CTA Project Completion Report: ICT integration in business cluster development in Ethiopia

CTA. 2020. CTA - Project Completion Report ICT integration in business cluster development in Ethiopia . Wageningen: CTA

This CTA project works with an existing business cluster, around the Tsehay Union establishing an operational management system with maximising the use of ICT for: • The strengthening of the capacity of the union and their eventual business partners to manage the ICT supported operational management system. • Establishment of a demand-driven operational management system in 1 cluster/union consisting of: o farmer record-keeping (profiling) as traceability/quality assurance tool; o operational/inventory management tool for PC/unions, both inputs and outputs; and o sales projections and working capital needs. o The strengthening of the relationships and planning within the business cluster around Tsehay Union.

It was agreed that the project had to pilot the platform with the union, with one cooperative and 500 farmers, much fewer than the foreseen operationalisation of 10,000 farmers and 10 cooperatives and even fewer than the foreseen piloting with 1,000 farmers and staff from 10 cooperatives and staff from the union, but the delays and the inaccessibility forced the project to reduce the number but spend the additional time of training union and cooperatives staff, partly distanced to be prepared for full operationalisation.