GIZ-SAIS Investment Readiness Programme for Agritech and Food Start Ups entering the Growth Phase in Africa

Deadline: 28 October 2019

Applications are open for GIZ-SAIS Investment Readiness Programme for African agritech and food start ups entering the growth stage.

The GIZ-SAIS Investment Readiness Programme provides tailor-made company development measures aimed at improving  investment readiness and gaining access to investment and business opportunities. The main objective of the programme is to scale digital innovations developed by African start-ups that enable their users in the agricultural or food sector to increase their income.

GIZ-SAIS

Scaling digital agriculture innovations through start-ups’ (SAIS) is a project implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

Benefits

• A six-month Investment Readiness Programme fully funded by GIZ-SAIS beginning in December 2019. The programme is built around regular virtual coaching and training sessions with experienced company developers and growth managers;
• Access to additional service providers to optimise certain segments of their venture (e.g. legal, cash flow, marketing, coding etc.);
• Three in-person meet-ups complete the programme: a kick-off workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, in December 2019, followed by a mid-term check-in in the third or fourth month and a link-up event with investors and business partners will conclude the programme.
• Throughout the duration of the programme, the GIZ-SAIS team will facilitate contacts and interactions with potential investors and business partners using the global investor cloud services. Further follow-up growth measures in close dialogue with committed investors and business partners are planned for those start-ups that successfully complete the Investment Readiness Programme.

Expected Outcomes

• A willingness by team members and ability to take part in all training measures, including physical presence during the kick-off, mid-term check-in and link-up event;
• Team members exhibit willingness to agree on individual milestones as well as serious ambition to achieve them within the timeframe of the GIZ-SAIS Investment Readiness Programme;
• The willingness to regularly communicate and share business information with GIZ-SAIS.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants can apply if their business:

• Is a start-up registered in Africa, a for-profit business with a team of at least two people;
• Is offering scalable digital solutions with a clear positive impact on income in the agricultural and/or food sector (e.g. through savings, business opportunities, added value, etc.);
• Is in the post-seed stage (i.e. have launched a minimum viable product, have an existing customer base, have evidence of revenue).

Selection Criteria

Projects will be selected on the basis of an application that showcases:

• A convincing business model;
• A highly-motivated team that ideally reflects gender equality and diversity;
• And presents a digital product that is scalable, demonstrably functional, user-oriented, commercially viable and makes use of sustainable technical solutions while also, ideally, promoting gender equality in the agriculture and food sector.

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.

How to Apply

Interested applicants can apply online via given website.

For more information, please visit https://vc4a.com/giz/giz-sais-investment-readiness-programme/