- 1500 persons benefitting and 4,000 been impacted indirectly by Year 4
- 40 new earning opportunities created within the 1st year of operation
- 20 agro-processors trained in Year 1
The stimulation of entrepreneurship within and in communities surrounding the incubator is one of the defining outcomes of the Essential Oils Incubator Project. The Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) estimates that over 80 agro-processors operate within the project site and its surrounding areas. Some of the main challenges facing these entrepreneurs are limited access to production spaces, high cost of international certification of production facilities and processes, decreasing levels of efficiency and competitiveness against a backdrop of rising operational costs, limited understanding of market access requirements and low-cost competitiveness in the context of rapid innovations within the global market.
The project will provide shared incubator space to new and existing agro-processors. It will house the appropriate technology for the extraction of essential oils making it available and accessible to these agro-processors, through training their knowledge and production skills will be enhanced and employment opportunities will be created directly and indirectly through the backward and forward linkages.
Capacity building will be offered to 20 existing agro-processors and interested candidates in areas related to product development, good manufacturing practises, supply chain management and business development skills. It is anticipated that at least 15 of the 20 persons trained will transition into becoming clients of the facility by the end of Year 1. Through backward and forward linkages another 1500 persons will benefit and 4,500 persons will be impacted indirectly by Year 4. Through the stimulation of other industries, 40 new earning opportunities will be created within Year 1 of its operation.
The relationship with producers for the use of the incubator will be governed by contracts tailored to the individual needs of each agro-processor. Tenants are to be selected by the JBDC based on approved transparent criteria, a minimal rental fee will cover accommodation and pro-rated fees for common services such as security, insurance, training, sales and marketing.
The agro-processors will exit the incubator based on the nature of the business and time needed to stabilise the start-up business. An incubation period would be pre-determined depending on the incubator and the types of businesses that the incubator can accommodate. Agro-processors may specialise in a single product or a range of closely related products consistent with the available facilities.