As part of its activities to strengthen the entrepreneurial spirit of young agronomists, the ProRUWA (Promoting Academic Capacities for Sustainable Agricultural Resources use in West Africa) project supported a field trip organised in partnership with the Faculty of Agronomic Sciences (FSA) of the University of Abomey-Calavi (UAC), Benin. The visit, which took place on 29 August 2024, enabled the top 25 outstanding students from the 2023-2024 academic year, accompanied by an administrative delegation, to discover the industrial realities and entrepreneurial opportunities within the Zone Industrielle de Glo-Djigbé (GDIZ), Benin.
The GDIZ, an economic platform covering an area of 1,640 hectares, was created in collaboration between Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms and the Beninese government. It hosts a range of modern infrastructure to promote investment and industrial development. The students visited several production units, including:
1. Cotton transformation unit (Textile Park): Students explored the entire textile production process, from cotton spinning to the manufacture of sheets and towels.
2. Textile Production Unit: This unit specialises in the manufacture of a wide range of garments and receives orders from the UEMOA countries and Europe. This unit is supplied with raw materials by a local spinning unit.
3. Cashew nut processing unit (KAJU): In this unit, cashew nuts undergo several operations, from grading to packaging. The process includes grading the nuts, cooking them, separating the shells, moistening them, sorting the kernels and cleaning them. The finished products, whether whole or broken roasted almonds, are destined for the local, regional or international market. Access to this unit required special clothing for visitors, and all photography was strictly forbidden.
In addition, the students also discovered other units in operation or under construction, such as those specialising in soya processing, livestock feed production unit, cardboard production and the assembly of electric vehicles, among others.
In short, this visit gave the students a valuable opportunity to understand the challenges of the industry and the prospects for entrepreneurship in a fast-growing environment. It marks the start of a collaboration between Pro-RUWA/FSA and GDIZ to further immerse young people in the entrepreneurial field.
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Fascinating!
Pro-RUWA shows how and why bridging academia and the industry/entrepreneurship is fundamental.
very amazing congratulations to you.
I can confirm it’s a very successful and transformative project with more units yet to come. Congratulations to the current government.