Deadline: 30-May-23
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is inviting start-ups contributing to food and energy resilience to apply to the EBRD flagship Star Venture Programme – Food and Energy Security Track.
What they offer?
- The programme will be delivered on a competitive basis and enterprises selected will join the cohort of dynamic venture teams in an intensive and tailored 18-month experiencebased support programme. The programme includes systematic business diagnostics workshops, customised consulting projects, online/in-person mentoring sessions, global networks of business partners, access to finance/market as well as advice on financing mechanisms, extended international networks of customers and channel partners, entrepreneurs, high level business executives, and international soft landings. The areas of support and intervention will depend on the competencies and needs of the individual enterprises and could include:
- Support Area
- Strategy and Planning
- Engineering and Technical Solutions
- Fundraising and Financial Management
- Accounting and Financial Reporting
- ICT and Digitalisation
- Innovation, IPR and Licencing
- Internationalisation and Scaling
- Lean and Agile Processes
- Legal, Governance and Compliance
- Marketing, Communications and Sales
- Operations and Quality Management
- Organisation, Leadership and HR
- Pitching, Equity and Investor Relations
- Sourcing, Procurement and Logistics
- Support Input Examples
- Access to all commercial consulting & technical skills as required
- Introductions to investors, funders and credit sources
- Negotiating, Valuations, Term Sheets & Investment
- Cash-flow Management & Operational Planning
- Identification, evaluation, introduction & negotiation with potential customers, suppliers and channel partners
- Entering international markets and establishing international business entities
- Developing & Implementing Marketing & Sales Plans.
- Support Area
Eligibility Criteria
- Applications are open to start-ups from the EBRD’s SEMED region: Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco and Lebanon
- They are looking to engage with high potential start-ups with less than five years of revenue generation and turnover less than €1m, with a strong differentiated competitive advantage, recurring revenue streams and the belief that, with the right support, you have the potential to scale, rapidly and internationally.
- The Programme’s overall objective is to strengthen innovation and productivity of start-ups and their value chains that may contribute to food and energy resilience in SEMED. Improved resource efficiency, improved resilience and restoration of ecosystems related to food, water and food waste are important pillars to be addressed under this programme.
- Start-ups that are focusing on food and energy security can apply, considering:
- Have an innovative, technology-based solution or business model
- Demonstrate a high potential to scale
- Demonstrate a strong, addressable market opportunity
- Have a defensible competitive advantage
- Are an ambitious, innovation-oriented, motivated and committed management team
- Should be based in one of SEMED countries (Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Lebanon, Jordan).
For more information, visit Food and Energy Security Programme.