Are you an early-stage startup with a tech solution for the world’s most significant challenges? Apply for the Norrsken Accelerator – 2023 cohort.
Are you an early-stage startup with a tech solution for the world’s most significant challenges? Apply for the Norrsken Accelerator – 2023 cohort.
Norrsken Foundation, a non-profit foundation based in Switzerland, seeks applicants for its Accelerator programme. The 2023 edition of the Accelerator programme is designed to identify the world’s most promising impact startups and support them to scale. The programme targets early-stage startups globally that leverage technology to create and scale innovative solutions to new and old societal and environmental challenges.
The program includes an eight-week growth sprint and Norrsken House in Stockholm and a mentorship roster of 50 entrepreneurs, investors and unicorn founders. Applicants will have an opportunity to pitch their ideas to over 300 top international investors. Successful applicants will receive a USD 125,000 upfront or pre-seed investment from the Norrsken Foundation.
To apply, visit: Norrsken Accelerator Application
Westerwelle Start-Up Haus seeks applicants for its Young Founders Program – Apply before 15 February 2023
Westerwelle Start-Up Haus seeks applicants for its Young Founders Program – Apply before 15 February 2023
The Westerwelle Start-up Haus invites young entrepreneurs to participate in their Westerwelle Young Founders Program (YFP). The six-month program aims to support young entrepreneurs with targeted support to scale their ventures and develop leadership abilities in contributing toward building a sustainable future.
During the program, successful applicants will participate in the following activities:
- Kick-Off Conference: A two-day virtual kick-off conference will take place on March 3 and 6, 2023
- Remote Program:From March to August 2023, participants will receive six months of support, including a personal mentor, monthly peer mentoring sessions, monthly expert workshops, and networking opportunities with corporate representatives and investors
- Berlin Conference:Ten best-performing participants will be invited to a five-day conference in May 2024, where they will have the opportunity to pitch to investors, participate in workshops, join networking events, and participate in the German start-up scene
Interested applicants should demonstrate high potential for impact and growth while fulfilling the criteria below:
- Recently (in the last five years) started a for-profit company focused on developing or emerging markets;
- Have a company that possesses a scalable business model that has ideally generated revenue or secured a first round of external funding;
- Have a business that possesses disruptive qualities that can increase the quality, impact, or inclusiveness of the industry;
- Possess a good working knowledge of English;
- Be available to attend the digital kick-off conference and participate in program activities for six months.
To apply, visit: Westerwelle Young Founder Program
Do you want to expand your tech business into global markets? Apply for the Eastern Africa Startup Awards before 31 January 2023
Do you want to expand your tech business into global markets? Apply for the Eastern Africa Startup Awards before 31 January 2023
The Global Startup Awards, an independent startup ecosystem competition, invites applicants for the Eastern Africa Startup Awards competition. The Startup Awards connects East African tech startups across the region to a global network of leading innovators and investors. The competition will award and support entrepreneurs and innovation ecosystem leaders making an impact in the following areas:
- Environmental sustainability
- Inclusive economic growth
- Emerging technologies and innovation
- Cross-border collaboration
Successful applicants in the competition will benefit from the following:
- Access to new markets
- Access to funding opportunities
- Access to a global network of leaders
- Exposure on a global stage
The competition process also brings together local ambassadors, country partners, national and international jury members, and key advisors to identify innovative startups in all aspects of the ecosystem.
To apply for the competition, visit: Applications
Are you a woman entrepreneur in need of funding and mentorship for your business? Apply for the Enhancing Women Entrepreneurship for Africa program before 31 December 2022
Are you a woman entrepreneur in need of funding and mentorship for your business? Apply for the Enhancing Women Entrepreneurship for Africa program before 31 December 2022
Seedstars, a Swiss-based global organization in partnership with the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) and Growth Africa invite business development service providers and women entrepreneurs to apply for the Enhancing Women in Entrepreneurship for Africa program. The program aims two enhance women’s business skills via a two-pronged approach – increasing the capacity and sustainability of providers supporting women-led SMEs and increasing access to mentorship, funding, and visibility for women-led SMEs.
Interested business development service providers should:
- Be based in one of the following countries (Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Cape Verde, Zambia, DRC, Cameroon, Mali, Zimbabwe, Bostwana)
- Enhance the viability and sustainability of women-led SMEs
- Provide innovative approaches to ecosystem support designed to close the financing gap for women-led SMEs
- Introduce innovative ways to provide capacity building for women-led SMEs
- Provide digital presence and visibility to women-led SMEs
- Provide access to mentorship for women-led SMEs
Interested women-led SMES should:
- Be between seed and growth stage
- Be based in one of the above countries
- Have at least one woman on the founding team
- Have a digital element in their product (for example: Mobile application, Online Shop, SAAS product, etc.)
