Fostering sustainable agriculture and food

security through community led farming

"If we get
agriculture right in
Africa, where most
of the people now
are working in that
sector, not only
would it help boost
development but
we will be secure in
terms of food and
nutrition and then
be able to move on
to other areas."

- Kofi Annan
Daracorp “the idea” ...........................................................................................2
Our Uniqueness ..................................................................................................3
The Known truth about the Survival Rate of SME Enterprises .....4
Understanding AGRO SME challenges ....................................................5
It’s not that challenges are void of solutions .........................................6
The Daracorp Operating Model ...................................................................7
Who are these Beneficiaries ..........................................................................7

Our Approach to working with key Beneficiaries ...............................8

Daracorp Adaptive Model..............................................................................9
Pre-Incubation Interventions ......................................................................9

Incubation Interventions ..............................................................................10

Accelerator interventions .............................................................................10
Daracorp Incubatee Selection Model ......................................................11
Who are the Project Sponsors/Donors (Core Key Enablers)..........11
Our Approach to working with Donors ...................................................11

Funder Initiated Working Model ...............................................................12

Daracorp Initiated Model ..............................................................................12

Our Approach to Working with Stakeholders ......................................13

Who are these key enablers ...........................................................................14

Daracorp Integrated Operating Model .....................................................15

Vision .......................................................................................................................16
Mission ....................................................................................................................16

Daracorp Values ..................................................................................................16

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 DARACORP “ THE IDEA”

Daracorp NPO is a South African Not for Profit Organisation’

established to be “an agency of positive change in the agribusiness
value chain with a focus on subsistence farmers, and early start up
small scale agribusiness enterprises”.

Majoring as an Agribusiness Incubator, Daracorp works with vast

partner agencies in the global space ranging from Governments,
Public Sector Institutions, Developmental NGOs, and Private Sector
Organisations with an intent and interest in contributing to the
Sustainable Development Agenda fostered through Agribusiness
development and growth in the hands of subsistence farmers and
emerging small scale agribusiness enterprises.

Founded on the premise of increasing the survival and growth of small

scale agribusinesses, Daracorp helps these emerging small scale
farmers to overcome what is called the “liability of newness” and the
“liability of smallness” by creating access to the resource competencies
required to remain competitive throughout their lifetime.

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OUR UNIQENESS

The Daracorp Incubator Concept is a unique model that has

moved away from the traditional incubator approach which
awaits for entrepreneurs to bring forth or pitch their ideas to
the incubator or donor.

It is one that is founded, led and shaped by research and

market intelligence (research initiated internally or sourced

externally from research partners and or donors) on agriculture
within a targeted territory.

This Concept aims at reducing the time constraints and the

costs of SME or entrepreneur project ideation and concept
development. Through research Daracorp explores, and points

out profitable venture ideas and agribusiness opportunities

that can transform the surrounding communities.

Based on the scientific and practical evidence with facts of the

discovered opportunities, resources, capital as well as the

beneficiaries are allocated to ideas which have been tested and

proven to earn high success rates.

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THE KNOWN TRUTH ABOUT
THE SURVIVAL RATE OF
SMALL MEDIUM
ENTERPRISES

Every day we live with the reality

that most of the SME enterprises
established fail within the same
year of establishment.

It is said that for example in South

Africa a country with the highest
SMME failure rate in the world has
75%-80% of the SME businesses
failing within the first 5 years.

Only 5% to 10 percent of the SMEs

have the potential to reach their
first 10 years of existence and to
expand into bigger businesses.

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 UNDERSTANDING
AGRO SME
CHALLENGES

The small scale enterprises in the

agriculture industry, face an enormous
challenge of barriers and constraints that
reduce their potential to survive, grow and
remain sustainable.

These limitations include but not limited to

agribusiness skills, business management,
access to capital, access to the fundamental
agricultural resource which is land, access
to sustainable inputs, access to markets,
and also equipment and technological
constraints.

It clearly suffices to say that many potential

SMEs die before they are even started, i.e. “a
state of mind where the communities who
must be drivers of agribusiness
entrepreneurship are structurally in a state
of despair, denial and hopelessness to even
thinking about venturing into agribusiness”.

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IT'S NOT THAT CHALLENGES ARE
VOID OF SOLUTIONS
The bucket list of constraints stalling the growth of agribusiness
at subsistence and SME level is not without befitting solutions
globally. The key issue is the absence of the absolute key bridge
linking the holistic solutions to the holistic problems in a
sustainable manner. These solutions are independently in the
hands of different and unrelated multiple stakeholders.

These unrelated multiple stakeholders with an interest in the

transformation of small scale agribusinesses into sustainable
entities face a dilemma, constraint and unbearable cost of
mobilising each other effectively and efficiently to collectively
tackle the SME challenges which are uniquely customised to their
operating environment hence the need for a linking bridge.

Daracorp exist as that linking bridge between the subsistence

farmer, the SME and the Agricultural Resource Providers, “a
Bridge to Agribusiness SMEs Sustainability”.

6
THE DARACORP OPERATING MODEL
Daracorp’ s approach to SME incubation is designed to
seamlessly work collaboratively with the following constituents
namely the Beneficiaries (SMEs and subsistence farmers) and the
Project Donors/ Sponsors and Project Stakeholders.

WHO ARE THESE BENEFICIARIES?

