Travel letter from our CEO Karin Elisabeth Lind, who was visiting A2i partners in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda in January 24:
The dedication to partnering for business development in Africa promises a great year
Judging from the engagement of the people I met during my visit to East Africa in January and the dedication to partnering for business development, 2024 promises to be a great year for Access2innovation and its members! The year has started off in full speed. I went on an exciting trip during which I managed to meet partners, colleagues and stakeholders in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda.
I was happy to be able to congratulate the colleagues at the Royal Danish Embassy in Dar es Salaam with the continuation of Denmark’s representation in Tanzania and discuss the expected focus of the future Danish-Tanzanian cooperation.
Together with partners Farm Africa Tanzania and ANSAF we progressed well on the development of a joint proposal focusing on climate change adaptation.
In Kenya, I also had fruitful conversations with the Royal Danish Embassy, WFP’s Regional Innovation Hub, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the Fortified Whole Grain Alliance. Here, there are lots of opportunities to partner for market-based solutions to increase food security.
It is always a pleasure to spend time with Access2innovation colleagues at our office in Kampala and not least to meet our new colleague, Howard Piwang. Many hours were spent with partners and members – on project development within aquaculture with partner CAPCA (see photo below). Here we also had a great kick-off project workshop for our new boda-boda project (also called “Green Hub Kampala”) with members of Kjær Group and Nexus Green. The workshop was run by our program manager Inge Myrthue.
I also managed to have a meeting with the Royal Danish Embassy to Uganda to plan the upcoming delegation trip to Kampala in March together with the Danish Agriculture and Food Council. And I met with Shiriki House – the host of our office in Kampala. They are now expanding their office space and services in Kampala. Remember, that you get a member-discount, if you need office space and/or services in Uganda.
Best regards, Karin Elisabeth Lind, CEO, A2i