Are you a digital or tech enterprise with an innovative trade or green infrastructure solution? Apply to the AUDA-NEPAD call for digital solutions before 31 August 2022
Are you a digital or tech enterprise with an innovative trade or green infrastructure solution? Apply to the AUDA-NEPAD call for digital solutions before 31 August 2022
The Africa Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), in partnership with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), announced a call for digital solutions for small and medium enterprises. The call seeks enterprises that provide digital solutions to support trade and/or green infrastructure. Through the programme, successful applicants will receive business development support, investment-readiness support, business-specific advisory, and capacity building.
Interested applicants will have to meet the following criteria to be considered:
- Be an early-stage business
- Be registered as a for-profit entity
- Must have a team of at least three (3) people
- Have proof of concept established either by a pilot or by similar, pre-existing projects elsewhere
- Have a business idea with a digital or tech focus
- Digital/tech must be central to the business strategy/value proposition.
- Have a focus on trade and/or green infrastructure
- Digital solution must have a demonstrable climate change adaptation (increasing resilience) or mitigation (reducing greenhouse gas emissions) impact
- Digital solution must have a beneficial environmental impact (e.g., clearing invasive species, reducing plastic waste, repurposing hazardous waste)
- Digital solution must demonstrate their impact on trade and/or trade-related activities, especially across the national border (within a country is acceptable)
- Business must be based in an Africa Union Member State with its largest market (>75% turnover) and employment base (>75% of personnel) in Africa.
For more information and application details, visit: Call for Digital Solutions
Apply for the GAIN-AFREXIM Masterclass on Entrepreneurship and Intra-African Trade before 31 July 2022
Apply for the GAIN-AFREXIM Masterclass on Entrepreneurship and Intra-African Trade before 31 July 2022
Grand Africa Initiative (GAIN), a non-governmental pan-African organization, in partnership with Africa Export-Import (AFREXIM), invites applicants for the GAIN-AFREXIM Masterclass on Entrepreneurship and Intra-African Trade. The masterclass is a program aimed at unlocking the potential of young African entrepreneurs to benefit from the opportunities in the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) comprising more than 1.2 billion people and to promote intra-African trade.
The program is designed to equip 200 young entrepreneurs from across Africa with skills to build and scale their businesses across the continent and beyond, leverage partnerships, attract more significant trade volumes/revenues, and explore new opportunities.
Upon successful completion of the program, applicants will be able to:
- Grow and position their business favourably in the global market
- Identify new and exciting business opportunities
- Build partnerships in Africa and beyond
- Expand business and revenues
- Take payments and manage trade finance
Interested applicants should fulfill the following to qualify for the program:
- Be an African business owner under 40 years of age
- Have a registered business
- Be at a stage where the business is already generating revenue
- Demonstrate interest in scaling their business
To apply for the program, visit: GAIN AFREXIM Applications
Are you interested in onboarding your business onto an e-commerce platform? Apply for the E-Commerce Boosting Program before 31 July 2022
Are you interested in onboarding your business onto an e-commerce platform? Apply for the E-Commerce Boosting Program before 31 July 2022
The E-Commerce Center (ECC), a Public Private Partnership infrastructure set up to enable the e-commerce ecosystem, invites applicants for the E-Commerce Boosting Program. The program is a series of practical and technical trainings meant to prepare Rwandan small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to list their products and services on RwandaMart, Rwanda’s leading e-commerce platform. The program is supported by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Government of Rwanda as part of the initiative “Rwanda: Enabling the Future of E-Commerce”. The initiative aims to set up infrastructure and support mechanisms for Rwandan SMEs to sell goods via an online business-to-consumer e-commerce marketplace for trading products and services both domestically and cross-border.
Successful applicants will receive training in the following:
- Introduction to e-commerce
- Inventory management
- Engineering
- Marketplace store setup and configuration
- Business compliance
- Online marketing
Additionally, successful applicants will be offered an opportunity to be listed on RwandaMart, access to local and international sales events, a seller certification from RwandaMart, and a chance to apply for a low-interest loan offered by Inkomoko Entrepreneur Development.
Interested applicants must fulfill the following criteria to apply:
- Be registered with RDB
- Use Electronic Billing Machines for receipts
- Be an actively running business, with quality products/services already available on the market
To apply for this program, visit: Applications
For any inquiries about the program, reach out to contact: 0791345390 or send an email to info@ecc.com.
Are you a woman entrepreneur interested in scaling up your business? Apply for this programme before 18 July 2022
Are you a woman entrepreneur interested in scaling up your business? Apply for this programme before 18 July 2022
The Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) and the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) invite applicants for the “Solutions Catalysing Increased Access to Capital for the Success of Women Entrepreneurs” programme. The programme aims to accelerate efforts to address gender inequality and drive inclusive economic transformation. Through the programme, AFAWA and AWIEF seek to drive increased access to finance and markets for women-owned and women-led small and medium enterprises (WSMEs) across Southern, East, and West Africa.
