European Marketing Research Centre

Last updated
EMRC
EMRC
TypeLegal Person – Belgium
Industry Business Consultancy
Founded8 April 1992 (1992-04-08)
Headquarters
Avenue Louise 287 Bruxelles
,
Belgium
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
 Monty Jones
(President)
Idit Miller
(Managing Director)
ProductsResearch, Consultancy, Events,
Number of employees
10
Website www.emrc.be

European Marketing Research Centre (EMRC) (is a not-for-profit international association, founded in 1992 in Brussels, Belgium. The organization exists to encourage and facilitate private sector investment in Africa to create sustainable economic development and drive regional change through international partnerships. [1] EMRC is a collective network of entrepreneurs, financiers, consultants and officials based throughout the world. The organization’s strategic focus is to support economic development in Africa through partnership between African entrepreneurs and ventures and international corporations, and financial services firms. EMRC also supports intercontinental collaboration between African ventures. [2]

Contents

EMRC aims to unlock the potential of Africa’s agribusiness sector to help alleviate local poverty and to address supply constraints associated with global food demand. EMRC also operates in other natural resources sectors in Africa.

Its events include the AgriBusiness Forum (ABF) and the Africa Finance & Investment Forum (AFIF), which are annual events with the ABF being held on the African continent and AFIF taking place in Europe. The organization also conducts regular trade missions, with early missions taking in Israel and India.

In January 2014 Monty Jones was nominated president of EMRC. Jones replaced Professor Pierre Mathijsen, professor of European Law at the University of Brussels and managing partner of the law firm Eurolegal EEIG, who had been at the helm of EMRC for a decade. [3]

AgriBusiness Forum

The AgriBusiness Forum was launched in 2000 and initially held in a number of European cities before EMRC decided to move the forum permanently to the African continent. The most recent of the ABF was held in Kigali, Rwanda between 6 and 9 October 2013 in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture & Animal Resources, Government of Rwanda [4] [5] and Rabobank a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. [4] [6] The forum attracts 400 to 500 agribusiness leaders and decision makers including private entities, development finance agencies, commercial banks, donors, industrialists, SMEs, researchers, government officials, international organisations, NGOs, and others from all over the world with a strong African presence.

The 2013 edition included a section on how African agriculturalists can use information and communications technology to open up new international markets. [7] Previous versions have included Dakar, Senegal (2012), [8] [9] Johannesburg, South Africa (2011), [10] Kampala, Uganda (2010), [11] and Cape Town, South Africa. The forum encourages the adoption of new technologies and techniques to improve productivity and food security. It also helps agriculturalists in Africa find external investment to finance their projects.

Africa Finance & Investment Forum

The Africa Finance & investment Forum is an annual seminar that was first held in 2003 that brings together entrepreneurs looking for partnerships and capital for growth and development and government and NGO officials, development finance agencies, commercial banks and private investors looking for fungible projects in agriculture and resources in Africa. [9] AFIF aims to increase the flow of financial and technical support to the private sector in Africa by identifying the main impediments to a better developed trade in Africa. In the last edition, held in Cologne, Germany on 4–5 June and hosted by German Investment Corporation, AFIF focused on the issue of improving access to finance, by helping medium-sized companies prepare themselves to approach international financial markets and to the development of sustainable agribusiness in Africa. [12] EMRC has also held AFIF in Geneva, Switzerland (2013), Utrecht, in the Netherlands (2012), Lisbon, Portugal [13] (2011), and Amsterdam, the Netherlands (2009). [14]

Incubator Award

The Project Incubator Award was established by EMRC and Rabobank Foundation in 2008 to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa among small and medium enterprises (SME). [15] The award presents U$15,000 to the entry that best illustrates innovation, sustainability and entrepreneurship in the African SME space. The winner is selected by a panel of independent development specialists. Past winners include Sophavet (2011) from Burkina Faso, Bee Natural (2010) from Uganda, Derekorp (2009) from Uganda, Coopérative Générale de Sepingo (2008) from Côte d'Ivoire and MUPECI (2008) from Cameroon.

Economic Missions

EMRC has also conducted economic missions to India and Israel to help African entrepreneurs meet potential investors.

Related Research Articles

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by international organizations such as the World Bank, the European Union, the United Nations, and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Rabobank Dutch banking and financial services company

Rabobank is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands. The group comprises 89 local Dutch Rabobanks (2019), a central organisation, and many specialised international offices and subsidiaries. Food and agribusiness constitute the primary international focus of the Rabobank Group. Rabobank is the second-largest bank in the Netherlands in terms of total assets.

The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) is a trade association focusing on strengthening commercial relationships between the United States and the African continent.

International Trade Centre Multilateral agency

The International Trade Centre (ITC) is a multilateral agency which has a joint mandate with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UN) through the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development

Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development SA is a Swiss for-profit entity and international development finance institution which invests in countries of East Africa, West Africa, Central Asia, and South Asia. It is based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Self Help Africa International development charity

Self Help Africa is an international charity that promotes and implements long-term rural development projects in Africa. Self Help Africa merged with Gorta in July 2014, and the group of companies operates under the Self Help name.

Esoko is an online agricultural marketing and messaging service based in Accra, Ghana. The service sends out market data and other information to individuals, agribusiness, government agencies and projects by text messaging, and also gives personalised price alerts, buy and sell offers, bulk text messaging, stock counts and polling via text.

