COLEACP became COLEAD in January 2023

The decision to become COLEAD (Committee Linking Entrepreneurship-Agriculture-Development) is the result of a participatory and iterative process carried out with the marketing committee of the Board of Directors, the team, the members of the association and its main partners. The main motivations/reasons behind the evolution of the name were to represent the mission and vision of the association, to facilitate the understanding and ownership of who we are and what we do, rather than where we do it.

The new name received unanimous support; it was voted for in June 2022 at the COLEACP Extraordinary General Assembly. The name was felt to be particularly appropriate because it embodies an evolution by retaining the root ‘COL’ of the current name and thus the liaison committee function for the association, while defining the current and future scope of COLEACP’s mission.

Agriculture: specifies the speciality of our field of action

Entrepreneurship: highlights the culture of the organisation, its membership and the main target of our actions (MSMEs)

Development: refers to the development of the partner-beneficiaries of the organisation’s programmes and the value chains in which they work, but also the people (link to “Growing people”) and the countries where we work.

Non-profit organisation to lead agriculture changes

COLEAD is a network of companies, professional organisations and experts committed to inclusive and sustainable agriculture. As a non-profit private sector organisation, our mission is to facilitate and implement action to increase the contribution of the agricultural sector to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

COLEAD is COLEACP with more expertise. We will continue to design, manage and implement development programmes. By providing online and on-the-ground technical assistance, professional training and support services covering research and innovation brokering, regulatory intelligence, market intelligence, networks and alliances, and access to finance.

COLEAD from January 2023

COLEAD’s vision – our leitmotiv – remains “Growing People”, because we believe that the changes in the global agri-food model require new generations of actors. This is especially true in sub-Saharan Africa, where the opportunities are as great as the challenges and where sustainable agriculture is the engine of what we all need.

The name change will officially come into effect in January 2023. The operationalisation of the change and its translation into the various information and communication materials of the association will be done gradually. The conservation of the COLEACP logo and graphic charter will facilitate a transition in continuity.