GB Links Africa

In December 2022, some of the first batch of potential members of a yet-to-be-registered cooperative –“SY Cooperative“ (one of the businesses currently being built and incubated by GB Links Africa Academy) experienced the end-to-end process of successfully cultivating grains like maize, obtaining high yields, appropriately storing it for a few weeks, and then trading some part of the volume to support an even higher volume and value of trade transactions in 2023. The potential members also got to experience part of the first step in our process of initiating phase 1 of starting, incubating, and accelerating over 100 companies, which involved executing the 2023 GB Links Africa Academy ACPIF1 Input Loan Financing Project, where 857 farmers received input loans. A key activity in the first phase was commencing the 2023 and the 2024 GB Links Africa Academy Pre-Cohorts Capacity-Building Modular Program. Although the participants of both modular programs are at different levels of growth and development in their personal, career, and entrepreneurial journeys, at least one of the participants achieved the target of achieving a minimum of 4 MT/Ha on his farmland. He will now have the opportunity to partner with GB Links Africa, the first batch of potential members of SY Cooperative, and the participants in the 2023 and 2024 GB Links Africa Academy Pre-Facilitators Capacity-Building Modular Program to help as many people achieve a minimum of 4MT/Ha in the 2025 wet season while also preparing to, amongst other things, commence dry season farming in 2025 and derivatives trading (agricultural commodities) in 2026. We celebrate the progress being made, and we look forward to an even greater impact on Africa’s food system in the shortest time possible. #GBLinksAfrica2024ProductivityReport #GBLinksAfrica2024FarmingSubreport #SharedProsperityinAfrica2030

One of the facilitators in the GB Links Africa Academy Capacity-Building Programs purchased a tractor 🚜 in 2023 to support his farm operations while preparing to partner with GB Links Africa to provide machinery solutions to small and medium-scale farmers. These machinery solutions will be part of a bundle of productivity solutions to help farmers improve their yields and support them in eventually owning their tractors and purchasing other assets for both farm and non-farm operations. A part of the preparation to provide the productivity solutions involved multiple strategy sessions with some of our program facilitators around ten critical guiding questions. Two of these questions are: 1. How might we best contribute our quota in building the ecosystem of agricultural machinery services in Nigeria, even as we plan for entry into other African countries with similar characteristics and opportunities? 2. How might we best contribute our quota in helping to build profitable, efficient, and effective machinery services businesses in Nigeria, even as we plan for entry into other African countries with similar characteristics and opportunities? The current plans based on responses to these questions have influenced the facilitator’s approach to leveraging a current challenge being faced with the tractor around spare parts. The hydraulic pump responsible for raising the lower arms that lift farm implements got bad, and due to the difficulty of purchasing another one, a local fabrication was done, but it didn’t work well. This meant the tractor could no longer lift disc ploughs, harrows, planters, and other implements at some point during the 2024 wet season farming activities, although it could still work with a trailer to carry people and items. Through this challenge, the facilitator has helped support progress in laying some of the foundational elements necessary to appropriately scale the GB Links Africa Academy Trainee and Operators Program. Information on this will be shared as soon as possible. #GBLinksAfrica2024ProductivityReport #GBLinksAfrica2024FarmingSubreport #SharedProsperityinAfrica2030

A member of our team visited some of the farms of a participant in the GB Links Africa Academy 2024 Pre-Cohorts Modular Program, who, amongst other things, cultivates crops and provides private security services in warehouses holding agricultural commodities. The images attached are products from his farms. In partnership with this participant, we are developing one of the primary impact pathways that farmers with similar characteristics, abilities, and interests can leverage to improve their economic livelihood while positively and significantly impacting those within their circle of control and influence in preparation for an even greater level of impact. As the participant leverages the training, financial incentive, and other support activities to obtain more results, facilitators and participants in the Pre-Facilitators Modular Program are also currently positioning and preparing to better partner with this participant based on mutually beneficial objectives and key results. These objectives and key results are short to mid-term and long-term. Once the participants of the first two cohorts of the five capacity-building programs meet key milestones, collective progress on the primary and secondary impact pathways will be shared through two interim reports and one annual report every year. We expect this to commence in 2026. We look forward to using the reports as a tool to inspire more people to, amongst other things, do more in building better food systems that work for all. #GBLinksAfrica2024ProductivityReport #GBLinksAfrica2024FarmingSubreport #SharedProsperityinAfrica2030

