Post COVID-19 calls for reskilling staff, says global firm

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic left major disruptions in the way businesses operate.

As a result, experts predict that the changes in the interaction between a business, employees and customers will outlive the pandemic.

Richard Ekodeu, a programme director at Heifer International, says he has guided about 15,000 youth spread out in six the districts of Amuria, Ngora, Bugiri, Luwero, Wakiso and Kigoba, on how to start small businesses under the firm's East Africa Youth Inclusion programme and that the disruption is visible.

Over the period, the youth have been able to start groups, complete financial and technical training and identify income-generating opportunities within their own communities.

Some youth were able to tap into a $1m revolving loan fund as they develop their business plans and identify opportunities.

"When COVID-19 broke out, some of the youth lost their jobs because some of the companies they were working with closed," Ekodeu said.

"They, therefore, had loans which they were unable to pay. We renegotiated with the banks to reschedule the loans. After our participation (in the conference), we agreed that we needed staff training in business management incubation to help them," he added. 

Last week, Uganda hosted the Agribusiness Incubation Conference and Expo at the Uganda Research Institute in Namanve, Mukono where participants shared experiences and models for the youth and women in agribusiness.

To bridge the gap, Heifer International partnered with African Agribusiness Incubators Network (AAIN) to reskill staff so as to better advise young innovators in the different incubation centres in the six districts during these uncertain times.

"This was also meant to set the mindset of the staff to unlock their understanding in terms of enterprise or incubation such as value chain analysis, business incubation, ecosystem mapping in our areas of operation, among others," Ekodeu added.

AAIN is an organisation that supports startups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), incubators, women and youth to embrace new ideas, innovations as well as technologies from research to commercialisation.

Incubation key to job creation

Dr Alex Ariho, the chief executive officer at AAIN, said the missing link to boosting job creation in Africa is leaders' lack of knowledge on where to start the process.

"Most African countries still trade in raw materials yet jobs are in value addition and processing," he said.

In the National Development Plan III (2020/21-2024/25), the Government hopes to reduce the youth unemployment rate to 9.7% from 13.3% by increasing annual jobs to 512,000. 

The economic growth and jobs strategy in this plan focuses on expanding the industrial base of the economy, consolidating and increasing the stock as well as quality of productive infrastructure, enhancing productivity, especially in the agricultural sector and supporting private sector development through providing affordable financing.

According to Peter Kuria, the AAIN director of Incubation and Innovation System Development, the inability of the Government to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality might stay if leaders do not address the root causes.

"We need to create an environment within which we allow our young people to protect their intellectual property. That should be the first step of innovation," he said.

Small and medium size enterprises are expected to play a significant role in creating jobs and lower unemployment.

However, most of these enterprises die before their first birthday as a result of policy and the ecosystem they operate in.