Accelerate X Fuze Challenge
Are you a tech-startup founder in East Africa with a solution in transport, logistics or mobility? Apply for the Accelerate X Fuze Challenge before 21 November 2025
The Accelerate X Fuzé Challenge is a partnership initiative between Digital Africa, the Yiri (AGL) Group and other ecosystem partners. It targets innovative start-ups from East Africa, including Rwanda, in transport and logistics. Success applicants will have the chance to pitch in Kigali and gain access to a six-month acceleration programme.
Selected participants will have the opportunity to pitch live in Kigali and be part of a top cohort of startups. The Challenge offers access to the Fuzé investment scheme through Digital Africa, which provides pre-seed funding tickets of up to €100,000 tailored for African tech start-ups. Participants will also join a six-month acceleration programme designed to help them scale operations and connect with mentors, investors and other partners.
Eligible applicants include startups founded by at least one African national and operating in or serving East Africa. Businesses should have a technology-oriented model, ideally in the mobility, transport or logistics sectors. Applicants are expected to have a minimum viable product or early traction in the market.
Interested startups can apply by submitting their profile here.
Do you have a business that operates in agriculture, food processing, distribution or related sectors? Apply for funding from the Support for Early-Stage Businesses program.
Do you have a business that operates in agriculture, food processing, distribution or related sectors? Apply for funding from the Support for Early-Stage Businesses program.
The Africa Agriculture Development Company (AADC), a United Kingdom investment company that has invested in over 50 companies, invites applicants for the Support for Early-Stage Businesses program.
The aim of the program is to foster entrepreneurship and innovation that can drive agricultural transformation across Africa. It targets startups and growing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating in food production, processing, distribution and related sectors.
Successful applicants will benefit from the following:
- Seed capital investments ranging from $50,000 to $250,000 that do not need to be repaid if milestones are met
- Technical assistance to help businesses professionalize operations, strengthen management and access new markets
Interested applicants should meet the following criteria to apply:
- Be registered and operating legally in a sub-Saharan African country
- Be operational for less than five years
- Have a proven business model
- Demonstrate potential for long-term growth
- Demonstrate potential to positively impact people, economies and the environment
- Have annual revenues below USD 1,000,000
Priority will be given to women-led, youth-led and businesses in underserved regions/value chains
Interested applicants should contact investment@agdevco.com.
How market analysis can help grow your business
How market analysis can help grow your business
Once a small business is up and running, a common challenge owners face is identifying how best to attract new customers. Market analysis, which helps a business gather and analyze information about its target market, is one of the most effective tools used to identify potential customers. It helps business owners to make informed decisions about their products, services, marketing, and pricing.
There are many ways to conduct a market analysis, and the best approach varies depending on a business’s specific needs. However, there are some common steps:
- Define your target market: Who is your business targeting? Identify your those customers most likely to buy your product or service, the size of the market, and the competitive landscape. For example, suppose you have a business that sells sports products. Here, your target customers will be people interested in sports. You’ll identify whether the market is contracting, stable, or growing (luckily, in Kigali, it is increasing due to heavy investment in the sports industry) and look for other businesses offering similar products so you can see how yours might compare.
- Gather data: What can you learn about your target market? Once your target market has been defined, the next step is to gather data to learn how to provide the product or service customers are most likely to purchase. This data can be collected from various sources, including events, customer surveys, networking with stakeholders in the industry, or public and private sources like newspapers. The data gathered can be qualitative or quantitative. Using our sports example, this may mean scoping out events where industry players are present to collect data on which sports equipment will most likely be in high demand for a certain period (qualitative) and how much will likely be required to satisfy your target market (quantitative).
- Analyze the data: What does this data tell you and how can that inform your business decisions? Once data has been collected, it needs to be analyzed. Look for trends and patterns from what has happened in the industry so far and think ahead about what that may mean for your business for the next few months. Here, a sports business could look at recurring sports events like the Basketball Africa League to see what products were most sold during this period to then make decisions about which products to stock and how best to promote them.
- Develop a plan: What’s next? Once the data has been analyzed, the next step is to develop a plan. Here, you want to focus on setting a budget, purchasing the items you expect to sell well in advance, and identifying marketing messages and tactics.
Market analysis is less complicated than it sounds – follow the four steps above, and you’ll be on a good track to better understand your target customers, the competitive landscape, and different opportunities and challenges in the market.