Syngenta and Enactus Kenya announces the 35 finalists for the Agribusiness and Communication Competition in Africa.

A total of 35 youth drawn from five African countries have been shortlisted in the on-going youth competition dubbed Agribiz4Africa.

Over 800 participants submitted business ideas via the online platform agribiz4Africa. The 35 finalists are from Nigeria, Rwanda, Cameroon, Benin, Ghana and Kenya.

The ideas were judged by agribusiness academia from Kenya and Nigeria and the top 25 selected contestants received a USD 1000 grant to test their idea and develop a concrete business plans.

Similarly, 32 legible video clips were judged by a Communication expert from Daystar University and leading TV producers from KTN, NTV and CITIZEN. The Top 10 video contestants were assigned a lead Media expert to mentor them on professional video production.

The 35 are expected to arrive in Nairobi, Kenya, on 26th of August, 2014, for a two-day training boot-camp. Thereafter, a judging panel will select the top three from the two categories-Agribusiness Idea and Agribusiness Messaging- who will travel to Addis Ababa for the award ceremony

Speaking in Nairobi, Syngenta head of Corporate Affairs for Africa and Middle East, said the competition main objective was to promote new business opportunities in crop value chains in Africa.

Shikwati James the Enactus Kenya Country Director

“Syngenta’s mission is to raise awareness of opportunities in agriculture; identify wealth creation activities among communities in Africa and make agriculture “cool” for the youth,” said Kinyua Kinyua M’Mbijjewe, Head of Corporate Affairs, Africa Middle East

The competition was carried through an online platform www.agribiz4africa.com and youth aged between 18-30 years from Sub Saharan Africa were invited to submit a500 word business ideas essay that was be judged by leading agribusiness academia from East and West Africa.

James Shikwati, the Enactus Kenya, Country Director, noted that youth from Sub Saharan Africa had been challenged to identify a bottle neck or problem that makes a particular crop’s value chain ineffective and/or inefficient. They were then required to propose a practical idea/solution that has the potential to make a step-change improvement in the chosen value chain.

The top 3 contestants from each category during the Semi-final competition on August 29, 2014 will proceed for the Finals in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) during the African Green Revolution Forum 2014 at the African Union Headquarters.

Kinyua Mbijjewe the Head of Corporate Affairs Sygenta

The overall winner of the business idea competition will get a USD 10,000 cash prize while the overall winner of the Video production competition will get a USD 5, 000 cash prize.

The Africa Agribusiness Competition is organized by Syngenta and Enactus Kenya. It targets youth aged 18 – 30 years. Its objectives are to promote new business opportunities in crop value chains in Africa; raise awareness of opportunities in agriculture; identify wealth creation activities among communities in Africa and make agriculture “cool” for the youth.

About LAPPSET

The LAPSSET Corridor Project is the first single Gigantic, Integrated, Transformative and Game-Changer infrastructure Project the Government has initiated and prepared under Vision 2030 Strategy Framework without external assistance. The project endeavors to deliver a Just and Prosperous middle income Kenya by the year 2030.

Kenya is spearheading the development of Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor Project to strengthen her position as a gateway and a transport and logistics hub to the East African sub-region and the Great Lakes region to facilitate trade, promote regional economic integration and interconnectivity between African countries.

The LAPSSET Corridor Development Authority (LCDA) was established through the Presidential Order Kenya Gazette Supplement No. 51, Legal Notice No. 58, The LAPSSET Corridor Development Authority Order 2013 to plan, coordinate and manage the implementation of the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor Project. The Authority is domiciled in The Presidency in accordance with the Constitution of Kenya 2010.

LAPSSET implementation, firmly on course assures LAPSSET Chairman

The LAPSSET Corridor Development Authority (LCDA) Board Chairman, Amb. Dr. Francis K. Muthaura, has confirmed that plans to ensure the attainment of the LAPPSET Corridor are firmly on course.

Buoyed by recent Lamu Port construction developments, Amb. Dr. Muthaura has expressed optimism that the transformative and game- changing Vision 2030 flagship project will be attained within scheduled time.

Speaking during a media briefing session on the official contract signing of the first 3 berths of the Lamu Port Project, Amb. Dr. Muthaura said it is a timely step by the government to create a platform for the engagement of the private sector in the LAPSSET construction through Public-Private Partnerships.

“Today is indicative of the government’s commitment to the opening up of vast parts of our country and also presents a realistic and solid opportunity for the delivery of the LAPSSET projects while conferring the country a lifeline for economic growth support,” he said.
While assuring of the LAPSSET implementation progress, Amb. Dr. Muthaura said initial project disbursements have been funded and that work will commence next month through M/s China Communication Construction Company and Supervision Consultants Yashoon Engineering, the contactors of the 3 berths. 

It is estimated that the 3 Berths of the Lamu Port will end in 2019, hastening the construction of the other Twenty Nine (29) berths.
And added: “As envisioned under the Vision 2030 Enablers and Macro pillar, the commencement of the construction of the first 3 berths of Lamu Port Project will facilitate the delivery of materials for the construction of the first three berths; the crude oil pipeline, the coal plant in Lamu and Lamu-Garissa-Isiolo Road among other projects.”

Such progress, the LCDA Board Chairman noted is geared at positioning the country as the transport and logistics hub in the region while integrating unexploited parts of the country which has relied on the Northern Corridor to sustain itself through revenue generation.
Within the last three years, the LAPSSET Corridor Development has successfully managed to co-ordinate the rollout of key facilities at the Lamu Port including building the Lamu Port, Lamu Port Police and survey for the Port area.

“As the Chairman of the Board for LAPSSET corridor development authority, am glad to note much progress has been made in the various components. We are 98 per cent complete with key LAPPSET activities and fulfilled the conditions preceding the LAPSSET implementation including allocation of funds for compensating the local communities whose lands have been taken by the port project site,” said Amb. Dr. Muthaura. 

He hailed the LAPSSET Corridor projects as being positioned to bring economic benefits in less than ten years to both the country and the region, equivalent to those experienced since independence.
“While the LAPSSET Corridor Program requires substantial amounts of resources, feasibility studies done show great economic viability with most of the project components registering High Economic Interest Rates of Return of between 17 per cent and 23.4 per cent compared to acceptable industry minimum standard of 10 per cent for infrastructure projects,” added the Chairman.

Speaking on the sidelines of the event the LAPSSET Corridor Development Authority Managing Director Silvestre Kasuku reiterated that the project will not only improve Kenya’s economy in general but also improve the lives of the people along the Corridor with Education being one of the major keys for development, through youth scholarships.
“The Lamu youth have an opportunity to develop their capacity in terms of skills which will prepare the youths for the future job opportunities along the corridor upon implementation of the projects,” said Kasuku.

The seven project components of the LAPSSET Corridor Program have a budget estimated at Kshs. 2 Trillion in construction costs. The Lamu Port with its 32 berths alone will cost approximately USD 3.1 Million, the railway USD 7.1 Million while the Crude oil pipeline will cost a further USD 5 Million. 

The LAPPSET is one of the major Vision 2030 flagship projects that will ultimately culminate in the attainment of transforming Kenya into a middle income, globally competitive and industrializing country with a high quality of life in the next 16 years.