In our execution of work, we identify beneficiaries as all those rural
to urban subsistence farmers and small scale agribusiness
enterprises with a potential for survival, growth and prosperity in
the production side of agribusiness. These targeted beneficiaries
are the key drivers of food security, the major players in
agriculture production. They are the key contributors to economic
development, primary agents of employment creation, poverty
alleviation

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OUR APPROACH TO WORKING
WITH KEY BENEFICIARIES

Our approach is based on a broader understanding of

the dynamism of the different operating environments
within which the incubation process is to be undertaken.

Our understanding is that a specific territory will dictate

the agricultural activities to be invented and pursued in

that specific area. The territory determining factors

include but not limited to the government policy and
objectives, the geographical context (weather, soil and
landscape), community context (urban or rural), inputs
supply linkages, market linkages as well as demand and
supply issues

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DARACORP ADAPTIVE MODEL
In light of the above determining factors, an adaptive
incubation model is adopted and implemented which
takes into account the three process elements namely
Pre-incubation interventions, Incubation interventions
and Accelerator Interventions.

Pre-Incubation Interventions

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10
DARACORP INCUBATEE SELECTION MODEL
Daracorp’ s beneficiary/ incubatee selection criteria is based on
the main Project Sponsors/ Donor Terms of Reference or the
organisation’s core targeted beneficiaries which includes the
youth and women entrepreneurs.

THE PROJECT SPONSORS/DONORS

(CORE KEY ENABLERS)
The Project Sponsors/Donors are key and core enablers of the
incubation initiatives. These are the institutions and individuals
with resources and financial capacity to empower the SME
entrepreneurs. They work with Daracorp as a technical agency
(in the agribusiness industry) and trusted project implementer.

It is acknowledged that many of the potential donors and

sponsors have the resources and the will to drive agribusiness
SME growth, but are constrained with the resource of time,
operational capacity and technical capacity to implement the
agribusiness SME incubation on their own, hence the need for a
technical and implementing agent (such as Daracorp) who will
deliver results.

OUR APPROACH TO WORKING WITH DONORS

Daracorp had a process model which outlines how we work with
Donors, from the initial stages to the end of the project. This
process model will help the donorsto understand the avenues to
which they can partner with Daracorp as well as to demonstrate
how Daracorp understands their expectations.

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FUNDER INITIATED WORKING MODEL

DARACORP INITIATED WORKING MODEL

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 OUR APPROACH
TO WORKING WITH
STAKEHOLDERS

The stakeholders or the key enablers are all the entities and
individuals with the interest in the existence, growth and
sustainability of the agribusiness SMEs. Because of our role as
the incubators, we have become a one stop shop for all these
stakeholders creating access to reaching diverse SMEs under
our care.

Different stakeholders have different roles in the endeavor to

build sustainable agribusiness enterprises. Our role is to
coordinate all the key enablers as we understand that their
unique resource competences are complementary and
dependent on each other if we are effectively and successfully
achieve sustainability.

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 WHO ARE THESE
KEY ENABLERS?

Government
Agencies
State organs with a
mandate and objective of
Funders SME growth Input
Those who provide
the Donor/ Loan Suppliers
Financing for SMEs All the suppliers
of agribusiness
inputs

Research Market
Institutions Agencies
Think tanks and hubs of All the agencies which
knowledge, data and network and create access
information useful for the to markets for the produced
agribusiness development products

Service Developmental
Providers NGOs
All the business Charitable organisations with an
support service Markets interest and mandate to foster
agribusiness growth
providers
All the buyers of
agribusiness
outputs or
production

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 DARACORP
INTEGRATED
OPERATING MODEL

Key Objectives (Outcomes)

Input
To promote sustainable agriculture based Donors/ Suppliers
economies founded on subsistence farmer Funders

development and small scale enterprise Research

Institutions
development
Daracorp
To build self reliant and self empowered Government
Agencies Stakeholders
communities embedded in agriculture
Marketing
and agribusiness enterprising
Agencies
To promote poverty reduction, elimination
Service
of hunger and malnutrition by increasing Providers Markets
sustainable agricultural production.

Target
Beneficiaries Shared Facilities Business
and Equipment Development

Market Technology
Unemployed Unemployed Access Support
Woman Youth

Daracorp
Doner
Interventions
Unemployed
Preferred
Graduates Beneficiaries

Financial Land
Pre-Incubation
Support Redistribution
Daracorp Interventions

Incubation Incubation
Interventions
Approach Accelerator
Mentorship & SME
Training Networking
Interventions

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 VISION

To be a flagship vehicle of start-up and growth of innovative

agribusiness SME's in Africa

MISION

Daracorp will focus on nurturing innovative early-stage agro-

based enterprises that have high growth potential raising
them to become competitive businesses, successful start-ups
and innovative value adding agribusinesses.

VALUES
Sustainability: All we decide to adopt and to do will bring forth
long term positive impact to our target communities

Partnerships: We believe in collaboration and co-working with

those who have absolute advantage over key resources
competencies that we will need

Good Governance: Daracorp is a good governance oriented

organization that ensures all its NPO’s dealings are handled
with full accountability, honesty, integrity and transparency

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 Get in touch

Partner| Volunteer| Donate| Connect

+27 72 402 8516

info@daracorp.org.za

www.daracorp.org.za

Daracorp, 2023

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