Project

Development of an executive MBA strengthening Agribusiness in Ethiopia

Ethiopia has agribusiness market opportunities with potential for further growth in textile/garment, animal products like milk, meat, leather and honey, cut flowers, fruits and vegetables, and agro processing industries. Accordingly, the government has provided a number of incentive packages to attract and retain Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), particularly in floriculture, horticulture and agro processing sectors. Despite promising potential and incentives, Ethiopia's agribusiness sub-sector is still at its infancy.

Two convincing reasons for focusing on a MBA programme in Agribusiness include:

  1. the policy environment, the potential, and performance of improved agribusiness in terms of export earnings for commodities resulting from increased crop and animals production and productivity as targeted under GTP II will turn agribusiness into an excellent investment area; and
  2. the innovation and higher quality requirements of export markets associated with global standards make agribusiness a knowledge intensive and competitive industry.

In order to realise the outcomes of the NICHE programme in selected policy priority areas, this project is expected to build the capacity of Jimma University to produce highly qualified agribusiness professionals. The agribusiness sector desperately needs to address the business level impediments of agribusiness sector in the context of global competition. Hence, the objectives of the Executive MBA programme in Agribusiness are:

  • to increase the competency of middle-level agribusiness professionals (having required knowledge, skills, strong ethical values and attitude) capable of conducting action research within their own company/organisation and assuming pivotal role in improving its agribusiness performance;