Over 510 WSMEs will be supported to scale, access markets, and receive investment readiness training. The programme is eligible for WSMEs from 8 African countries, including Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Interested participants can apply for any of the following programme components:
- AWIEF Growth Accelerator (in partnership with Nedbank) – to enhance investment readiness and increase access to finance.
- eCommerce Capacity Development (in partnership with UNIDO) – for building knowledge, capacity, and skills in digital channels to increase participation and success in online business.
- Digital Skills (in partnership with Amazon Web Services) – strengthen WSME’s capacity to embrace technology innovation.
- Mentorship and Advisory – enhancing the visibility and access to role models for WSMEs through a mentorship platform.
To apply for the programme, visit: Applications
Are you an innovative Agri-tech entrepreneur? Apply for the Pitch AgriHack 2022 competition before 29 July 2022
Are you an innovative Agri-tech entrepreneur? Apply for the Pitch AgriHack 2022 competition before 29 July 2022
In partnership with African Green Revolution Forum and Generation Africa, Heifer International invites applicants to the eighth edition Pitch AgriHack 2022 competition. Pitch AgriHack is a digital agricultural competition focused on accelerating entrepreneurial growth and job creation by leveraging advanced tech and youth participation in Africa’s food security agenda.
Through the competition, six successful participants from three open competition categories, including early-stage, mature/growth stage, and women-led, will be awarded cash prizes totaling USD 45,000. Additionally, participants to the competition will benefit from the following:
- A fourth invite-only category, known as the AYuTe Africa Challenge, sponsored by Heifer International, will award up to US$1.5 million in grants to scalable ventures already generating measurable impact for Africa’s smallholder farmers.
- Six winners will be selected from the open-application categories and two winners from the invite-only AYuTe Africa Challenge category. The winners will be announced at the AGRF Summit on September 5-9 in Kigali.
- Top contestants will receive a one-day boot camp in preparation for their final pitches, with winners receiving continued support as they develop and grow their enterprises.
- Business profiles of the finalists will also be published in a Deal Book for circulation at the AGRF and online, while individual profiles will be made public on the orgplatform and reviewed for relevance to their investor community.
Interested applicants must fulfill the following to apply:
- Have a clear and defined description of how their solution is impacting smallholder farmers
- Have a strong organizational and operational structure
- Be aged 18-40 on the day of submission to the 2022 Pitch AgriHack Competition
- Hold nationality (with official ID) from any of the 54 nations of the African Union
- Be the founder/co-founder of the enterprise represented in the competition and play an active role in its operations and leadership
- Have no criminal record related to corruption, tax evasion, financial impropriety, felony, or other offenses
- Not be a previous Pitch AgriHack finalist or winner
- Must submit the application form in English
- Must agree with the Terms & Conditions
To apply for the competition, visit: Applications
For more information on the competition, visit: Pitch AgriHack 2022
Are you an early-stage justice entrepreneur interested in training and funding? Apply for the Justice Entrepreneurship School before 30 June 2022
Are you an early-stage justice entrepreneur interested in training and funding? Apply for the Justice Entrepreneurship School before 30 June 2022
The HiiL Innovation Hub, a social enterprise dedicated to supporting justice entrepreneurs in East Africa, invites applicants for the Justice Entrepreneurship School incubation programme. The programme supports early-stage entrepreneurs preventing or resolving pressing justice needs in their communities. Entrepreneurs will be offered high-quality action learning through the program on business modelling, storytelling, pitching, and justice design thinking.
The programme is suitable for start-up entrepreneurs who:
- Have a solution that meets the needs of those who struggle to access adequate, easy-to-understand, affordable, and accessible means to prevent or resolve their justice problems
- Have a basic product or service, that is, an existing prototype or minimal viable problem
- Have no traction; that is, the product is still not in the hand of users, or it’s only in the hands of a small number of early adopter users, where we still do not see enough evidence that this product or business can work
- Led by a team of 2 or 3 committed and passionate co-founders who shares a drive for justice and impact
Successful applicants to the programme will benefit from the following:
- A one-week residential boot camp delivered by industry specialists on topics such as business growth, team & leadership, design thinking
- Coaching sessions and mentorship on topics of your choice
- Access to HiiL’s regional network of justice leaders, legal tech organisations, and top-level researchers
- Certification and a learning platform for self-service
- Chance to win up to €1000 at the end of the programme during the Justice Innovation Circle demo day
To apply for the programme, visit: Justice Entrepreneurship School Applications
Are you a women entrepreneur running a for-profit business with a social and environmental impact on your community? Apply for the 2023 Regional Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards before 30 June
Are you a women entrepreneur running a for-profit business with a social and environmental impact on your community? Apply for the 2023 Regional Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards before 30 June
The Cartier Women’s Initiative, an annual international entrepreneurship program, invites women entrepreneurs to apply for the 2023 Regional Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards. The program aims to drive change by empowering women entrepreneurs with businesses that have a strong and sustainable social and environmental impact.
Interested applicants must fulfill the following criteria to apply for the Awards:
- Business should be a for-profit designed to generate sufficient revenue to support its operations and return some level of profit to its owners.
