The multilateral European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is rolling out a remote, free-of-charge learning platform called AgriAcademy with a target of educating 10,000 agri-food workers in Ukraine. The goal is to make the country’s agricultural sector more competitive and resilient, particularly in the wake of the damage caused by the war with Russia. EBRD has determined that Ukraine is lacking in agricultural specialists “in every subsector” and could benefit from greater usage of digital tools for day-to-day work as well as for boosting workers’ knowledge.
EBRD plans to offer 240 hours of coursework through AgriAcademy, covering material equivalent to three courses toward a master’s degree. The course modules are to address topics such as: (1) raising livestock; (2) horticulture; (3) land stewardship; (4) process management; and (5) sales.
Founded in 1991 and based in the UK, EBRD seeks to support a “transition to open, market economies, whilst fostering sustainable and inclusive growth” in 38 countries in Central Asia, Eastern Europe and North Africa. It does this by providing business advice, supporting trade finance, and investing debt and equity in funders of MSMEs. The institution disbursed approximately EUR 10.4 billion (USD 11.1 billion) to 413 projects during 2021. EBRD’s shareholders comprise 71 countries in addition to the EU and the European Investment Bank.
By Renata Samadova, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
EBRD press release
https://www.ebrd.com/news/2022/ebrd-launches-digital-education-platform-for-agribusiness-in-ukraine.html
AgriAcademy homepage
https://agriacademy.org
EBRD donors
https://www.ebrd.com/who-we-are/our-donors/multi-donor-funds.html#ukraine
Previous MicroCapital article on EBRD
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-eu-guaranteeing-113m-to-support-490m-in-lending-by-ebrd-to-msmes-in-eastern-europe-north-africa-western-asia/
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