Bishop Stuart University (BSU) in Uganda has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with PUM Netherlands senior experts to gain from PUM’s expertise in setting up business incubators. In this two-year agreement, signed in February 2019, BSU staff and students will benefit from capacity building activities offered by PUM. The two organisations will also jointly engage with small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), the wider business community in the region as well as government agencies. Bishop Stuart University is currently running an Agribusiness Incubation Hub (AIH) established with a grant from the TAGDev Programme, a partnership between the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) and the Mastercard Foundation. The incubation hub at Bishop Stuart University aims to enhance entrepreneurial skills and employment opportunities of young university graduates. Specifically, it seeks to nurture innovative enterprises from students and ensure that they can succeed in an open and competitive market environment. In this regard, it collaborates with partners to mentor the young entrepreneurs while still at the university as well as build BSU’s capacity to achieve this mission. PUM is one such partner organisation.
Established in 1978, PUM senior experts is a Netherlands-based volunteer organization, committed to the sustainable development of small and medium-size enterprises in developing countries and emerging markets. The PUM senior experts work with entrepreneurs around the world to share their knowledge and coaching on a one-on-one basis, through short-term advisory missions. The first activity in the collaboration between Bishop Stuart University and PUM was a Professional Business Coach Training conducted at the university by Mr. Fred de Boer, a PUM senior expert. In total, 16 members of staff participated.
The first activity in the collaboration between Bishop Stuart University and PUM was a Professional Business Coach Training conducted at the university by Mr. Fred de Boer, a PUM senior expert. In total, 16 members of staff participate.
Note:The Agricultural Innovation Hub at Bishop Stuart University is one of several agribusiness incubation hubs being established across Africa with support of the Transforming African Agricultural Universities to meaningfully contribute to Africa’s growth and development (TAGDev) Programme. Through the RUFORUM Agricultural Enterprises Challenge Program (RECAP), TAGDev awards competitive grants to universities to support development of a critical mass of young business leaders by providing a supporting environment where startups, innovations and disruptive ideas are fast tracked to service communities and nurture enterprises driven and led by the youth in Africa.
Related resources:
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