Raymond Musiima, an International student from Uganda who founded an Agribusiness initiative to support youth, has been awarded a Homer Higbee International Education award.
The Homer Higbee International Education Award recognises Michigan State University (MSU) students and other individuals who have made significant contributions to the support of international awareness at Michigan State University from all over the world through involvement in programs that promote cross-cultural understanding on campus and in the community.
Musiima is the founder of Michigan Fellows Agribusiness Initiative (MFAI) in Uganda, Kenya and Zimbabwe and serves as a Board Member at several Non-profits, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and universities in Africa and the United States.
During an interview with The New Vision on 20 May, he said in 2018, a group of 11 young Ugandan students who had attended Michigan State University in the US of which he was among, had one big dream to empower fellow youth and women, particularly those engaged in agriculture, to get handsome returns from their enterprises.
Musiima says they formed the Michigan Fellows Agribusiness Initiative (MFAI). MFAI was registered as a non-profit organisation. Each of the initial members contributed whatever they could afford, which totalled sh1.8m.
‘‘With this, the members made a call on their social media platforms. They contacted the youth, women and fresh graduates countrywide to apply for the skilling in agribusiness. All the applicants were interviewed and the successful candidates, 10 youth, were taken to the American Centre in Kampala for a one-week training in agribusiness skills to enable them to start their businesses. The participants were awarded with certificates of completion,” Musiima says.
He says, to date the youth who have benefited from this program are over 1000 and aim to reach a total of 3000 from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi and South Sudan by the end of this year.
Musiima said that MFAI has also implemented other youth-focused initiatives, such as the Agribusiness Apprenticeship Program (AgAP), which trains and mentors young entrepreneurs in agribusiness, entrepreneurship, and networking.
This program, along with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in Leadership and Training project, and the Ecourse4 project, collectively reach a total of 265 people annually, mainly women, in Uganda.
He said that while receiving the international award on April 17, 2025, at the Kellogg centre Michigan State University (MSU) in the United States of America, there could never have been a better time for an international student from Africa at an American university to receive the Homer Higbee International Education award.
‘‘Thank you, Michigan State University, for continuing to tell a good story about America to the world, even as the idea of America is changing every day. With this award, you invite the memory that people like me matter—that we are people, and that our work is worthy of recognition, too. This means more to me than an award; it’s the greatest honour of my life,” Musiima adds.
LEAD PHOTO CAPTION: Raymond Musiima after receiving a Homer Higbee International Education award. Courtesy photo
