Kosmos launches project to transform agric
Kosmos Energy Ghana has launched a project to support the youth to apply business models and technology to run profitable agribusinesses.
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The Kosmos Innovation Centre (KIC) will offer grants (seed funds) as start-ups for young entrepreneurs to harness the power of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to design strategies that would make their ventures commercially viable.
The agricultural sector is fast losing its lustre, having been displaced to the third place as a leading contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The sector, which contributed more than half of the country’s productivity since the 1980s, gradually reduced to 19 per cent of GDP last year, with the services sector leading the pack with 54.1 per cent, followed by industry with 26.9 per cent.
The agric sector grew by a provisional 0.04 per cent in 2015 according to the 2016 budget statement.
Investment
The Vice-President and Country Manager of Kosmos, Mr Joe Mensah, told the Daily Graphic after the launch of the project in Accra that the KIC was the company’s new flagship corporate social investment programme which was a marked departure from the traditional approach to corporate social responsibility.
Although the intervention would be replicated in other sectors of the economy, the agricultural sector will be the pilot because of its impact on the economy through job creation and poverty reduction.
“Agriculture has the most impact and it has been the mainstay of the economy for so many years. The intervention has to be transformational because our youth are the future of the country,” Mr Mensah said.
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Transformation
The KIC will focus on the nexus between ICT and agriculture to transform the country’s agricultural sector. The KIC will rely on three pillars – collaboration, incubation and acceleration.
Although Mr Mensah did not mention any specific amount, he said the project would support entrepreneurs with seed funds to become profitable in their respective ventures.
“The KIC will use the concept of impact investing to create a new breed of young entrepreneurs who will accelerate Ghana’s economic growth, create wealth and positively impact our society. It will re-shape young people’s perceptions and also enhance their interest in developing traditional sectors through innovation,” he further indicated.
Collaboration
Kosmos Energy will bring together the best and brightest minds from various fields such as business, technology, finance and academia to talk through issues particlarly in the agricultural sector.
“The programme will challenge young entrepreneurs to use technology to develop commercially viable solutions to development challenges within the chosen sector. At the end of the competition, selected entrepreneurs will receive seed funding, technical assistance and mentorship to help them turn their ideas into reality,” Mr Mensah explained.
Launch
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, commended Kosmos Energy for what he described as “your most critical intervention yet” in view of its contribution to poverty reduction and employment generation.
One key interesting feature of the KIC, Alhaji Limuna said, was that it would engage the youth through innovation and ICT, saying, “This will greatly erode the erroneous impression that agriculture is only about tiling land when indeed it is a serious business.”
“We support this kind of programme which we believe will see a positive turnaround for entrepreneurs and also have a socio-economic impact on the people and the economy,” the minister stated.
In a remark, the Commissioner and Vice Chair of the Energy Committee of the National Development Planning Commission, Mr Kwame Jantuah, stated that Ghana needed to harness the entrepreneurial capacity and encourage the use of techology to devise and advance innovative business solutions.
He was hopeful that the initiative would impact positively on society and eventually provoke replication from other corporate organisations.