Agri BDS is a natural answer to a need that became clear as the Cooperative Support Programme developed over the years. The success of proximity coaching and the demand that coaches were clearly responding to, needed to become sustainable and survive the length of the programme. CSP worked, with partners, towards establishing a viable network of cooperative supporters that offer Agri Business Development Services (Agri BDS) to cooperatives and other Agri SMEs. The capacity building trajectory is considered vital in helping the cooperatives utilize the BDS skills to strengthen the cooperative business and take advantage of emerging opportunities. This component is considered to be SPARK’s anchor for the sustainability of the overall CSP achievements. The objective was to create and enhance the capacity of (Agri) business development organizations, professionals, individuals, agencies and other organizations (interested in) providing support to cooperatives and Agri SMEs. RICEM, a public private Institution, which has the mandate to promote cooperatives management and related services in Rwanda, partnered with SPARK to build this capacity. Today, 33 participants have been trained and now consider themselves independent agri BDS providers. Just as CSP is closing, RICEM obtained accreditation for the course and will continue to offer agri BDS course in the future. CSP also focused on creating an enabling environment and strengthening its capacity to coordinate, promote standards in BDS delivery and harmonize the activities of Agri BDS providers. This effort turned into the Agri BDS network, which is coordinated through a partnership with AgriProfocus (APF). *Click on the image to play video 45
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