The AgriHub project serves as a platform and central unit within the ATI, offering business development services to ATI projects and enterprises operating in the agricultural value chain. The primary goal of AgriHub is to foster private sector development in agriculture, improving livelihoods and creating economic opportunities. It directly contributes to the sustainable growth and impact of MSMEs in agricultural value chains by enhancing business skills and facilitating access to finance. To achieve this goal, the project focuses on three objectives: strengthening MSMEs institutionally to deliver competitive products and services, linking mature enterprises to financial institutions for working capital and asset financing, and developing methodologies, tools, and a network of partners and service providers to build a robust ecosystem for continued outreach post-project. The project targets 1,340 MSMEs across ACC woredas, selected for their potential for commercial growth, social impact, and relevance to the value chains they support. These MSMEs operate in seven Ethiopian agricultural regions: Amhara, Oromia, Tigray, Sidama, Southwest Ethiopia, Central Ethiopia, and Southern Ethiopia. Support is provided through a four-tiered business development service (BDS) model. The “Center of Conception” tier delivers business training to a wide pool of MSMEs with feasible and growth-ready business models. The “Center of Excellence/Competency” tier offers standardized and shared BDS, while the “Capacity Booster” tier provides a comprehensive suite of BDS. The “Accelerator” tier focuses on deep, customized BDS for advanced needs. Key activities include diagnosing business models, providing business skills training, offering business advisory services, delivering accounting mentorship, facilitating group networking and experience sharing, establishing financial linkages, and providing tools and software to support the growth and scaling of MSMEs.
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