28 young people from the Republic of Moldova interested in practicing in the field of agriculture successfully graduated from the “AgTech Academy”. They were trained by mentors with experience in areas such as agriculture, IT or marketing for a month. Agrobiznes develop the initiative, in its second edition, in partnership with USAID Performing Agriculture in Moldova and TEKWILL, funded by USAID and Sweden through the Moldova Start-up Program.
The participants in the training sessions had the opportunity to communicate with representatives of agricultural companies in our country, but also with young people who have successful businesses. They also learned how to set priorities and prioritize opportunities, manage time, what are the digital tools that help you be more productive at work, trends in agriculture, innovation and business, how to adapt your business to stress situations, an example being the pandemic that changed businesses around the world.
Oleg Gheorghita, graduate: "During the classes I attended I managed to review certain ideas, but also to learn new things that I can apply in order to be more efficient and to save personal time. I was surprised to understand that in agriculture many successful people, who do not have studies in the field, work and develop successful businesses. Now, young people have access to so much information, being accessible so many possibilities and opportunities to learn, know and develop skills. Probably, it is important to identify funds, financing resources for business development”.
Constantin Moraru, graduate: "I was glad that I had the opportunity to meet people who have the courage and get involved. I had the opportunity to increase the number of acquaintances with whom I will communicate in the future, outside the Academy, from whom I have something to learn and with whom I had the opportunity to exchange experience”.
The training sessions took place between April 1 and May 6, 2021, and the most active young people will have the opportunity to participate in the internship program within the top companies in the agricultural field.
Sergiu Jaman, founder of Agrobiznes: "We would like to develop the educational component more and more, including jointly with investors and partners both in the country and abroad. More and more organizations involved in the field of Agtech abroad have been delighted by the fact that in the Republic of Moldova there are quite bold activities in this segment. Being a platform for promoting businesses in our country and abroad, such as Romania, we will identify external partners, including private ones, to support our initiatives. We thank APM and TEKWILL for their contribution to the development of the Academy”.
Benjamin Toric, Director of the Performance Agriculture in Moldova project, funded by USAID: "Within the APM Project we understand the value of the AgTech component in the agricultural sector. Through the activities we carry out, we promote the implementation of AgTech solutions within agricultural enterprises. Capitalizing on the AgTech component in the near future will require new knowledge and skills that I encourage you to develop by attending various trainings and seminars. The passion you have for the agricultural sector combined effectively with modern technologies can generate impressive progress and results”.
Mary Nemciuc, Program Manager Startup Moldova: "Supporting performance agriculture is one of the 5 business verticals that TEKWILL supports within the National Program "Startup Moldova"- a platform that encourages sectoral collaboration between representatives of traditional industries and IT. We would very much like to continue this Project dedicated to young people in our country, and the promotions of the Academy to be more and more. As a promoter of AgTech entrepreneurship, we aim to support and develop the startup ecosystem in our country. Obviously, agriculture has been, is and will be a priority direction in the life of each of us, because it provides us with our resources for existence. Hence the desire to support the development of the combination of agriculture and technology, digital solutions. At the same time, we bet that the participants will make the most of the knowledge they have accumulated during the training period”.
About TEKWILL
The TEKWILL project is implemented by the National Association of ICT Companies with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Sweden. Tekwill was created in 2017 as the Center of Excellence of the ICT sector in Moldova, with the main goal of aligning the field with the requirements of the 21st century. In order to continue to contribute to increasing the competitiveness of the IT industry and other strategic sectors of the economy, the centre has expanded its current fields of activity, becoming in 2019 a complex project at national level. The basic objective of the ”Tekwill Project”, as a platform dedicated to the progress of the IT sector, is to ensure a major impact on the economic development of the country by improving the entrepreneurial and educational capacities of society members, but also the research and development potential of higher education institutions, in line with the demand on the IT market.