Indian Institute of Plantation Management

The Indian Institute of Plantation Management (IIPM) Bengaluru is an autonomous institution set up by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India in 1993 to provide professional management education in the field of plantations and associated agribusiness sector. The institute is jointly promoted by Coffee Board, Tea Board, Tobacco Board, Rubber Board & Spices Board and the industry Plantation Associations viz. Indian Tea Association &UPASI. IIPM is registered under Karnataka Societies Registration Act, 1960.

Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) is an organisation that seeks to transform African agriculture from a subsistence model to strong businesses that improve the livelihoods of the continent’s farming households.

International Growth Centre

The International Growth Centre (IGC) is an economic research centre based at the London School of Economics, operated in partnership with University of Oxford's Blavatnik School of Government.

Agri-Energy Roundtable (AER) is a nonprofit and non-governmental organization accredited by the United Nations and established in 1980 as a forum for encouraging dialogue on cooperative energy and agricultural development between industrialized and developing nations. AER conducts international conferences, regional seminars and workshops, trade missions and technical assistance for the formation of autonomous indigenous counterpart associations.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) is an African non-profit organization founded in 2010 by Tony O. Elumelu and headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. It is a pioneer member of the Global Impact Investment Rating System (GIIRS). So far, the Foundation has empowered 7,520 African entrepreneurs across 54 African countries.

Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO), is a private company, based in Brussels, Belgium.

Chuku Wachuku US educated Nigerian economist

Chuku Wachuku, a royal prince of Ngwaland, is a United States educated Nigerian economist, politician, statesman, servant leader, business analyst, management expert and specialist on entrepreneurship development and SMEs: Small and Medium Enterprises. He is first Director-General of Ngwa origin at Federal Government of Nigeria major parastatal; NDE: National Directorate of Employment.

YPARD


Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD) is an international movement for young professionals. YPARD operates as a network in 72 countries through its chapters. This multi-stakeholder platform's main mission is to serve as a collective global network that enables young professionals to realize their full potential and contribute proactively towards innovative and sustainable agricultural development.

African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services

The African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (AFAAS), is a continental organization for strengthening Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services (AEAS) in Africa. It operates within the framework of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), a venture of the African Union in the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). AFAAS is an autonomous subsidiary of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA).

John Walugembe

John Kakungulu Walugembe is a Ugandan business executive, economist, author, entrepreneur and scientist. He is the founder of Oxford International Development Advisors Ltd (OXIDAL) and co-founder of the Oxford Green Partnership, Better Livelihoods Inc. and the Water and Sanitation Entrepreneurs Association Uganda (WASEU). He is the volunteer Executive Director of Federation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises - Uganda (FSME), the former Executive Director of the Uganda Small Scale Industries Association (USSIA) and head of business development at the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UNCCI).

Science and technology in Uganda examines government efforts to develop a national innovation system and the impact of these policies.

Ada Osakwe

Ada Osakwe is a Nigerian economist, an entrepreneur and corporate executive, who is the founder and chief executive officer of Agrolay Ventures, an agribusiness investment company based in Nigeria, which invests in African agricultural food-related companies. From November 2012 until May 2015, Ada Osakwe was the Senior Investment Adviser to Nigeria's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Akinwumi Adesina.

Vanessa Erogbogbo

Vanessa Erogbogbo is a private sector development specialist with a focus on trade, sustainability and gender. She is the Chief of the Sustainable and Inclusive Value Chains Section and Head of the SheTrades Initiative at the International Trade Centre (ITC).

References

  1. ↑ "EMRC – EMRC grows partnerships for Africa – EMRC". Emrc.be. Archived from the original on 2014-01-15. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
  2. ↑ "Idit Miller, EMRC VP: Africa needs more regional collaboration | Executives". Theafricareport.com. 16 November 2011. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
  3. ↑ "Jones takes over as EMRC President". 15 January 2014. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  4. 1 2 "AgriBusiness Forum 2013 to spur investment in agriculture". Minagri.gov.rw. 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
  5. ↑ "AgriBusiness Forum 2013 to spur investment in agriculture – Agri-Hub Rwanda". Apf-rwanda.ning.com. 2013-10-01. Archived from the original on 2014-01-16. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
  6. ↑ "Africa Report". Chinafrica.cn. Archived from the original on 2014-01-16. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
  7. ↑ "'Effective Market Access with ICTs': EMRC AgriBusiness Forum". E-Agriculture. 2013-10-22. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
  8. ↑ "AgriBusiness Forum 2012 to focus on partnership, investment and technology". Africanfarming.net. 2012-09-25. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
  9. 1 2 "AgriBusiness Forum to propel Africa's Food sector to the centre of development". Africasciencenews.org. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
  10. ↑ emrc.be (2011-06-14). "AgriBusiness Forum 2011 announced as EMRC International focuses on engaging the private sector in Africa's Agri-food development". ModernGhana.com. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
  11. ↑ "AgriBusiness Forum 2010 Invites US entrepreneurs to Kampala, Uganda / EMRC expects a strong US presence at this year's AgriBusiness Forum 2010 | Database of Press Releases related to Africa – APO-Source". Appablog.wordpress.com. 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
  12. ↑ "Improving Access to Finance with the IFC" (PDF). Ifc.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-06-30. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  13. ↑ "EMRC SME Forum Bridging the Missing Middle Gap in Africa – African Development Bank". AfDB. 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
  14. ↑ "Igniting Meaningful Business Partnerships at Africa Finance & Investment Forum 2009 | Business Guide Newspaper". Businessguideghana.com. 2009-11-07. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
  15. ↑ "Angola-Cameroun Agrifood Meeting, FMO Bank, Den Haag". Nabc.nl. Retrieved 2014-01-14.

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