Deadline: 31-Oct-20
The Prospero Zambia is inviting proposals for the Innovation Partnerships in Investment Services.
Prospero’s Investment Services Sector works with intervention partners to address identified market constraints that hamper sector growth and competitiveness.
These constraints include:
- Capital: Access to investment capital is a significant constraint for high growth potential businesses. The high cost and stringent requirements make it difficult for companies across (and beyond) Prospero sectors to acquire the money needed for expansion.
- Capacity: Poor governance and management capacity make many local companies unattractive for external investment, therefore limiting their ability to raise investment finance for their businesses. There are a limited number of fund managers on the Zambian market, and the few that exist cannot grow their fund to a level at which it’s sustainable. The quality of services offered by intermediaries vary and, as a result, most of the require capacity-building support.
- Connections: Zambian businesses often do not belong to networks that connect them to investors or other providers of appropriate Investment Services. The market has a limited number of quality service providers that can support businesses to become investor-ready and, as a result, many SMEs requiring this service cannot access them.
- Compliance: SMEs struggle to comply with investors’ and other financiers’ regulations and expectations. There are also specific areas of compliance within their respective sectors that SMEs are unable to meet.
- Culture: SMEs are often reluctant to open their companies up to external investment for fear of losing control of their business and uncertainty over post-investment requirements.
Funding Information
- Technical Assistance only: £5,000 to £50,000
- Business Innovation (this can include some technical assistance): £5,000 to £100,000
Eligibility Criteria
- Registered and tax-compliant for-profit organizations are eligible to apply. Individuals are not eligible.
All applicants must meet three basic conditions:
- Zambian registered legal entity: All applicants must be registered with the appropriate authority as a legal entity in Zambia.
- Tax registered and compliant: All applicants must be able to demonstrate that they are registered for tax and are in compliance with tax obligations.
- Authorized business activity: All applicants must possess any relevant sector licenses or permits for their proposed business project.
- Post-revenue: All applicants must be post-revenue and have a minimum trading history of 2 years.
Criteria
Prospero Zambia provides financial and/or technical assistance support to private sector companies willing to co-invest in innovative and scalable solutions that:
- address the key sector constraints highlighted above.
- help improve the impact investment ecosystem.
- increase the level of impact of investment into Zambian companies.
- create and/or sustain quality jobs and income opportunities for low-income Zambians and/or marginalized populations (women, youth, people with disabilities, and rural populations).
For more information, visit https://prospero.co.zm/call-for-concepts/call-investment-services/