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Add to Preferred SourcesSince 2016, the African Development Bank has committed $1.7 million to the Project to Support the Employability and Integration of Young People in Growth Sectors (PAEIJ-SP) in Togo, which has helped create 35,000 jobs in agricultural SMEs.
When Agrokom and Agricultural Growth Junction of Togo (JCAT) launched in the Togolese capital of Lomé in 2011, they each had around a dozen employees, very few of whom were young people.
In 2016, Agrokom’s annual production capacity was only 180 tonnes of soybeans, while JCAT had the capacity for 1,000 tonnes, not enough to meet the growing demand. Both companies then received support from PAEIJ-SP, which had a funding envelope of $3.4 million, half from the African Development Bank and the other 50% from Togolese microfinance institutions.
“The idea of the project was to first identify small and medium-sized agribusiness enterprises or sectors with strong growth potential, confirmed by growing markets,” explained Amouzouvi Kokou, project lead for the Bank.
“The next step was to support these enterprises’ growth strategies – by developing their capacities and providing them with funding – and to develop value chains around them, in this way creating employment opportunities for young people and women.”
Three years later, the project has proved a success. Agrokom processes 6,000 tonnes of soybeans a year, generating 3,242 direct jobs and 8,505 temporary posts in its value chain. JCAT exports 10,920 tonnes of organic soy to the United States, Germany and China, creating 3,203 direct and 6,931 temporary jobs in the process.
PAEIJ-SP has created a total of 35,000 jobs (14,290 direct and 20,940 temporary), well in excess of the expected 20,000 and particularly benefiting young Togolese.
“This is an exemplary project where the Bank has demonstrated its comparative advantage for the promotion of agribusiness SMEs and the employment of young people in Togolese agricultural value chains. This project sets a benchmark for the Togolese government as far as youth employment is concerned,” said Kokou.
Original source: AfDB
Published on 23 April 2019