Empowering Congolese Farmers through an Agribusiness with John Kavyavu

Production team:

Host : Maria Xenidou

Producer: Julie-Roxane Krikorian

Introduction Voice: David Bourne

Contact us:

[email protected]

Music credits:

Like Lee performed by The Mini Vandals

Transition sounds: Swamp Walks performed by Jingle Punks

Where to find John Kavyavu & Mavuno:

John on LinkedIn

Mavuno

Mavuno on LinkedIn

Mentioned in this episode:

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Microfinance

Pro Microfinance International on LinkedIn

Life Asset Inc

David Masomo - cofounder of Mavuno

World Vision

Tearfund

Listen to this episode and explore:

John’s childhood in the Democratic Republic of Congo as the youngest of ten siblings (2:39)

Learning from his entrepreneur mother the principles of social entrepreneurship and microfinance (10:57)

What is microfinance? (15:30)

Getting his master's in microfinance in India and a second master’s in social enterprise in the US (17:06)

One difference between microfinancing in the US and the developing world (20:28)

What John learnt while working in microfinance with entrepreneurs in the US and DR Congo (22:26)

The genesis of Mavuno (23:47)

Mavuno’s mission: what it is and who it is for (28:21)

The Impact Mavuno has created over the last five years (32:42)

Finding the farmers who need help: the importance of being rooted in the community (35:21)

The Farmer Field School (38:26)

How Mavuno measures their success and impact in the field (41:02)

Mavuno’s agribusiness model: a financially sustainable organization (42:54)

The Agripreneur Incubator: teaching farmers business and marketing skills (46:17)

Helping build an association of agripreneurs at the village level (48:04)

How we can support Mavuno (51:13)

The one thing John wants to leave his mark on during his lifetime (52:47)

Maria's takeaways and call-to-action (55:58)