blueMoon Ethiopia's first youth agribusiness incubator

The MasterCard Foundation recently held its second annual Young Africa Works Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, with a focus on engaging youth in agriculture as drivers of agricultural transformation. CNBC Africa had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Eleni Gabre-Madhin, CEO and Founder of blueMoon, Ethiopia's pioneering youth agribusiness incubator and seed investing platform. Dr. Eleni highlighted the growing interest in agriculture and agribusiness across Africa, emphasizing the untapped potential for economic growth in post-harvest services, processing, logistics, and storage. One key area of interest for her is youth-led businesses in the agricultural sector. Dr. Eleni addressed a pertinent question from social media about the potential mismatch between what investors seek in young entrepreneurs and the businesses that these entrepreneurs are developing. She highlighted the importance of scalability, high returns, and transformative impact in attracting investors. However, she noted that many aspiring youth entrepreneurs tend to focus on small-scale ventures without considering the scalability from the outset. To bridge this gap, Dr. Eleni emphasized the need for incubation and acceleration programs, seed investors, and venture capital financing tailored to support early-stage, high-risk ideas. Venture capital financing and seed funding are crucial components in fostering innovative agribusiness ideas with the potential for scalability and transformation. Dr. Eleni underscored the need for a shift towards venture financing in Africa, similar to the models prevalent in other parts of the world. She advocated for the establishment of organized angel networks and crowd equity funding platforms to provide alternative financing options for youth-led agribusiness ventures. In discussing the importance of financing, Dr. Eleni also highlighted the significance of market access for youth agribusiness owners. Beyond traditional financing mechanisms, she emphasized the need for intensive networking to connect young entrepreneurs with industry leaders and potential buyers both domestically and internationally. By fostering these connections through networking platforms, private business forums, and web presence, young agribusiness owners can tap into a broader market and establish valuable connections within the industry. The innovative financing models and networking initiatives proposed by Dr. Eleni offer a roadmap to unlock the potential of youth-led agribusinesses in Africa. By facilitating access to capital, fostering scalability, and enabling market linkages, these strategies can drive economic growth, empower the youth, and revolutionize the agricultural landscape across the continent.