Linking youth innovation to value chain aggregators in the agrifood sector

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Milos Milovanovic

[email protected]

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PROJECT SUMMARY

Private agribusiness companies working with the EBRD and FAO are creating opportunities for young entrepreneurs to transform value chains across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and Türkiye to be more sustainable and inclusive through innovation.

Context

The EBRD and FAO are carrying out pilot activities in collaboration with two private sector partners: Migros Ticaret A.Ş. in Türkiye and Savola Foods Company in Egypt to stimulate youth innovation and investment in digital technologies. The pilot project was launched at the 2022 World Food Forum.

Keeping pace with rapid advances in technology and having the capacity to deploy them in agribusiness is a challenge for emerging and developing countries including in the EBRD’s countries of operation. Added to this, are global efforts to ‘build back better’ in the face of recent crises that have highlighted vulnerabilities in our food systems.

Meeting new challenges requires new thinking which is the motivation behind this initiative to:

  • harness fresh ideas and youth innovation and connect them to agribusiness that can invest and scale.

  • develop a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation, including in smallholder rural producer communities.

  • encourage youth to develop  ideas by promoting and providing opportunities for research and development, and eventual investment – an estimated 40 percent of young people are unemployed or living in poverty globally.

Shifting Mindsets, Fostering Connections: AGRIFOOD Innovation OPPORTUNITIES WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR

The project team is hosting this session at the World Food Flagship Forum 2023 on 17th October to explore aspects of open innovation and how the private sector can leverage this while collaborating with different stakeholders. There will be lessons drawn from the pilot project as well as representation from winners who will share their experiences.

Achievements

Migros:

  • Virtual empathy sprint (2023) – nine teams (selected from 25 applications including from Türkiye, Lebanon and several African countries) participated in a series of workshops and assignments on applying Design Thinking on key ventures of their start-ups to engage farmers to use technology to support sustainable farming.
  • Prototyping sprint (2023) – three teams selected from the empathy sprint underwent rapid prototyping in the context of products, services and interventions, at a sprint in Türkiye to identify opportunities to apply and define design thinking in their work. The sprint included a session with farmers.

Winners

The three winning teams that participated in the experiential study in Türkiye were Aldeha, FreshSens and Görsentam.

www.migrosup.com/hackathon-2022

Savola:

  • Coaching session (2023) – four teams (selected following a shortlisting of the original 65 applications from the African continent and the Middle East regions) attended a coaching session where research teams led by young scientists worked on alternative oil/fat innovations with mentors and received training on how to communicate their ideas to different audiences. 

Winners

The two winning teams were from the American University of Cairo and the University of Rwanda who won USD 10,000 and USD 5,000 respectively.

 

 

RECENT PROJECTS

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This project aims to strengthen traditional agrifood value chains in Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia while preserving product authenticity and supporting local communities. It focuses on improving quality, organizing supply chains, expanding local and international markets, and promoting sustainability to help businesses become more resilient and profitable while boosting rural economies.

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Linking youth innovation to value chain aggregators in the agrifood sector

Private agribusiness partners working with the EBRD and FAO are creating opportunities for young entrepreneurs to transform value chains across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and Türkiye to be more sustainable and inclusive.

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PROJECTS

ACES: Environmental sustainability in the olive oil sector

Enhancing market diversification for traditional product value chains in Tunisia, Jordan and Morocco

ACES: an Agrifood Climate and Environmental Sustainability initiative

AgriAcademy: digital learning, knowledge transfer and business matching in Ukraine’s agribusiness sector

Regional: Scoping agrifood value chain investments in Western sub-Saharan Africa

ACES: Urban logistics and reduction of Food Loss and Waste (FLW)

ACES: Innovation E-Dialogue Series

Protecting and promoting the reputation of Türkiye’s Bursa black fig and peach

Developing NDC roadmaps for climate-smart agrifood systems

Mongolia: Strengthening climate resilience in dairy farming

Greening Kyrgyzstan’s economy: Know more, act better, enhance results

Facilitating agrifood investment in the energy-water-land nexus in Central Asia

Reforming Tunisia’s Grain Sector to Enhance Supply Chain Resilience

Adding A Splash of Value to Tunisian Olive Oil

Containing the Risks of African Swine Fever in South-eastern Europe

Defining the path towards climate-efficient agrifood system infrastructure

Filling Food Security Gaps in SEMED Supply Pipelines

A More Resilient Food Secure Future in the SEMED Region

Reducing Risks in SEMED Food Security Supply Chains

Improving Traditional Livelihoods with Modern Technology in Kazakhstan

Morocco Olive Oil Production Steps Up to the Plate

Carbon Neutrality: Utopia or The New Green Wave?

A Digital Transition to Safer Food Systems through e-phyto certificates

Putting Georgia’s Traditional Foods on the Culinary Roadmap

A Fresh Approach to Diversifying Agrifood Exports in the Western Balkans

Raising the Stakes for Quality Standards in Montenegro and Serbia

Diversifying Markets for Eastern European and Central Asian Horticulture

Building Back Shorter in Value Chains

Green Horticulture in a Digital Climate

A Taste for Quality Tea in Azerbaijan and Georgia

Linking youth innovation to value chain aggregators in the agrifood sector

The Resilience Pathway: Evolution of Food Distribution Systems during COVID-19

Putting Agricultural Resilience into Serbia’s Irrigation Pipelines

Reimagining the Future of Food for the Cities

Developing a Taste for West Bank and Gaza Olive Oil

Supporting Jordan’s Olive Oil Sector to be Resilient, Competitive and Profitable

Investing in Food Loss and Waste: What’s in it for Development Banks?

Strengthening Moroccan agrifood exporters’ sustainability and competitiveness on global high value markets

Jordan’s Traditional Foods Added to the Development Menu

Creating a Buzz for Türkiye’s Pine Honey

Serving up Egypt’s fruits and vegetables to the international markets

A Public-private Recipe for More Efficient Wheat Imports in Egypt

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Agtivate
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