Deadline: 5-Sep-21
Applications are now open for the Project Ninja Startup Accelerator Program that is aimed at enhancing the ability to secure strategic partnerships and investment for high-growth post-revenue ventures In Kenya.
The program is uniquely tailored to bring together expertise from both local and Japanese resources for guaranteed success to participating entrepreneurs.
Benefits
If you are a founder, this program will help:
- Tailored support: Strengthen the foundation of your business in Kenya and gear up for scaling through intensive tailored support
- Global community: Gain broader perspective, insight, and best practices from a global community of mentors, experts and instructors
- Africa, Japan & beyond: Gain unique access to Japanese venture capitalists, institutional and corporate investors, and/or strategic partners like no other program
Program Structure
- 3 days Bootcamp – Taking stock of participants’ businesses and identify potential growth gaps and challenges to tailor subsequent support. The outcome for each startup is a clear set of goals to achieve during the program.
- Internal Mentoring:
- One-on-one support by GrowthAfrica’s internal mentors focused on building a deeper understanding of and solutions for these challenges, including identifying and mobilizing the resources needed for action.
- 4 internal mentors from GrowthAfrica will support the businesses in their efforts to fully understand their shortcomings and challenges that need addressing prior to the pitch day. The shortcomings may be addressed in the mid/long-term; as well as evaluate how to address these and what resources (e.g. mentoring) are needed to effectively do so.
- External Mentoring and Instructor Sessions:
- Local and international mentors, as well as external mentors, with domain or sector/industry expertise will be mobilized to assist the businesses in building their capacity and strategies around identified growth challenges.
- Instructor sessions, as pre-empted topics (selected based on the cohort) run by expert instructors, as ½ day or full-day sessions aiming at addressing specific challenges in the businesses for immediate resolution or to build specific capacity in relation to the investment and partnership process engaged at/after the pitch event. Instructors can be local or international and may be engaged on a commercial basis.
- Demo Day:
- 1 day – High-production value external pitching event for potential investors and strategic partners as well as media and key stakeholders
- Post Programme Support:
- Supported primarily by the team of internal mentors (chiefly the full-time mentor). This support will include following up on potential investors and strategic partners engaged during the pitch event [or in other occasions] as well as continued matching of businesses with external mentors to assist with the implementation of growth strategies. This will also include the ongoing collection of data and information from businesses.
Additional Components
- Group/Peer Mentoring (aka Brain Trust)
- The cohort is mobilized alongside a small, select group of alumni and mentors with specific insights and experience into a topic or value chain and with the aim of one of the businesses challenges or a potential solution (or their entire business) to the group for “silent“ feedback and input in a structured process.
- Networking Events
- The networking events bring to the room other stakeholders, other entrepreneurs, and potential partners or mentors — who may hold resources valuable to the businesses. This process is more organic, less structured, and less exclusive than the Brain Trust exercises. It also serves as a soft branding exercise for community engagement.
Eligibility Criteria
For this cohort, they are looking for 5 high-potential ventures that are:
- For profit, post product, post revenue business with minimum of 6 months sustained revenue
- With an office and operations based in Kenya
- Led by a dedicated FULL-TIME founding team
- Minimum of 2 years of existence, but not greater than 5 years
- At a stage to raise Late Seed or Pre-Series A funding rounds
- With a Founding Team committed to fully participate in ALL program activities
- The business model and/or product/service must be tech-enabled.
For more information, visit https://jica.ninja/the-program/