AgriConnect has been designed to incentivize Ghanaian youth to participate in agriculture, especially technology-driven agriculture. As more and more youth become engaged in farming it will encourage other youth to engage more fulsomely in agriculture and view it as a viable and sustainable long-term career. The digitalization of the agriculture sector is one key component that is expected to accelerate youth participation in agriculture.
AgriConnect will supply 10,000 agriculture and agriculture-related or adjacent students, including young women and differently-abled persons in 10 academic institutions in Ghana with:
- A laptop and internet connectivity.
- Access to our user-friendly and accessible bespoke digital platform to participate in supplemental courses, including Agribusiness and Entrepreneurship, Value Chain Development and Digital Literacy.
AgriConnect has two connectivity partners – Vodafone and MTN that will provide portable internet devices (Mi-Fi) that will allow students to access and browse the internet from anywhere and allow them to engage with the supplemental courses that was developed for them as part of AgriConnect.
Currently, the proof-of-concept phase of AgriConnect is being implemented. It is expected that after this 18-month proof-of-concept phase is completed, AgriConnect will be scaled up to support more youth and be implemented in several more tertiary-level academic institutions (TVETs and universities) across Ghana.
Essentially, AgriConnect will contribute to the removal of barriers faced by Ghanaian youth in accessing technology and education and providing them with 21st century skills.
Participating Academic Institutions
Ten tertiary-level academic institutions (TVETs and Universities) are currently part of the AgriConnect Programme. These are:
- Damongo Agricultural College
- Ejura Agricultural College
- Kwadaso Agricultural College
- Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)
- Ohawu Agricultural College
- Pong Tamale
- University of Cape Coast
- University of Development Studies
- University of Ghana
- Wenchi Agricultural College
Funding and Implementing Organizations
The Mastercard Foundation is providing resources and strategic oversight to theSOFTtribe Limited, its implementing partner for AgriConnect. The Mastercard Foundation works with visionary organisations to enable young people across Africa and indigenous communities in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work. The Foundation spearheads the Young Africa Works Initiative which is a strategy to enable 30 million young Africans to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030, with 3 million of these being young Ghanaian women and men.
theSOFTtribe Limited is leading the implementation of AgriConnect in collaboration with other local partners. theSOFTtribe Limited is a Ghanaian-owned and locally based software development company and information technology (IT) solutions provider established in 1991 focusing on home-grown tropically tolerant IT solutions. These IT solutions have been widely used by multinational corporations, civil society organizations (e.g. NGOs), academic institutions and government institutions across the West African sub-region.
Main Objectives of AgriConnect
AgriConnect has been designed to empower youth, especially young women and differently-abled persons with digitally enhanced learning in agriculture and agriculture adjacent sectors as a means of increasing their access to dignified and meaningful jobs upon graduation.
AgriConnect supports several national development objectives being advanced by the Government, as well as effectively addresses many of the issues and challenges facing youth and women in the agricultural sector.
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