We strongly encourage our staff, consultants, and participants of our programs, modular programs, and initiatives to execute personal and collaborative actions from a vantage point of commitment to achieving long-term sustainable impact in Nigeria, Africa, and globally despite current and future challenges. A benefit of having this mindset while operating through and collaborating with the right platforms and partners is an increased likelihood of responding to issues better and maximizing periods of both economic boom and busts while still delivering impact at scale. For instance, while some participants and staff have had a tough year dealing with different issues cultivating their farms in the 2024 wet season, they should still be able to improve their productivity level in 2025 and maximize their impact by partnering with others who were better able to manage the same or similar challenges in the 2024 farming seasons.  This is expected to lead to an improvement in the overall impact experienced by and created by our program participants, staff, and consultants. Majority of the issues faced by participants in the GB Links Africa programs, modular programs, and initiatives during the 2024 wet season farming include:   1. A lack of access to input loans with quality inputs. In a few cases where it was accessed, less than 50% of the requirement was met after the equity contribution was made, and it was delivered late. 2. Some inputs (especially NPK fertilizer) applied were bad. This was experienced by some participants who purchased the inputs outrightly, as well as those who took input loans 3. Some preferred hybrid seeds were unavailable 4. Breach of agreement and land collected back by landowners after lease payments for farm usage for one to five years were returned. Sometimes, this happened a few days before the date of planting 5. A period of drought during the farming season 6. Excess rainfall during the period of harvest and heavy wind that happened a few days after the rainfall. This had an even bigger negative consequence for some of the participants who cultivated soybeans 7. An exponential increase in the cost of labour for harvesting the agricultural commodities 8. An increase in the encroachment of cows and their herdsmen into areas initially not experienced in prior years 9. A significant increase in the cases of theft of commodities on the farm. 10. Poor performance by supervisors who were engaged to independently manage the farm cultivation activities. Plans to better manage some of these issues during the dry season farming as relevant and the 2025 wet season farming have already commenced, although participants are encouraged to be mindful of the current limitations to the deployment of their solutions pending the time they are in a better position to implement all the recommended practices. #GBLinksAfrica2024ProductivityReport #GBLinksAfrica2024FarmingSubreport #SharedProsperityinAfrica2030

We have commenced the final stages of preparation for the first cohort of the 2025 GB Links Africa Academy Facilitator Capacity-Building Modular Program starting in January 2025. The images were from a visit to some of the farms cultivated by one of the participants, who have achieved the following results so far: Year     Crop    Land Size   Yield(Bag) 2022    Rice 🌾     0.4 ha        10 bags 2022    Corn 🌽     0.6 ha         20 bags 2023    Rice 🌾    0.5 ha         12 bags 2023    Corn 🌽    0.5 ha         21 bags 2023    Soya   0.5 ha          5 bags 2024     Rice 🌾     0.6 ha          20 bags 2024     Corn 🌽    2.4 ha          80 bags 2024     Cowpea 0.5 ha         1 bag As part of the modular program in 2025, he is now working towards significantly increasing the area cultivated and yield obtained by leveraging our integrated solutions while also preparing to collaborate with potential candidates who, for some time, will work in the capacity of acting Trust Group leaders and achieve pre-agreed results that will take us closer towards helping Africa become and remain a food-secure and prosperous continent. The four-year activity, which ends in December 2028, will, amongst other things, involve us collaborating with him to leverage knowledge and skills gained through his first-degree program in agriculture and his field experience in the agricultural commodities value chain, including but not limited to crop and livestock production. Furthermore, we will also collaborate with him to leverage his ten-year experience in hospitality business management to pilot and scale ecosystem solutions that will address poverty, food insecurity, and rural and semi-urban underdevelopment. #SharedProsperityinAfrica2030

2022 Average Yield (Maize 🌽 ): 4.5 MT 2023 Average Yield (Maize 🌽): 5.8 MT/Ha (Obtained an average of 6 MT each on 3 hectares) These were the yields obtained from one of our Nigerian facilitators at GB Links Africa Academy, and the journey to replicate and surpass this result in partnership with over 800,000 farmers in Nigeria is ongoing but not without challenges. One of the challenges was the unavailability of a specified key input for the 2024 wet season crop production - a proven, consistent, and trusted hybrid seed. To start creating more options to deal with this challenge, we supported the crop production of the second generation of that particular product on a 0.5 Ha farm. However, from the cost incurred to increase the chance of obtaining more than 4 MT/Ha, it’s not really a viable option for many of our current and future program participants. In addition, different hybrid seeds have also been cultivated, and we should have our top 3 data-backed recommendations by the end of the 2025 wet season. Moreover, as part of the training activities for current participants of the ongoing programs, future participants of all the programs will be introduced to different seeds as the participants, amongst other things, present and discuss their economics of production(EOP), planting protocol, work plan, and abridged crop production report for 2024 and beyond: 1.    2023 GB Links Africa Academy Pre-Facilitators Capacity-Building Modular Program 2.    2023 GB Links Africa Academy Pre-Cohorts Capacity-Building Modular Program 3.    2024 GB Links Africa Academy Pre-Facilitators Capacity-Building Modular Program The pictures capture an inspection of the farm by one of our management team members. #SharedProsperityinAfrica2030

