H.E. Ms Nardos Bekele-Thomas, CEO of the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD, along with the Agency's delegation, hosted a Steering Committee meeting on the 27th of August with H.E. Phillip Hewitt, the New Zealand High Commissioner to South Africa, to discuss their ongoing collaboration on the Homegrown Solutions Accelerator for Agribusiness. This program, a joint initiative between AUDA-NEPAD and the Government of New Zealand, aims to strengthen Africa's trade capacity. During the meeting, they reviewed the program's progress and discussed establishing a Core Project Management team to expedite its implementation. The discussions also included preparations for an upcoming knowledge-sharing event on the ecosystem for Agribusiness accelerators in Africa.

The Home-Grown Solution Accelerator for Agribusiness aims to support African agriculture-focused businesses by providing customized guidance, helping them become ready for investment, and connecting them with strategic partners. The program's goal is to promote stability, prosperity, and resilience in Africa by growing sustainable agribusinesses involved in cross-border trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). It will enhance these businesses, drive agricultural transformation, and reduce the impacts of climate change to strengthen the continent's resilience.

"This initiative aligns with our broader agenda to position small and medium enterprises as important vehicles of addressing the challenges we face and building the resilience of our continental economy", said the AUDA-NEPAD's CEO