1. UniBRAIN’sScorecard:April2015
Forenquiries,writeto:
Mr.AlexAriho
FARAUniBRAINFacilityCoordinator
13AnmedaStreet,RomanRidge|PMBCT173|Accra|Ghana
Phone:+233-5
440113976|+233-544436276
Email:aaEmail:aariho@faraafrica.org|Skype:Ariho_alex
Web:www.faraafrica.org|www.africaain.org

2. TheForum forAgriculturalResearchinAfrica(FARA)
isanapexorganizaonbringingtogetherallthemajor
stakeholdersinagriculturalresearchanddevelopment
inAfrica.ItworksinfosteringcapaciesofAfrica’s
agricultural science and innovaon community.
EEstablishedin2001,FARAencompassesAfricanand
non-Africanstakeholders,whoarecommiedtoenable
Africanagriculturaldevelopmentandcontributein
achievingtheMillennium DevelopmentGoals(MDG),
especially MDG1 (eradicate extreme poverty and
hunger)andMDG7(ensureenvironmentalstability).
In2014FARAreposionedherselfto:
••Ensurethematchingofhumanandinstuonal
capacieswithresourcerequirements
•SustainCAADPmomentum,andtheScienceAgenda
forAgricultureinAfrica(S3A)and;
•Promoteagribusinessincubaonintheconnent.
UniBRAINisoneofthekeypriorityprogrammefor
deliveryonCAADPagenda.
Scaling-upUniBRAINeffortsandneededsupport:
Asaresultoftheprogressachieved,therehasbeen
increaseddemandtoexpandtheUniBRAINmodel
beyondthepilotphasetocovertheenreconnent
forgreaterimpact.TheAfricanUnionhasboughtinto
theprogramandpledgedsupporttoraisefundsfor
up-sup-scaling.
AfiveyearUS$196millionprogrammeisproposed
underthe leAfricanAgribusinessIncubaonforimport
substuon(AAIS)hasbeendevelopedtorollout
creaonofnewincubatorsandsupportcompe ve
SMEsinagribusiness.
DiscussionDiscussionsareunderwayforsupportbyDANIDAand
otherdevelopmentpartnersincludingIndianGovern-
mentunderAfricaIndiaSummit.
Takingtechnologiestoentrepreneur’sdesk
TheQuestofAfricanentrepreneursfornew
technologieshasbeenaddressedgreatlybyUniBRAIN
andtechnologyorientedentrepreneurshavemore
chanceofsuccessintheirventures.UniBRAINhas
veventuredintoidenfyingvariousagrotechnologiesin
AfricaandAsiathroughitspartnerorganizaonto
commercializethemthroughtheincubateesofAIICs.
UniBRAINhasalsocreatedadatabaseofagro
technologiesforAfricanentrepreneursandisinthe
processofreleasingacompendiumofAfricanAgro
technologiesduringtheyear2015.
UniBRAINpoisedtoreacheverycornerofAfrica
Experiencinggreatsuccessandspiralingdemandfrom
othernon-beneficiaryAfricancountries,UniBRAINhas
iniatedstepstoscaleupitsacviestoreachall
ccountriesintheconnent.ThegovernmentofIndiahas
establishedfiveFoodProcessingBusinessIncubaon
Centres(FPBICs)inpartnershipwithFARAUniBRAIN,
addressingdifferentvaluechainsundertheIndia-Africa
ForumSummitII.
TheAfricanUnionhasboughtintoUniBRAINprogram
andpledgedsupporttoraisefundsforup-scaling.
AfiAfiveyearUS$196millionAfricanAgribusiness
IncubaonProgramme(AAIP)hasbeendevelopedto
rolloutcreaonofnewagribusinessincubatorsand
supportcompe veSMEsinagribusiness.
Discussionsareon-goingwithAfricandevelopment
Bankandotherdevelopmentpartnersforsupportto
up-scaletheprogram.Anumberofuniversies,
rresearchorganizaons,privatesectorandgovernment
haveexpressedinteresttopartnerwithFARA-UniBRAIN
inagribusinessvaluechaindevelopmentandreplicate
theUniBRAINmodel.
