• The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA – the largest free trade area) is a $3.4 trillion economic bloc, with 1.3 billion people across the continent.

OPPORTUNITY:

Lack of mechanization, access to finance, market, agri-technology, trade facilitation and financial illiteracy are the biggest challenges for women and youth in Agribusiness and SME’s on the continent. AWAN Afrika, therefore, stands out as the vehicle that is bringing a positive change into the agricultural sector in Africa due to the following strategic reasons:

• AWAN Afrika is present in 43 African countries

• It is represented by AWAN Under30 champions across all the regional economic communities namely: AMU, CEN-SAD, COMESA, EAC, ECCAS, ECOWAS, IGAD and SADC

• Its agile and diverse team has over 100 years of combined industry experience

• Its language diversity spans across English, French, Portuguese, Arabic and Kiswahili

• Its network comprises individual members’ businesses including producers, processors, aggregators, export companies and input suppliers among others across the continent and globally.

• It has an E-Hub, which is a repository of information on agriculture along value chains and supply chains.

• Its network of 2000 women owned MSMEs across the continent has a net worth of over $500Million per annum.

GLOBAL AND CONTINENTAL FRAMEWORKS:

Relying on the potential of African people, especially its women and youth, AWAN Afrika subscribes to the following frameworks:

• Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want: Africa’s blueprint and master plan for transforming Africa into a global powerhouse of the future, based on inclusive and sustainable development.

• The Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods: A set of concrete agricultural goals to be attained by 2025.

• Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP): A continental initiative to help African countries eliminate hunger and reduce poverty by raising economic growth through agriculture-led development.

• Africa Continental Free Trade Area: The largest free trade area in the world, connecting 1.3 billion people across the continent, with a combined GDP valued at $3.4 Trillion. It has the potential to lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty.

• The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (the UN SDGs): A shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.

• The Paris Agreement: A landmark environmental accord to address climate change and its negative impacts by providing a pathway for developed nations to assist developing nations in their climate mitigation and adaptation efforts.

• Science Technology Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA): It places science, technology and innovation at the epicenter of Africa’s socio-economic development and growth and the impact the sciences can have across critical sectors such as agriculture.

• The Boosting Intra-African Trade (BIAT) Action Plan: Seeks to deepen Africa’s market integration and significantly increasing the volume of trade that African countries undertake amongst themselves from the current levels of about 10-13% to 25% or more by 2030.

• The Accelerated Industrial Development for Africa (AIDA) Action Plan: Aims to mobilize both financial and nonfinancial resources and enhance Africa’s industrial performance.