From Struggles to Solutions: How donors can better support young agripreneurs

An interview with Jenice Achieng, Owner, Agnesa Bakery; Country Representative, YPARD Kenya, and Moreen Nyakato, CEO, Greeco Organic Farm, Uganda, during the 2024 Annual General Assembly on “Financing Food Systems Transformation and Rural Revitalization: Opportunities and Challenges”.

Jenice Achieng

Owner, Agnesa Bakery; Country Representative, YPARD Kenya

Moreen Nyakato

CEO, Greeco Organic Farm, Uganda

Jenice Achieng is the owner of Agnesa Bakery. She is also a Country Representative for YPARD in Kenya.

Moreen Nyakato is the Chief Executive Office (CEO) of Greeco Organic Farm in Uganda.

Michelle Tang/GDPRD: What has been the highlight of being in Rome for the Annual General Assembly (AGA) and what have you learned through your participation?

Jenice Achieng: The highlight of the AGA has been networking and interacting with fellow young agripreneurs from different countries, and seeing how our stories on stage impacted the donors. I learned a lot about blended and innovative finance; it's been an eye-opener and has broadened my own horizons on global financing landscapes.

Moreen Nyakato: Learning about the different financing mechanisms available has been a highlight. Young entrepreneurs go through a lot to get investment for their businesses.

To save my business, I took loans from family and friends, accessed microfinance (which has very high interest rates), explored community-based organizations, and even took a personal loan against my employment as a teacher.

Michelle: Tell us about your experience in accessing finance as an owner of a small business?

Moreen: It has not been an easy journey for me. In my country, the easiest way to access finance is through bank loans, for which you need security and the main security considered is land. Because of cultural beliefs, most women in my country do not own land, which has made it difficult for me to access finance. Even when I later acquired the collateral, it was still difficult, as small business loans are short-term and come with very high interest rates.

Jenice: When I began, I thought it would be easier—I'll just walk into a bank and come out with a loan. But that was not the case. Three years into my business, I was told it was not bankable for a loan as I needed collateral such as a land title or car ownership, neither of which I had. Eventually, I came across a product promoting women in agripreneurship and pitched my business for a loan. But after establishing my account with them, I was told to wait another three years to be eligible. Three years is too long — my business is capital-intensive, so if I don't invest in machinery and equipment, I will be out of business.

I am still repaying the loan and have three years left. However, it helped kickstart my business and enhanced my capacity to acquire the machines I needed. I hope I can get funding in the future that better suits my enterprise.

Moderator Henry Bonsu, Jenice Achieng and Moreen Nyakato during the 2024 Annual General Assembly.

Agri-enterprises need tailored models where the interest rate and repayment periods align with agricultural seasons, and they need to be long-term.

Michelle: What do you think is missing from the current financing landscape for young entrepreneurs?

Jenice: Capital investment. We have worked hard on our businesses, but we don’t want to stay small. At a certain point, we want to scale up, and to do that, we need capital investment.

Michelle: What else is missing that would help young entrepreneurs like yourselves?

Jenice: Tailored products that suit specific entrepreneurs. We cannot distribute loans with the same interest rate to rural areas as we do to urban setups. Agri-enterprises need tailored models where the interest rate and repayment periods align with agricultural seasons, and they need to be long-term.

If financial institutions prioritize interest over the well-being of their entrepreneurs, there will be no agripreneurs left to take loans in the future.

If we can be empowered and manage to run our businesses for five, eight, or ten years, it would be easier for us to empower other youth agripreneurs.

Michelle: What is the one key message you want donors and financial institutions to consider?

Moreen: Donors must first consider direct financing to young entrepreneurs who are creating positive impact in their communities. Most of the money from donors goes to large organizations or NGOs, and then young entrepreneurs implement, but there are very few incentives for the work involved. I think that should be reevaluated because in our rural communities, there are many young people who have innovative businesses, but they need that push.

It is hard to grow an enterprise with expensive, short-term bank loans; donors should offer lower interest rates as an alternative. Short-term loans don’t provide enough time to make a difference.

We can provide inspiration to other young people, as an alternative to the large farms often owned by older demographics. If we can be empowered and manage to run our businesses for five, eight, or ten years, it would be easier for us to empower other youth agripreneurs.

Michelle: How do you see the GDPRD as being relevant, and what kind of role do you see the Donor Platform playing?

Moreen: I see it supporting rural people in many ways. I am from a rural area, so if they could support innovations, that would be even better. It would help support more people in our communities.

Jenice: For me, it's very good because it has shown representativeness and inclusivity by giving us young people and young entrepreneurs the opportunity to showcase our stories. We hope this can influence and shape the final outcome of this AGA. At the end of the day, we are the clients of these donors, and by understanding our perspective, we believe they will be able to shape the products and funding models they present to us in the future.

Learn more about the 2024 Annual General Assembly on "Financing Food Systems Transformation and Rural Revitalization" and the GDPRD Thematic Working Group on Rural Youth Employment.