Driving Inclusive Growth: Strengthening Private Sector Development in OACPS Member States

From left to right: Simon Striegel (ABF), Linh Feldkoetter (ABF) and Bastian Domke (MOVE-ComCashew)

The Organisation of the African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS Secretariat), in partnership with the European Union under the Samoa Agreement, organised a High-level Dialogue on Private Sector Development (PSD) in Brussels on the 13th and 14th of February 2025. The event was a celebration of the Business ACP Facility, nearing the conclusion of its impactful journey in mid-2025.

Over the span of two productive days, a distinguished assembly of senior representatives from OACPS countries discussed successful approaches to foster private sector engagement. The two GIZ projects Market Oriented Value Chains for Jobs and Growth in the ECOWAS Region (MOVE-ComCashew) and Agri-Business Facility for Africa (ABF) participated in the high-level dialogue to share best practices from two years of implementation of the EU-cofinanced Business Support Facility for Resilient Agricultural Value Chains (BSF).

Supporting Women and Inspiring Young Entrepreneurship
Women and youth entrepreneurship in the OACPS Member States is vital for fostering inclusive and sustainable economic growth, as these groups drive innovation and job creation. However, they encounter systemic barriers that limit their potential.

During Thematic Session 2: Supporting Women and Young Entrepreneurship, Mr. Bastian Domke, Director of Private Sector Development for the GIZ/MOVE (BSF) project, shared impactful success stories and best practices. He highlighted how the Matching Grant Facility, a key component BSF’s private sector led agribusiness promotion approach, has been instrumental in strengthening access to finance, markets, and technical support. The requirement for applicants to form consortia of diverse actors has proven particularly effective in reaching women and youth entrepreneurs. “We want to predominantly support women- and youth-led enterprises,” Domke emphasized, reinforcing BSF’s commitment to fostering a more inclusive agribusiness landscape.

The event also served as an opportunity to showcase best practices from the Farmer Business School (FBS), a tried-and-tested, large-scale agribusiness training model that has been rolled out to more than 1.9 million participants and the Agribusiness e-Academy, a digital portal for self-tutored learning on pertinent agribusiness topics. These initiatives continue to equip agripreneurs and microenterprises with essential skills and business linkages to reap the opportunities and thrive in the ever-evolving agribusiness sector.

The Role of Women and Youth Entrepreneurs in Climate-Resilient Agricultural Practices
Recognizing the significant influence of climate change on agriculture, it is essential to acknowledge the pivotal role that women and youth entrepreneurs play in advancing more climate-resilient agricultural practices. In view of this the ABF has launched an online course, 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐀𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬: 𝐄𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬, to equip learners with the knowledge and tools they need to understand climate change and its strong interlinkages with agribusiness, and to respond effectively to these challenges. By integrating climate smart practices into their operations, agribusinesses can not only mitigate the effects of climate change but also build resilience for the future.