Enhancing the student enterprise training (SES) at Gulu University

The proposed agribusiness incubation hub (AIH) at Gulu University is intended to provide hands-on practice agri-entrepreneurship training to graduate and undergraduate students. The management of the AIH follows the Students Enterprise Scheme (SES) approach at Gulu University. Through the AIH, up to 50 students, in groups of at least five will be mentored to develop and implement viable agribusiness enterprises. Students will develop business plans which will be evaluated, and approved based on their innovativeness and feasibility. Embedded in the business plan development and evaluation is the mentorship to students on business development and management. This mentorship will be provided by technical experts in the different field as well as community agribusiness promoters, private agribusiness entrepreneurs and financial institutions. Approved business plans will be financed and implemented for a period of up to one year. At the end of the implementation period, successful and unsuccessful business cases will be shared with the community, the private sector and the university students’ community. Documentation of the process will be done to facilitate learning and dissemination of this approach to students training. The intention is to use students training to develop business models, which in the long-run would be rolled out to the community for implementation.