HortiFresh West Africa has certified 13 female-led horticulture business owners for successfully completing the second (2nd) HortiFresh Female Business Accelerator Program through MDF West Africa, the consulting and implementing partner.
The Graduation ceremony took place at the Mensvic Grand hotel on Friday, April 29, 2022, where certificates and plaques were handed out to graduands by the Program Manager of HortiFresh Mrs. Sheila Assibey-Yeboah, and the Lead Trainer of the program at MDF West Africa, Mrs. Vivian Mensah-Dogbatse.
The coaching program aimed at strengthening the capacity of female entrepreneurs in the horticulture sector under the HortiFresh Access to Finance component.
The seven-month program was designed to focus on six key areas: business strategy, operations, sales and marketing, human resource, business management and financial management. It also addressed key challenges in the management of horticulture businesses.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, the Program Manager of HortiFresh, highlighted the importance of capacity strengthening in the areas of financial and business management.
She noted that, this will go a long way to position businesses in the horticulture sector for support from the financial sector and impact communities.
The Project Coordinator at MDF West Africa, Joana Chemel, expressed appreciation to HortiFresh for the opportunity to train these businesses and commended the 13 entrepreneurs for completing the program.
According to her, this is a key milestone in getting their businesses ready to tap into opportunities available in the financial sector.
She urged all the female enterpreneurs to strictly adhere and implement the various elements of the program in the day-to-day management of their businesses.
About HortiFresh
HortiFresh is a programme supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands which has prioritized commercial agriculture in its strategic plan of moving from aid to trade.
The programme’s mission is to establish “a sustainable and internationally competitive fruit and vegetable sector that contributes to inclusive economic growth, food, and nutrition security” in Ghana and Ivory Coast.
The programme aims to reach 15,000 farmers and increase their productivity by 20% by 2021.
The HortiFresh programme consists of two components: fruits and vegetables. In Ghana, attention is being given to the fruit and vegetable sectors while focusing on other regional fruit supply chain dimensions in the surrounding countries like Ivory Coast.
The objectives include improving productivity in the vegetable sector; facilitating more efficient markets, including linking vegetable producers and other value chain operators with the Dutch private sector; improving the business climate and further professionalizing the value chain for vegetable production and consumption in Africa.
About MDF West Africa
Training and Consultancy organisation with 35 years of experience in providing management training, advisory, and evaluation services worldwide. We believe in building on existing knowledge and experiences to create long-lasting effects.
Our services are diverse but have three things in common – they are driven by new concepts and theories, are practical, and lead to new insights.