To apply for the program, visit: Applications
Are you a FoodTech or AgTech company in need of funding? Apply for the Growth Impact Accelerator program before 30 January 2023
Are you a FoodTech or AgTech company in need of funding? Apply for the Growth Impact Accelerator program before 30 January 2023
GROW, a global agriculture and food technology accelerator, invite applicants for the Growth Impact Accelerator Program, backed by AgFunder. The program seeks to support foodtech and agtech startups tackling the global challenge of sustainability. Through the program, successful applicants will receive USD 100,000 in investment funding from AgFunder. Participants will receive additional benefits, including:
- Access to growth partners for product testing, development, and scaling
- Matching with global agrifood multinational corporations to support customer validation and feedback, deploying pilot projects, and securing new sales contracts
- Access to AgFunder’s private and institutional investment global networks to support fundraising
- Access to an experienced team of coaches and mentors
- Access to physical workspace in Singapore (or virtual office address, if overseas) throughout the program duration
- Access to media exposure and publicity through AgFunder’s news platform, events, and a demo day at the conclusion of the program
- Support with Singapore EntrePass visa application through GROW’s partnership with Enterprise Singapore
Interested applicants should have solutions in the following areas:
- Advancing smallholder farmers
- Supply chain rationalization
- Alt-proteins and novel foods and ingredients
- Climate-smart agriculture and aquaculture
- Personalized nutrition & health
- Food waste valorization
- Circular economy
To apply for the program, visit: Application form
Does your business address educational challenges? Apply before 1 December 2022 for an opportunity to win $20,000 and other benefits
Does your business address educational challenges? Apply before 1 December 2022 for an opportunity to win $20,000 and other benefits
World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), an international, multi-sectoral platform for creative thinking, debate and purposeful action, invites applicants for the 2023 WISE Awards. The awards are a celebration of six successful and innovative projects addressing global educational challenges.
Interested applicants should have ongoing or existing projects in the field of education with the following qualities:
- Have an excellent record of proven success
- Be financially sustainable
- Have a clear plan indicating the project’s future objectives and development
- Be scalable
- Be replicable in other contexts and regions of the world
- Have a clear understanding and knowledge of:
- Its innovative nature
- Its distinctiveness within its sphere of action
- The type and depth of its impact on its beneficiaries
Successful participants in the WISE Awards will be supported through different channels including:
- Cash prize of USD 20,000 awarded to the winning projects.
- Outstanding projects will be featured on the WISE website, showcased and shared with the WISE community via social media.
- Special documentaries and videos will be produced to showcase the work of the winning projects.
- Opportunity to be featured in WISE Books which explore current challenges and solutions facing 21st-century education.
- Opportunity for winning projects to present and discuss their work at dedicated sessions during the global biennial summit in Doha, Qatar or WISE regional summits. In addition, projects are offered an opportunity to participate in global events organized in collaboration with WISE.
- Opportunity for representatives of former winning projects to be involved in other WISE projects through mentorship, participation in the selection processes, and fellowship programs.
To apply for the WISE Awards, visit: Applications
Are you a woman entrepreneur with a business that positively impacts the community? Apply for AWA Prize before 24 October 2022
Are you a woman entrepreneur with a business that positively impacts the community? Apply for AWA Prize before 24 October 2022
Enabel, a Belgian development agency, invites African women entrepreneurs to apply for the Awa Prize, a competition highlighting women entrepreneurs in Belgian development cooperation countries and their projects. The competition aims to celebrate women entrepreneurs who positively impact their communities through their businesses.
The competition awards entrepreneurs in four categories: startups, scale-ups, innovation, and people’s choice. Three entrepreneurs will be selected for each category to receive EUR 50,000 for first prize winners, EUR 10,000 for second prize winners, and EUR 5,000 for third prize winners to be spent on coaching based on their company’s needs. First-prize winners will be offered an opportunity to spend one week in Belgium networking in entrepreneurship circles.
Interested participants in the competition must fulfill the following:
- Be a woman of legal age in her country of residence
- Have a nationality of one of the participating countries
- Be a co-founder and/or non-minority shareholder of a company registered for at least one year in the participating country
To participate, visit Awa Prize Applications to register.
