BUJUMBURA, May 29th (ABP) – On Monday 27 May, the Transversal chamber of young entrepreneurs in Burundi (CTJEBU), in collaboration with Maastricht school management (MSM), held a certificate award ceremony and officially closed the project entitled “Promotion of agriculture and the food system through youth entrepreneurship and innovation for a better future”.
Moïse Yamuremye, Executive Director of the CTJEBU, said that 29 young people had benefited from extensive training over an eight-month period, with the aim of strengthening the country’s matrimonial ecosystem. Following an analysis carried out in conjunction with MSM University, they noted that the agricultural sector is promising and can contribute to sustainable development in Burundi.
Mr Yamuremye said that the CTJEBU and MSM had analysed a number of challenges and found it important to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem, focusing in particular on the advantages of agriculture and innovation linked to agriculture, which can help in the country’s development. It was with that in mind that CTJEBU, one of the federal chambers of commerce and industry, joined forces with MSM to implement the project. According to him, the young people were able to learn how to combine new technologies with agriculture. They also learnt about approaches that have helped other countries, particularly certain African and European countries. These approaches have helped them to develop.
According to the Head of Cooperation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mr Ted Hunink, the Netherlands, through various local and international partners, finances large-scale programmes, particularly in the field of the socio-economic empowerment of Burundian young people and women. He was delighted to see that the issue of economic empowerment for young people is at the heart of the Burundi government’s concerns, pointing out that the Netherlands also believes in the importance of investing in today’s youth. “Young people are the leaders of tomorrow”, he said, adding that it was by combining everyone’s efforts that the challenges facing young people could be overcome.
He warmly thanked MSM for its involvement in the success of that project, in collaboration with the Federal Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Burundi (CFCIB), via the CTJEBU. He praised that collaboration, promising that he would be the main contact for young people with Dutch institutions.
In its recommendations, the CTJEBU asked the government of Burundi to simplify financing procedures for young entrepreneurs and to guarantee attractive interest rates for innovative agricultural projects, to create infrastructures and to popularise research centres to facilitate exchanges between public and private partners.
To the Dutch embassy, she asked for support for visits or study trips for the winners to exchange experiences, and for support and guidance in setting up a permanent exchange framework for the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The CTJEBU asked MSM to develop mentoring and coaching programmes, with international experts, to guide young Burundian entrepreneurs in their innovative projects, and to conduct research into best practices in entrepreneurship and innovation, and adapt them to the Burundian context.
The CTJEBU is calling on local partners, including PAAEJ, BIJE, CFCIB and BIESO, to strengthen collaboration between the various institutions in order to create a coherent and supportive entrepreneurial ecosystem for young people, set up a permanent framework for exchange and work together to produce coherent and appropriate business models.