Deadline: 15 March 2020
Applications are now open for the Kenya Catalytic Jobs Fund (KCJF) which is a £5M UK – Aid-funded programme designed to test and support innovative enterprises that have the potential to catalyse job creation for the youth and vulnerable populations in Kenya, at scale.
The fund seeks to support innovations aimed at increasing international competitiveness in agriculture and manufacturing; support innovations aimed at raising productivity and/or supporting shifts into the formal sector; diversify risks and access larger, longer duration loans in order to grow micro-enterprises; catalyse sustainable change in sectors and geographies that have the potential to create employment and increase incomes for disadvantaged groups, including women and people living with disabilities (including semi-arid lands).
Focus Areas
The fund will focus on three broad thematic areas as outlined below:
- Agriculture/Manufacturing sectors
- The fund will support innovations aimed at increasing international competitiveness. This thematic area would for example, support agribusiness/manufacturers to innovate, test new technologies and provide evidence to key state actors to address market distortions and unlock policy constraints holding back key sectors. It could help companies to integrate more horizontally (through associations) or vertically (in supply chains) as well as scope out international markets. It could help attract anchor investors into the new Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in close collaboration with (and not in duplication of) other economic development initiatives run by DFID and other development partners.
- Informal sector
- The fund will support innovations aimed at raising productivity and/or supporting shifts into the formal sector. This thematic area could for example use technology to link up clusters of informal microenterprises with formal firms (e.g. aggregators) and connect them to local or regional value chains. It could also pilot initiatives which enable youth entrepreneurs in the informal sector to find ways to build up savings; diversify risks and access larger, longer duration loans in order to grow microenterprises.
- Improve incomes and livelihoods for marginalised groups and geographies
- To ensure no one is left behind, this thematic area will aim to catalyse sustainable change in sectors and geographies that have the potential to create employment and increase incomes for disadvantaged groups, including women and people living with disabilities. This could include levelling the playing field for women-run businesses, e.g. around market positioning and access to finances. It could also include focusing on Arid and Semi-Arid Lands and leveraging DFID Kenya’s county-level investment climate work as well as engaging in dialogue and advocacy with county governments. However, as minimum levels of technology access, infrastructure or spatial proximity of firms are often needed for innovations to be optimally tested, the proposals would need to focus on areas where catalytic and scalable solutions remain feasible.
Award Information
- The Business Innovation Competition Winners will receive grant funding and technical assistance, assessed on a case by case basis and not exceeding a total of GBP100,000.
- The exact size of the grant funding will be determined by a grants management team and will depend on the business needs and priorities in achieving the set objective.
- In subsequent phases of the programme, additional funding may be available based on learnings from this phase.
Eligible Costs and Activities
- Grant funds provided under the Kenya Catalytic Jobs Fund can support any activities that directly contribute to the desired impact, which is to create jobs, increase income for youth and vulnerable populations in target sectors and geographies associated with increased or improved productive opportunities.
- Eligible activities include but are not limited to growth and expansion of existing innovative solutions, introduction of new tech-based solutions, expansion to new markets for products, value addition and micro-level processing, and provision of educational and/or skill building services.
Eligibility Criteria
The Kenya Catalytic Jobs Fund is designed to support a broad range of enterprises including early stage and mature enterprises as well as non-profit organizations that meet the following criterion;
- Is legally registered and operates in Kenya;
- Is implementing an innovative solution(s) that addresses felt needs;
- Is able to demonstrate the minimum viable product/post proof of concept for the innovative solution;
- Is able to demonstrate initial investments into the innovative solution;
- Has potential to grow exponentially, create more jobs and improve livelihoods at scale.
Note: Government organizations, political parties and organizations that advocate, or espouse anti-democratic policies or illegal activities are not eligible to receive funding from the Kenya Catalytic Jobs Fund.
Evaluation Criteria
The applications will be evaluated by a team of reviewers who will select 10 finalists, who will then proceed to participate in a business competition after which five successful enterprises will be selected by a team of judges and funded.
How to Apply
To enter the Business Innovation Challenge, applicants must complete an online application form by logging into the website of the Kenya Catalytic Jobs Fund.
For more information, visit https://kenyacatalyticjobsfund.org/the-fund/