Does your business tackle climate change and environment challenges? Apply to win funding and mentorship from the Lead2030 Challenge before 21st October 2022
Does your business tackle climate change and environment challenges? Apply to win funding and mentorship from the Lead2030 Challenge before 21st October 2022
One Young World, a global community for young leaders in collaboration with Deloitte, a management consulting company invite young innovators to apply for the Lead2030 Challenge for the SGD13. Successful participants will receive a grant of USD 50,000 from Deloitte, sponsorship to participate in the One Young World Summit 2023, and 12 months of mentorship from a team of Deloitte professionals and partners. The Challenge seeks to support scalable youth-led solutions that:
- Reduce the impacts of climate change, and/or empower others to act on climate change
- Address root causes of the climate change
- Demonstrate ability to drive impact and potential to scale
- Collaborate with others to accelerate or broaden impact
- Utilize innovative approaches
Interested participants should have a solution that fits these criteria:
- Be evidently aligned with the SDG13 challenge
- Be founded by youth between 18-30 years of age
- Have a clear knowledge of key stakeholders, beneficiaries and reasonable proposed outcomes
- Have a positive impact such as generating educational incomes, creation of employment or developing skills
- Have an impact that can be adequately measured or be measurable
- Be able to achieve efficiency and survive independently through the resources they generate and/or the investments and donations they attract
- Be able to demonstrate potential to grow impact after expanding in scope or size and/or into other regions
- Must rely on proven or readily available technology (relevant to the solution)
To apply for the Challenge, visit: Applications
Bank of Kigali launched SME Center to serve Small and Medium Enterprises.
Bank of Kigali launched SME Center to serve Small and Medium Enterprises.
The SME Response Clinic spoke with Darius Mukunzi, Head of SME Banking at Bank of Kigali, about how the bank is currently serving small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Bank of Kigali is the largest commercial bank in Rwanda, serving more than 200,000 SMEs across the country. In July 2022, it launched the SME Center, a facility that provides tailored financial and advisory services to business owners looking to grow their enterprises.
To serve the segment, Bank of Kigali uses relationship managers and officers stationed at the SME Business Center and at each bank branch. These staff members are responsible for helping the bank to better understand SME customer needs, enabling Bank of Kigali to tweak products and services in line with those needs as they evolve in the market. Importantly, the Business and Credit departments within the SME Center work closely, which facilitates decision-making, thereby reducing the time it takes SME customers to obtain financial products from the bank.
Bank of Kigali also leverages government facilities to acquire new SME customers and provide loans to SMEs at favorable rates. The bank was involved in disbursing the government’s Renewable Energy Fund and is currently also participating in disbursing the Economic Recovery Fund (Hatana 2) and Export Growth Fund. Bank of Kigali is also working on a strategy to serve SMEs with non-financial services, planning to provide capacity building focused on topics like financial literacy for SMEs and taxation. The Non-financial services will also introduce Business Clubs and Supply Chain linkages in the near future.
Visit the Bank of Kigali’s SME Center in Kigali, CHIC Building, second floor, to learn more about the bank’s offer for the segment.
Are you a start-up with innovative solutions to climate adaptation and resilience challenges? Apply for funding in the YouthAdaptations Solutions Challenge before 4 October 2022
Are you a start-up with innovative solutions to climate adaptation and resilience challenges? Apply for funding in the YouthAdaptations Solutions Challenge before 4 October 2022
The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), in partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Climate Investment Funds (CIF), invites applicants to the Youth Adaptation Solutions Challenge program. (YouthADAPT Challenge). The Challenge is an annual competition and awards program for youth-led enterprises seeking to boost sustainable job creation through support for entrepreneurship and youth-led innovation in climate change adaptation and resilience across Africa.
In this edition of the Challenge, 20 innovators will emerge as winners at an award show and will have access to post-award support in the forms of:-
- 100,000 USD grant for each winner
- Capacity Building and Training
- Mentorship and Coaching
Interested applicants should fulfill the following to apply
- Be youth-led, with applicants aged between 18 and 35
- Have innovations delivering climate adaptation or resilience solutions addressing real-life challenges
- Be Legally registered and operating in Africa
- Be able to show revenues for at least two years
Admissible solutions can represent:
- An adaptation solutions business that has not been scaled and is not in widespread use
- An existing resilience and adaptation solutions business or product
- A commercially viable means to raise awareness or scale uptake of specific adaptation solutions.
To apply for the Challenge, visit: Applications