- Business should be in the early stage of its development and growth (between 1 and 6 years of registered operations as date of application) with a proven business model.
- Business should be generating revenue from the sales of products and/or services for at least one year as of the date of the application.
- Business should not have raised more than USD 2,000,000 in dilutive funding (any kind of funding that requires you to give away a piece of your company, including not only future profits but possibly control).
- Business should demonstrate having a positive impact in its industry and demonstrate it has potential to have more impact if successful with the Awards.
- Business should contribute to at least one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs).
Successful applicants will benefit from the following
- Financial capital support: Successful applicants will be awarded grants in three categories. The first-place awardee will receive USD 100,000; the second-place awardee will receive USD 60,000; the third-place awardee will receive USD 30,000.
- Human capital support: Successful applicants will be offered training and collective workshops involving coaching, mentorship, and peer learning.
- Social capital support: Successful applicants will gain international exposure and media visibility and access to an online and offline community of 500+ experts and peers
To apply for the Awards, visit: Applications
Apply for the Survive to Thrive Programme
Are you a member of KCB Bank Rwanda Biashara Club or a client of Bank Populaire Rwanda? Apply for the Survive to Thrive Programme
KCB Bank Rwanda, in partnership with ConsumerCentriX and the African Management Institute, invite their SME clients to participate in an exciting 4-month entrepreneurial journey with online courses, virtual learning labs, and practical tools.
The Survive to Thrive Programme will allow an entrepreneur and one (1) senior staff from their business the opportunity to learn how to set SMART growth goals and implement new business habits and tools to support business growth. Upon completing the programme, participants will have access to AMI’s Growth Network, an exclusive community of ambitious African entrepreneurs who have successfully graduated from AMI programmes. Participants will gain access to premium services such as AMI’s Finance Link for funding opportunities, mentoring and coaching networks, exclusive networking events, and continued access to AMI’s world-class business tools, courses, and resources.
New deadline: June 7th, 2022
Apply here: https://bit.ly/AMI-CCX-Entrepreneurship
Are you a startup in the tourism sector with a solution to the UN SDGs? Apply for the Awake Tourism Challenge before 30 June 2022
Are you a startup in the tourism sector with a solution to the UN SDGs? Apply for the Awake Tourism Challenge before 30 June 2022
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), a United Nations agency responsible for promoting responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism, invites applicants for the Awake Tourism Challenge. Through the Challenge, UNWTO seeks to support the most innovative startups working to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The Challenge seeks solutions to six challenges: local and community involvement, green and blue economies, ecological and sustainable capita creation, tourism tech for good, tourism education, and women empowerment.
Successful applicants will benefit from the following:
- Pitch at a UNWTO Demo Day
- Curated mentorship programme including one-on-one and in-group sessions focused on Intellectual Property (IP), sustainability, business, and leadership
- Connection to the UNWTO Innovation Network for meeting public and private stakeholders to explore funding and piloting opportunities
- Potential matchmaking with partners to scale up the startups, including investors, corporations, and governments
The Challenge targets startups that meet the following criteria:
- Innovative in nature, providing value-added solutions
- Sustainability-driven
- Scalable potential for international growth or to be applied by corporations and in other countries or regions
- Early-stage or series A startup
- Introduction or adoption of digital and technological elements
- Have a tested pilot and business plan
- Have been accelerated before
- Have a full-time team including at least 2 members under 35 years; gender balance will also be considered.
Applicants will be subject to further evaluation to assess their contribution to SDGs, potential business impact, maturity of the product or technology, team and organisation maturity, and partnership readiness.
To apply for this Challenge, visit: Applications
For more information on the Challenge, visit: UNWTO Awake Tourism Challenge
Are you an impact-driven company with a focus on solving unemployment? Apply for the Future to Work program before 29 April 2022
Are you an impact-driven company with a focus on solving unemployment? Apply for the Future to Work program before 29 April 2022
Village Capital, an impact investment company in partnership with Moody’s Foundation, invites startups across Sub-Saharan Africa to apply for the Future to Work 2022 program. Future to Work supports impact-focused startups leveraging highly sensitive data to improve quality and access to digital, financial, and healthcare services. Venture Capital aims to help entrepreneurs with investment readiness training through the program.
Successful applicants will benefit from the following during the program:
- Networking with fellow impact-driven founders in their cohort
- Mentorship from investors
- Interactive, tailored training sessions to support startup companies identify early milestones and preparing them for the next round of capital
- Coaching from an investment analyst on building a financial model, identifying unit economics, and using financial metrics
- Feature on Village Capital’s program website and other collateral
Interested applicants must have ventures addressing unemployment through the following:
- Technical, professional, upskilling, or reskilling programs
- Testing and credentialing programs
- New approaches to apprenticeship or employment matching, such as gig, job matching, and distributed manufacturing platforms
- Financial health for informal workers and/or
- Edtech for post-secondary and tertiary institutions
To apply for this program, visit: Future to Work Applications