About IRDG/CABD

The Institute of Regional Development and Governance (IRDG) is a not for profit civil society organisation created to drive forward the regeneration of the war affected Northern and Eastern Provinces, principally through providing knowledge-based support for regional development and community restoration. IRDG is specialising in commercial enterprise based regional development.

Center for Agribusiness Development (CABD)

CABD is a division of the IRDG created to execute agribusiness MSME development initiatives by collaborating with like minded institutions and individuals.

Centralise information on access to resources

CABD will centralise relevant resources, create skill pools, knowledge base, connect and collaborate with stakeholders to create a resource center to access all available support initiatives offered by diverse institutions including the central and provincial governments, for agribusiness development. CABD believes general awareness and processes and procedures to access resources such as support services offered, incentives financial resources provided to small holder farmer producers lack visibility. Such services and incentives are provided by various line ministries, departments, state research institutions at the national the district levels.

Business project funding are available from several state institutions, banking and other development related financial institutions, donors and INGOs. Awareness and skill required to access and avail such facilities and to determine appropriate are lacking among potential entrepreneurs and for start-up enthusiast.

Business Management Capacity resources

Provide train the trainers (ToT) for 15 post graduate management candidates each will in-turn train 3 more candidates. This pool of resources will collaborate and act as resource pool and will be channeled to specialise in areas of enterprise development and management.

Mission

CABD mission is to benefit village level small holder farmers by re-engineering farming processes, by introduction of improved technology, provision of technical services, product and producer grouping to achieve commercial scale and by providing business services for start-up entrepreneur and enterprise agri¬business development.

Objectives

• To develop and promote entrepreneurship in the region through Agri Business Incubation by providing incubation support, facilitating structured business operations processes , handholding services, market linkages.
• To commercialize current subsistence based backyard production of fruits and vegetables
• To undertake programs on capacity building with regard to technical, technological and managerial aspects of agribusinesses.
• To accelerate competitiveness of agribusiness environment and job creation
• To introduce protected and organic cultivation practices

We put this into practice by:

• acting as a ‘platform’ to enable like-minded people, key public institutions, leadership and overseas investors with data, information and business advisory services and develop local capacity for enterprise and entrepreneur business management
• creating and revitalising commercially viable micro, small and medium enterprises at the community level by identifying means to add value and ways to integrate them into regional, national and international markets
• developing business models and introduce/showcase private sector business management practises (profit centres) by extensive incentive-based income earning opportunities for participants
• engaging in advocacy to raise issues and challenges from business development at the grassroots level and collaborating with a diverse range of actors to find solutions

Our business-model

Local ownership and bottom up wealth creation is critical for recovery and economic development at the village level. But we also see a unique opportunity to restore community cohesion of war affected provinces through rallying community members around common livelihood goals and business activities.

To this end, IRDG has formulated a private sector business development model which focuses on re-engineering rural agricultural farming processes by reinforcing community networks and relationships, as a first step in building sustainable livelihoods.

The following features can be tailored to suit the nature and size of livelihood initiatives:

• Identification of livelihoods activities with communities to ensure we build on their skills, assets, local resources and interests
• Product and producer grouping in line with the ‘one village, one product’ concept enabling the production of commercial volumes at the community level
• Ensuring that micro and SME entrepreneurs reap the rewards of their own effort but have access to cost efficient common in-house support services provided at the group level in order to enhance the quality and consistency of local produce
• Working with communities to understand the value chain, the market and customer needs; and to facilitate sales and marketing
• Accompaniment through the provision of business development, business incubation services and operational management support by IRDG until the community enterprise reaches maturity.