Bopinc and Village Capital have launched O-Farms, a circular agribusiness accelerator to identify and support startups with solutions for circular agribusiness, so they can make a profit from food products that would otherwise be wasted. During the second half of 2021, the partners will recruit, vet and select 10 SMEs in both Kenya and Ethiopia for the first cohort of O-Farms. These startups will participate in a series of capacity building events focused on business model development, technical skills, investment readiness and networking with a community of investors and mentors who work in and around the food system. At the end of the programme, two cohort companies from each country will be selected by their peers to receive growth funding worth US$30,000 each. By mid-2023, O-Farms hopes to have worked with more than 40 companies on making profitable new products from food losses and by-products. The learnings developed throughout the project will be shared widely to inspire the transition to circular farming and food systems in East Africa.
SOURCE: DISRUPT AFRICA