Projet

Entrepreneurial Learning in Inclusive Agribusiness (ELIA)

ELIA acts as an action research platform to advance, test, integrate and disseminate knowledge on how to stimulate farmer entrepreneurship equitably in the agribusiness sector.

Why is ELIA project necessary? 

The promotion of rural entrepreneurship is increasingly seen as an engine for employment, income, innovation and adaptation in developing countries. Yet, entrepreneurship struggles to fulfil its promise without deeply understanding socio-economic inclusion and exclusion in rural communities. For example, youth with entrepreneurial ideas may clash with their family resource availability and/or with community values and expectations. To succeed as entrepreneurs, youth may be pushed outside their region of origin or even towards the pursuit of illegal forms of business. The literature has often juxtaposed positivistic and critical stances on this topic, yet little academic research and dissemination zoomed into the process of when and how farmers’ entrepreneurial learning unfolds in rural development contexts.

What will ELIA do? 

The ELIA project will:

  • Advance and test knowledge on the measurement of smallholders’ entrepreneurial knowledge, behaviors and mindsets as indicators of entrepreneurial learning in rural development contexts.

  • Integrate knowledge on the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion related to heterogeneity in smallholders’ entrepreneurial knowledge, behaviors and mindsets, with specific focus on gender and youth in rural communities.
  • Disseminate knowledge with implications for future rural entrepreneurial learning interventions, such as training, accelerator and incubator programs as well as agri-business models and platforms.
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Other activities in ELIA:

To advance and test knowledge, ELIA project activities will involve:

  • Testing measurement models of entrepreneurial knowledge, experience and behaviors in selected programs through co-supervision of Master students and coaching of CGIAR (Consultative Group in International Agricultural Research) staff.
  • Conducting qualitative analysis of socio-economic dynamics around entrepreneurial learning in selected programs through co-supervision of Master students and coaching of CGIAR staff.
  • Advancing knowledge on the influence of socio-economic dynamics on entrepreneurial learning through the submission of two single-case, multi-authored publications led by the project investigator Domenico Dentoni.

To integrate knowledge, ELIA project activities will involve:

  • Comparing the assessment of socio-economic dynamics around entrepreneurial learning across multiple programs through the co-organization of workshops and webinars with selected WUR and CGIAR staff.
  • Comparing the configuration of rural incubators, accelerators, farmer business trainings, and other learning-oriented business models for rural entrepreneurship at regional level through interactive participation to the existing CGIAR (CCAFS learning platform) and non-CGIAR (e.g., Food and Business Knowledge Platform, AMEA) knowledge platforms.
  • Integrating cross-program knowledge on the socio-economic dynamics around entrepreneurial learning through the submission of two multi-case, multi-authored publication led by the Senior Expert.

To disseminate knowledge, ELIA project activities will involve:  

  • G. Reaching out to global scientific community with a research agenda on Entrepreneurial Learning in Inclusive Agribusiness (ELIA) through the development of a special issue inspired from the knowledge integration across CGIAR and non-CGIAR programs.
  • H. Publishing and disseminating three policy briefs and executive summaries on Entrepreneurial Learning in Inclusive Agribusiness through both CGIAR and non-CGIAR dissemination channels.
  • I. Publishing three individual and cross-cutting cases for teaching and learning purposes stemming from the CGIAR programs on the policy and managerial challenges of entrepreneurship learning in inclusive agribusiness.

The geographical focus of ELIA:

  • Southern and Eastern Africa
  • South and South-East Asia