Blended
Rural Entrepreneurship Africa
Rural entrepreneurship has the potential to drive innovations that can reduce poverty, increase access to food and create employment. For this to happen, actors in agri-food value chains need to trust each other. However, local agri-food value chains are almost always characterised by protectionist behaviour resulting in very high marketing costs and a stalemate, instead of by a drive for positive change and development. This course is focused on breaking the deadlock these value chains are in and hands you the tools to do that.
This course will be held partly online and partly in Ghana
What will you learn?
Upon completion of the course you will:
- Have become sensitive to imbalances within agri-food value chains and how these issues can be addressed
- Have strengthened your capacity to promote rural wealth creation
- Have strengthened your competence in the area of market access of micro entrepreneurs
- Have the ability to identify pro-poor, smallholder inclusive and/or gender-friendly agribusiness development opportunities
- Be able to apply the tools that support private sector-driven innovations in agri-food value chains
For who is this course?
The course is intended for mid-career professionals of government departments, NGOs and civil society organisations, businesses, development agencies, universities and colleges for higher education, and individual consultants working in the domain of private sector and/or market-driven development.
Course programme in more detail
| Duration | 4 weeks |
| Studyload | 80 hours |
| Programme | April 17 – 28 and June 5 - 9 online. May 8 – 16 on-site face-to-face section on location in Kumasi, Ghana. |
Trust among actors in agri-food chains is often not very high. This is caused by the low number of transactions between actors of agri-food value chains, the long distance between producer and end markets, and the general lack of understanding and, therefore, appreciation of each other’s roles. In these situations, all chain actors first of all try to protect their interests as much as possible. As a result, opportunistic behaviour among chain actors is rampant, and cooperation is virtually non-existent. The costs of marketing in these types of fresh produce chains are extremely high, resulting in a combination of very high price levels and very low margins at almost all levels of the chain.
Course formats
Our courses are offered in two formats: online or blended. A course taught in a blended format is taught partially online and partially in person. Check the course details for more information about whether it is taught in online or blended format.
Application for this course
On top of this page you can apply for the course Rural Entrepeneurship Africa. Depending on your nationality, your organisation and the type of course you wish to join, your eligibility and the application procedures may differ. Find out more about the requirements and the application process.