Dear Members and Partners,
Another exciting year for Access2innovation is coming to an end. Another year where we have been fortunate to work with visionary partners looking for business opportunities in East Africa. Here are some highlights from the year 2024:
- Being one of the partners in the DMDP project ‘Grain Hubs for rural communities in Uganda’, the Danish company Engsko A/S has secured a major order for an integrated milling system, and we now further expect several orders for both grain drying and seed cleaning and milling plants to be placed early next year.
- Also, the DGBP project, ‘Irrigation for smallholder farmers in Uganda’, where our role is to link the beneficiaries to financial institutions and off-takers, is progressing well.
Two projects supported by the DIBE program and facilitated by Access2innovation concluded their testing and activities in 2024:
- Danish Coffee Aps was, within just one year, able to establish a JV and a production line for concentrated Iced Espresso in Kampala.
- Soacha Aps successfully completed its testing of a bottle-refilling solution for drinking water and is now looking to commercialize the concept.
- Then in July, Gl. Buurholt Aps, a partner in the DMDP project, had a DIBE application approved for establishing a mobile seed cleaning and a milling plant in Kenya.
Three DGBP maturation projects are coming to an end by end of 2024:
- The ‘Clean Energy Drinking Water Solutions’ initiative in Kenya, where 4Life Solutions is now making a real difference in rural households by providing safe drinking water.
- ‘Green Hub Kampala – E-mobility ecosystem’ which has tested electric motorbikes in Kampala.
- ‘CO2 Sequestration in the Kenyan Nut Industry’ where the outcome has been so promising that all partners have agreed to apply for a full-scale project.
At the same time, the new year marks the beginning of two new projects led by Access2innovation:
- A P4G funded project in which we are partnering with GrowthAfrica, Grekkon Ltd., and Nordic Impact Funds, focusing on water resilience for smallholder farmers in Kenya.
- A CISU-funded project for smallholder aquafarmers in Northern Uganda where we are partnering with Caritas Uganda.
Further, we are negotiating a contract with aBi Development in Uganda for capacity building and transfer of technology within the horticulture, grain, and dairy sectors in Uganda, and if successful, we expect the project to start at the beginning of February.
In 2025 we also look forward to facilitating more Danish companies who are looking at entering the East African market. Keeping the Danish government’s new Africa strategy in mind, this is the time to create even more opportunities for innovation and growth.
Thank you for being an essential part of our journey. Your support, collaboration, and belief in our mission inspire us every day, and we look forward to working with you in 2025.
Wishing you a happy and prosperous New Year!
Warm regards,
Henrik Anker-Ladefoged, CEO
