Humanist Institute sponsors Project Incubator Award

The winner will be announced during EMRC's Africa Finance & Investment Forum held in partnership with Rabobank and taking place at Rabobank's headquarters in the Netherlands, from 17-19 June.

The Project Incubator Award has become a defining moment at all EMRC Forums. The latest winner, Everlyne Cherobon, head of Emeden Kenya, won the award at EMRC-UNDP AgriBusiness Forum 2011 in Johannesburg. Suzanne Marie Belemtougri won the award during the AfDB-EMRC SME Forum in Lisbon in June 2011.

Africa's economic growth in spotlight

This year's AFIF Forum, entitled Financial inclusion through SMEs & Cooperatives, will gather leading global representatives from a variety of sectors to highlight the financial tools, solutions and growing policy trends to ensure Africa's economic growth for Africa's small and medium enterprise sector (SMEs). The discussions and proposals to be highlighted at the forum are essential for a cross section of African sectors to establish their full economic potential.

A growing number of organisations and businesses will be present at AFIF 2012, such as the International Fund for Agricultural Development, African Development Bank, International Finance Corporation, the World Bank, Oikocredit, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa and the Shell Foundation, Netherlands.

AFIF 2012 will provide a platform for new and improved financial tools to be spotlighted, with a particular focus on mechanisms adapted and unique to the African business model. Business-to-business meetings which are tailor-made to ensure maximum business partnership success will be organized over two days. The first two days of the forum will be held in Utrecht and the third day will be held in partnership with Food First, which includes guided visits to one of the world's biggest Horticultural Expo, Floriade 2012.