Eugene Kavishe, a participant in the U.S. Grain Council’s (USGC’s) Tanzania Food for Progress training program and founder and managing director of Vonkavy Agro Company, was one of three Tanzanian delegates who attended the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) last week in Silicon Valley in California.

Previously, Kavishe was a participant in the Department of State’s Young African Leaders Forum in 2014.

He returned to the United States for GES, where he was able to meet and network with global entrepreneurs and investors from a range of diverse backgrounds. He could also discuss the myriad challenges entrepreneurs face globally with other like-minded participants.

Kavishe has become a successful livestock entrepreneur in part due to his participation in numerous training programs held by the Council including seminars in the Dar es Salaam area and abroad. In March 2016, the Council sponsored his travel to South Africa for training on Ukhebe Farm that is owned by USGC Consultant Heiko Koster.

Following his return to Tanzania, Kavishe used the Ukhebe farm model of layer production at his operation in Tanzania. He built two houses that expanded his total farm capacity to 13,500 birds. Since then, Kavishe has grown his operation from 300 birds in August 2014 to 9,000 in April 2016.

“I have received incredible knowledge through local and South African training seminars in the areas of poultry management, housing, biosecurity, networking exposure and so much more,” he said about his work with USGC’s program and the local industry in Tanzania.

“This program has opened my eyes to modern ways to raise chicken and also inspired and motivated me to dream and think big into the poultry industry. It was a wonderful experience to get into the fields at Ukhebe Farms, and networking with fellow Tanzanian farmers has offered a great platform to share our challenges and look for solutions together.”

The Tanzania program is supported by a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food for Progress grant launched in the spring of 2014. The program’s objective is to sustainably enhance the quality and expand the capacity of poultry production within Tanzania through training courses, creation of self-sustaining industry associations and development of a fully functional grain testing lab.

Click here to learn more about GES 2016.

Click here for more about the Council’s program in Tanzania.