Entrepreneurship

Objective

Empowering the local population is a top priority for the Hubi & Vinciane Foundation. To achieve sustainable impact, it is crucial that people can take control of their own lives. From various perspectives and through numerous projects, we focus on developing entrepreneurship among young people, especially young women.

Activities

Agricultural Projects

Entrepreneurship is intertwined in nearly all of our agricultural projects:

• Women working in cooperatives to cultivate and manage the communal gardens we established also learn how to package, process, and sell surplus harvests.
  
• Following the banana project, several women, with our support, have established smaller plantations, selling their harvests to generate income.
  
• Women who wish to start a business can turn to the Associations Villageoises d’Epargne et de Crédit (AVEC) for microfinancing, supported by us.

Ariziki Incubation Center

The Ariziki Incubation Center, launched in March 2023, supports young entrepreneurs and experiments with new technologies.

• Supporting Young Entrepreneurs: The centre focuses primarily on strategic and rapidly growing sectors such as agriculture, particularly agroecology, information and communication technology, digitalization, and tourism. Young entrepreneurs find a stimulating and inspiring work environment here. They can join one to three years of mentorship programs ranging and participate in various training courses that enhance their entrepreneurial skills.
  
• Laboratory: Current projects include aquaponics and alternative energy. In the agricultural and food sector, an experimental project involves dairy goats, goat milk, and goat cheese.
  
  More information can be found on the Ariziki website.

Partnership with Entrepreneurs for Entrepreneurs (OVO)

In February 2022, OVO officially launched the Sustainable Technology for Africa (SusTech4Africa) program in Benin. This program supports sustainable entrepreneurship in Africa.

More information can be found on the OVO website.

Results

• Women managing communal gardens, establishing banana plantations, or starting other businesses with the help of AVEC are now financially stronger and less dependent on others to support their families.
  
• The ARIZIKI incubation center is guiding several young entrepreneurs, some of whom have already started their businesses. The pilot project with dairy goats is a significant success, encouraging young farmers to start goat farming.