Across sub-Saharan Africa, a quiet revolution has been underway and its emergence is challenging the notion of a stagnant, disconnected agricultural sector on the continent. This revolution refers to the vital, and often overlooked, role played by millions of micro-organisations (MO) that are sourcing directly from millions more smallholder farmers across Africa.

By channelling food from farms to householders, these MOs are not only connecting farmers to commercial markets at unprecedented rates, they are also creating millions of jobs in the so-called ‘middle-part’ of the food system. Often led by women, MOs include food processors, wholesalers, and retailers, providing a range of services, from transport and logistics to the sale of inputs such as fertiliser and seed to farmers.

Not so much the ‘missing’ middle, as the ‘hidden’ middle, this group links farmers to burgeoning urban markets, who would otherwise struggle to get their processed and unprocessed products to growing towns and cities. However, despite their crucial role in ensuring commodities and processed products flow through the value chain, MOs have been ignored by policy makers for too long with successive governments across the continent failing to provide the necessary support, or create the conditions for them to thrive.

The barriers currently being faced by MOs that are attempting to scale their operations are many and varied, with access to capital commonly being sighted as the major inhibitor to growth. Additionally, we argue that the difficulty business-owners experience in accessing training, is seriously restricting their potential as employers and tax generators. What’s more, we question whether the traditional approaches to business training are appropriate for this dynamic and increasingly digitally-enabled sector. Is a new growth mindset required to help the next generation of African agripreneur imagine a future where they can thrive and not just survive?

AfricArxiv

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Cotonou, Benin

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Cotonou, Benin

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