ToprovideagreatleaptoAfricaseedindustrythrough
agribusinessincubaon,UniBRAINhasstartedworking
withAGRAtopilotseedbusinessincubatorsinGhana,
Ethiopia,Senegal,Malawi,MozambiqueandTanzania
andothercountriesaresettobeaddedtothepool.
UniBRAIUniBRAINisengagedincreangjobsintheagriculture
sectorwhichemploysover65%oftheconnent’slabor
forceandopeningdoorsfornewagribusinessavenues.
Benefitsfromtheventurespromotedhavestartedtrick-
lingdowntotheboomofthepyramidandbenefied
thousandsofhouseholds.Thisgreatmomentumprovid-
edbyUniBRAINiscreangahealthyagribusinessenvi-
rronmentinfivecountriesandmaybereplicatedinthe
restofAfricawhichcoulddefinitelyreduceAfrica’sde-
pendenceonagroimportsthroughcreaonofnewagro
enterprises.
AnumberofUniversies,researchorganizaons,
privatesector,andgovernmentshaveexpressed
interesttoPartnerwithFARAUniBRAINinagribusiness
valuechaindevelopmentusingUniBRAINModel.
AAGRAiscurrentlyworkingwithUniBRAINtopilotseed
businessincubaonusingtheUniBRAINmodelinGhana,
Ethiopia,Senegal,Malawi,MozambiqueandTanzania.
Othercountrieswillbeaddedfrom2015onwards.
Bytargengtheagribusinesssector,UniBRAINis
engagingtheagriculturalsectorwhichemploysover65%
ofthelaborforceinthecountriestargeted.
FurtheFurther,UniBRAINistargengthedevelopmentofinfor-
malSMEsintoorganizedbusiness.SMEsareknownto
absorbmorelaborthanthelargermorecapitalizedin-
dustrialsector.
Thiswillenhanceeffortsforimportsubstuon,job
creaon,wealthcreaonandagriculturetransformaon
agendainAfrica.
WhatisUniBRAIN?
UniBRAINisaniniaveforadvancingagribusiness
incubaonandimprovedagribusinesseducaonin
AfricafundedbytheGovernmentofDenmark.
ThTheiniaveisledbyFARA,assistedbysixpartner
instuons:ANAFE,PanAAC,ABI-ICRISAT,ASARECA,
CCARDESAandCORAF/WECARD.
TTogetherthesevenpartnersservicesixagribusinessin-
cubatorconsora,eachconsisngofbusiness,research
anduniversityinstuons.Eachpartnerhasadefined
roleinfacilitangvariousaspectsoftheConsora’sin-
cubatorsandtheirclients.
ThesixpilotConsoralocatedinfivecountries
(Kenya,Ghana,Mali,UgandaandZambia)dealin
variousvaluechainsnamelycoffee,banana,sorghum,
non-mberforestproducts,cereals,fruitsand
vegetables.
ObjectivesofUniBRAIN
ThemainobjectiveofUniBRAINistocreatejobsand
increaseincomesthroughsustainableagribusiness
development.UniBRAINisachievingthisbycreating
mutuallybeneficialpartnershipsbetweenuniversities,
researchandtheprivateagribusinesssectortocreate
profitableagribusinesswhileimprovingagribusinessprofitableagribusinesswhileimprovingagribusiness
educationtoproducereadilyemployablegraduate
entrepreneurs.Threeoutputsenvisagedfromthis
collaborativeeffortare:
1)Commercializationofagribusinessinnovations
supportedandpromoted
2)Agribusinessgraduateswiththepotentialto
becomeefficiententrepreneursproducedby
tertiaryeducationalinstitutions;and
3)UniBRAIN’sinnovativeoutputs,experiencesand
practicessharedandup-scaledpracticessharedandup-scaled
UniBRAIN’suniquesynergiesofinteracons
betweenthepartners
UniBRAIN’sservices