As we continue to deliver on our integrated solutions aimed at, amongst other things, solving issues around poverty, food insecurity, and rural underdevelopment, we recognize the need to consistently and robustly provide the right type of support to smallholder farmers (who we call Technical Professionals) who will then better leverage private capital not just to meet their immediate needs but also actively contribute to building global businesses that are profitable, sustainable, and impactful. From September to December 2024, we will be supporting participants in the 2023 GB Links Africa Academy Pre-Cohorts Capacity-Building Modular Program to update their own company strategy document that will communicate their plans to sustainably create opportunities for young and senior people through operations and investments in sectors around agriculture, education,  and very soon energy even as we prepare for entry into other sectors and industries. Although they are all starting at a small-scale level, they are encouraged to, amongst other things, imagine, work hard, and collaborate to directly and indirectly build mid-to-large scale businesses.   Furthermore, September will also be the last month for the participants to finalize their preparation ahead of the onboarding of participants in the first stream of the 2024 GB Links Africa Academy Pre-Cohorts Capacity-Building Modular Program. Their preparation is expected to drive more productive collaborations amongst all the participants and lead to the achievement of win-win situations of short-, mid-, and long-term shared interests for themselves and the society at large. Unlike other future cohorts, everyone in the 2023 GB Links Africa Academy Pre-Cohorts Capacity-Building Modular Program started with a similar background in crop production, however, their respective “impact paths” will not all be similar. Every week from September 9, 2024, will be focused on training and supporting the participants in designing and executing their “Impact Path” for contributing to the achievement of shared prosperity in Africa and Globally. We are looking forward to soon sharing the results we will co-create alongside the participants in both Cohorts.

We celebrate the progress made by participants in the 2023 GB Links Africa Academy Pre-Cohorts Capacity-Building Modular Program who are about to commence the second stage of the modular program 👏🏽 👏🏽 👏🏽. A key part of this stage will require them to collaborate with GB Links Africa Academy and its partner institutions to, amongst other things, increase the productivity level, annual income, and financial and non-financial assets owned by smallholder farmers attached to their sub-units and units. This is possible because the participants, who have been empowered with regular and frequent financial incentives alongside curated training contents and structures, will be able to allocate some of the proceeds from their harvest to support and partner with other carefully selected farmers even as they work towards establishing and scaling companies and cooperatives which they part-own. We look forward to congratulating as many participants who will meet the requirements to join the Alumni Network in December 2026 when they will be completing their requirements across 4 stages. #SharedProsperityinAfrica2030

To conclude the capacity-building activities for January 2024, we co-sponsored the SP Impact Consortium 2024 Pre-Summit, which had the theme: “Impact-Driven Productivity: Sustainably Creating, Delivering, and Capturing Value for Shared Prosperity in Africa and Globally.” Our CEO, GB Links Africa Academy, Nathaniel Etim, discussed the need for participants to do their best to inspire hope even as they help provide opportunities for others to gain meaningful job opportunities while educating themselves and earning a higher income. He emphasized the need for participants to always be aware that many people are dealing with fears, insecurities, hurt, and shame, which have the potential to be unleashed negatively on others during unstable periods, especially on those who look different from them. Hence, the importance of engaging and helping others engage life from a place of moral reasoning, mutually beneficial shared visions, dignity, wisdom, and love, not from a place of fear, consistent cynicism, hurt, and shame. Furthermore, Nathaniel highlighted, explained, and discussed in context the need for participants to pay a very close attention to the three rules of thumbs shared by Ray Dalio in the video “How The Economic Machine Works”: 1.    Don’t have debt rise faster than income 2.    Don’t have income rise faster than productivity 3.    Do all that you can to raise your productivity At the SP Impact Consortium 2024 Summit taking place in November 2024,   participants in the GB Links Africa Academy Programs will have the opportunity to share and listen to lessons and experiences gained by members of the SP Impact Consortium and SP Impact Community and its affiliate Impact Communities as they work together to create, deliver, and capture value for Shared Prosperity in Africa and Globally. We look forward to discussing the actions and results obtained as we leverage data, innovation, and collaboration opportunities to solve poverty, food insecurity, and rural underdevelopment issues in Nigeria and beyond. #SharedProsperityinAfrica2030 https://lnkd.in/dyE2rPsx