The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has partnered with iCampus Liberia and Accountability Lab Liberia for the second year in a row, with institutional and policy support from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, to help impactful entrepreneurs scale up their businesses through technical assistance, mentorship, and co-financing of up to US$40,000.

This second edition has also added an agricultural component with the expansion to include impactful Liberian agricultural cooperatives. The addition of the agricultural cooperatives, according to the organizers, will add a new dimension to the program.

Liberia has ranked in the bottom twenty countries on the UNDP Human Development Index, facing stark challenges, with more than 50% of the population living in poverty. A key factor contributing to poverty in Liberia is limited access to sustainable and viable income-generating opportunities.

With UNDP’s 50+ years long focus on driving sustainable development in the lower- and middle-income countries around the globe and the track record of iCampus, Accountability Lab Liberia, Growth Africa, Business StartUp Center-Monrovia, AgroTech Liberia and East Africa Market Development Associates Ltd. — all working to alleviate hardship and strengthen organizations and individuals, this second and expanded edition excites with expectations of growth and improvement.

The Accelerator will support businesses and cooperatives that are viable, effective and impactful, particularly in the current worldwide economic uncertainty from the effects of the COVID pandemic, and the shocks of global economic crises and geopolitical upheaval.

Originally published in the Liberian Observer

Tirelo Makwela