MUSIKA & UNZA IN MoU TO INTRODUCE ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS TRAINING AT UNZA

L to R: Dr Benson Chishala -UNZA Dean School of Agriculture, Prof Luke Mumba -UNZA Vice Chancellor and Mr Reuben Banda - MUSIKA Executive Director 

For certain approaches in agribusiness to be practical, the link between education and the agricultural sector needs to be reinforced. It is also one way to make the agricultural sector attractive to the youth,by enabling their capacity to identify the multitude of entrepreneurship opportunities that are available in the sector.

Sub-Saharan Africa has the youngest population in the world which is predicted to double from 126 million (as of 2010 statistics) to 265 million by 2050. Furthermore African labour markets are unable to absorb their growing young population.

Estimates suggest that Africa’s labour force will be 1 billion strong by 2040, making it the largest and youngest worldwide (www.ag4impact.org ).At the same time, the demand for food is growing most especially in urban areas, highlighting entrepreneurship opportunities in the agricultural sector.

While access to credit is the most highlighted challenge for young entrepreneurs, the lack of sufficient entrepreneurial skills is also of growing concern. In Zambia, most institutions of higher learning do not offer practical entrepreneurial skills that enable young graduates to establish their own enterprises.

In response to this, MUSIKA has decided to partner with the University of Zambia to provide an entrepreneurial skills enhancement program to all departments, starting with the School of Agricultural Sciences.

During the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between MUSIKA and the University of Zambia, MUSIKA Executive Director, Reuben Banda, said that such partnerships would amplify the critical role the University can play in the development of the agricultural sector.

“If successfully implemented, the entrepreneurship skills training has the potential to catalyze a substantial shift in curriculum development of education … resulting in an increase in number of students opting to become entrepreneurs and planning successful agribusinesses even before they graduate,” Mr. Banda said.

He added that efforts to commercialize agriculture and address challenges in agribusiness could only be achieved when capacity is built in learning institutions to better develop their internal systems; hence MUSIKA’s financial support to the tune of US$55,000 to strengthen staff’s capacity to deliver entrepreneurial training and to conduct skills needs assessment for students.

It has been observed that most students from UNZA proceed to job hunting upon graduation and when their search proves futile, they become destitute. “…The most educated people often confront a mismatch between their training and available employment opportunities,” (Agriculture for Impact.2014)

As such it is imperative that training institutions tailor courses designed to meet the entrepreneurial needs of young graduates.

UNZA Vice Chancellor, Professor Luke Mumba, said that the University’s strategic plan of 2018-2022 included the promotion of community outreach and beneficial partnerships that would enable the institution contribute more to the development of the country. As such, he expressed gratitude for the initiative to partner with the private sector to better the quality of students’ education.

“This activity proposed by the School of Agricultural Sciences and MUSIKA is a step in the right direction…we want graduates not only to know something about entrepreneurship but to actually be entrepreneurs,” Professor Luke Mumba said.

If these programs are successful in unlocking the entrepreneurship potential of young graduates,the youth  will be able to efficiently catalyze the development of markets in Zambia.