Deadline: 31 January 2019
Applications are open for 2019 ACCEL Awards that specifically focus on giving African entrepreneurs a platform to showcase their ideas, brands and businesses on an international platform and access to mentorship from leading venture capitalists.
The ACCEL Awards is an annual business start-up contest organised by the London Business School’s Africa Club in collaboration with the Club Alumni and Corporate Partners including FTSE 100 companies, venture capital firms, entrepreneurship incubators and media companies.
Benefits
- Unparalleled international exposure
- Prestigious brand partnership
- International business mentoring
- Worldwide business network
- £15,000 in Award Prizes
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants need to be an African entrepreneur with a business proposal that has proof of concept.
- The business needs to be Africa focused or caters primarily to the African market.
- There is no entry fee to participate in the entrepreneurship awards.
Judging Criteria
- Originality of idea
- Is the start-up a new or novel application of existing knowledge/technology/business model to the Africa region in focus?
- high scores should be given to start-ups that are not clones of well known business models already existing within the African region
- Strength of business case
- Is the founder able to articulate a strong business case including target market, pain points and how the start-up is differentiated?
- Does the start-up have clear revenue models and path way to profitability?
- High scores should be given to those applications that demonstrate clear business plan to achieving a profitable business
- Level of product development
- Is the product or idea well developed and ready for investment opportunities?
- Do they have technology patents, rights, brand ownerships or partnerships already in place?
- Is the product already in the market?
- High scores should be given to those applications that demonstrate well developed products or services that are already on sale
- Level of business opportunity or impact
- What is the level of potential social impact of the idea in Africa?
- What is the potential size of the market share and profitability
- High scores should be given to those applications that demonstrate scalable social impact
- Team’s ability to execute the idea and other Intangibles
- Does the team have the right combination of passion? insight? experience? qualifications?
- Do secondary aspects of the application strengthen the likelihood of success e.g. founder’s story?
- High scores should be given to those applications that demonstrate passionate teams with significant expertise in the relevant business sector
How to Apply
Applicants can apply via given website.
Eligible Countries: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Cote d’Ivorie, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
For more information, please visit https://accelaward.com/