- Seven winners to benefit 40, 000 each
UNDP Liberia, in collaboration with iCampus Liberia, has launched the second phase of the Growth Accelerator grant competition, which aims to accelerate the growth of influential business startups in Liberia by providing funding, business skills, and mentoring.
As a method of promoting the growth and development of agribusiness in Liberia, this year’s competition attempts to discover and provide grant funds and training to seven (7) innovative commercial initiatives as well as five (5) agricultural cooperative societies.
Each successful venture will receive up to $40,000 in funding to expand their profit-generating activities, as well as business development training and mentoring to ensure their success and transition into fully-fledged commercial businesses that are generating value for their owners and stakeholders and employing people with disabilities, youth, and women.
This year, the Growth Accelerator grant competition, which is a component of UNDP Liberia’s Livelihoods and Employment Creation program, will invest $860,000 in the growth of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and agricultural cooperatives into full-fledged commercial entities, contributing to the reduction of poverty and inequality in the country through the creation of sustainable businesses that can employ the youth, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups.
“In 2021, we received a large number of applications for the first round of Growth Accelerator grant competition and observed a high demand for comprehensive business development assistance. The interest revealed the entrepreneurial zeal and vigor of Liberians, which must be exploited and fully utilized to accelerate the country’s growth and development “Stephen Rodriques, Resident Representative for the UNDP in Liberia, stated.
This year’s competition will award twelve winners, as opposed to five, in previous year. “This is a massive investment by UNDP that will have a direct influence on the lives of successful persons,” stated Luther Jeke, CEO of iCampus.
