1. Opportunities for strengthening
UniBRAIN through GABI
NIABI 2112 Roundtable on Strengthening GABI, 2012
1130-1300 hrs February 7, 2012, New Delhi, India
Ralph von Kaufmann
UniBRAIN Facility Coordinator
Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa
AgBIT - Zambia CAF - Mali CURAD - Uganda CCLEARr - Ghana IDPA - Uganda SVCDC - Kenya

2. Opportunities for strengthening UniBRAIN through GABI
CONTENT
Rationale: UniBRAIN is an emerging network
UniBRAIN Strengths: could GABI benefit from them
UniBRAIN Weaknesses: could GABI strengthen them
UniBRAIN Opportunities: could GABI help UniBRAIN realise them
UniBRAIN Threats: could GABI help shield UniBRAIN
Take home messages

3. Opportunities for strengthening UniBRAIN through GABI
Rationale: UniBRAIN is an emerging network

4. Opportunities for strengthening UniBRAIN through GABI
Rationale: UniBRAIN is an emerging network
UniBRAIN CAF
UniBRAIN CCLEAr
UniBRAIN AgBIT

5. Opportunities for strengthening UniBRAIN through GABI
AN EMERGING AFRICAN AGRIBUSINES INCUBATOR NETWORK
UniBRAIN agribusiness incubators
 The Consortium for enhancing University Responsiveness to Agribusiness
Development (UniBRAIN-CURAD) focusing on plantation cash crops
Specific value chain: Coffee
 The Incubation and Diversification of Banana Products for Agribusiness
(UniBRAIN-ABP or Afri Banana) focusing on staple food and cash crops
Specific value chain: Banana
 The Sorghum Value Chain Development Consortium (UniBRAIN-SVCDC) focusing
on smallholder dry land food grains
Specific value chain: Sorghum
 The Creating Competitive Livestock-bias Entrepreneurs in Agribusiness
(UniBRAIN-CCLEAr) focusing on Smallholder livestock
Specific value chain: Livestock
 The Innovative Centre for Agro-forestry (UniBRAIN-CAF) focusing on agro-
forestry products
Specific value chains: non-timber forestry products, cereals and fruits
 The Agri-Business Incubation Trust (UniBRAIN-AgBIT) focusing on tropical fruit
Specific value chain: Mango

6. Opportunities for strengthening UniBRAIN through GABI
UniBRAIN strengths: could GABI benefit from them

7. Opportunities for strengthening UniBRAIN through GABI
UniBRAIN Weaknesses: could GABI strengthen them

8. Opportunities for strengthening UniBRAIN through GABI
UniBRAIN Opportunities: could GABI help UniBRAIN realise them

9. Opportunities for strengthening UniBRAIN through GABI
UniBRAIN Threats: could GABI help shield UniBRAIN

10. Opportunities for strengthening UniBRAIN through GABI
Take home messages
Rationale: UniBRAIN is an emerging network
UniBRAIN Strengths: could GABI benefit from them
UniBRAIN Weaknesses: could GABI strengthen them
UniBRAIN Opportunities: could GABI help UniBRAIN realise them
UniBRAIN Threats: could GABI help shield UniBRAIN
Take home messages

11. UniBRAIN a new gateway into African agribusiness
RATIONALE
Wide scale investment in agribusiness and agro-industry in Africa is presently
constrained by:
• Human and institutional capacity deficits
i.e., Not enough entrepreneurs and problem solvers
• Lack of leadership in identifying and exploiting socially responsible
opportunities for investment in agriculture and the environment
UniBRAIN’s development objective is:
• to contribute to enabling African countries to create jobs and raise incomes
through sustainable agribusiness development.
UniBRAIN’s Immediate Objective, which is also its value proposition, is:
• to enable universities, business and agricultural research institutions to
commercialise agricultural technologies and produce graduates with
entrepreneurial and business skills through agribusiness incubator
partnerships.

12. UniBRAIN a new gateway into African agribusiness
Impact pathways:
UniBRAIN
Knowledge-based
Harnessing
Strengthening socio-economic
youthful vigor to
university-private growth thro’
spur growth in
sector linkages business
agro-food sector
incubation

13. UniBRAIN a new gateway into African agribusiness
The UniBRAIN partners
UniBRAIN is coordinated by the Forum for Agricultural Research in
Africa (FARA)
The university aspects are facilitated by the African Network for
Agriculture, Agroforestry and Natural Resources Education
(ANAFE)
The agribusiness aspects are facilitated by the Pan African
Agribusiness and Agro-industry Consortium (PanAAC)
The agribusiness incubator management aspects are facilitated by
the Agribusiness Incubation Programme ICRISAT (ABI-ICRISAT)
The agricultural research aspects are facilitated by the Forum for
Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and the Sub-Regional
Organisations: ASARECA for Eastern Africa, CORAF/WECARD for
West Africa, CCARDESA for Southern Africa

14. UniBRAIN a new gateway into African agribusinessr
The UniBRAIN partners (cont.)
• The Sub-Regional Organisations (SROs)
• Association for Strengthening
Agricultural Research in Eastern and
Central Africa (ASARECA)
• West and Central African council for
agricultural research and development
(CORAF/WECARD)
• Centre for Coordination of Agricultural
Research and Development in
Southern Africa (CCARDESA)
•

15. UniBRAIN a new gateway into African agribusiness
The roles of the Partners:
Overall coordination
Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa
Facilitating university
participation
African Network for
Agriculture, Agrofores
Facilitating agricultural try and Natural
research participation Resources Education
Sub Regional Organisations
Facilitating private
Funding sector participation
agency PanAfrican
Royal Agribusiness and
Danish Agroindustry
Ministry of Consortium
Affairs
Agribusiness Incubator Programme of
the International Crops Research Institute
for the Semi Arid Tropics

16. UniBRAIN a new gateway into African agribusiness
For more information visit:
www.fara-africa.org/our projects/unibrain
THANK YOU