Deadline: 31-Oct-22

Are you running a tech start-up and want to challenge the status quo of the agriculture and food tech industry? Do you have a solution that makes the industry more sustainable and profitable while at the same time empowering value chain actors? Do you want support to learn how to raise investment, reach more customers, and have a more significant impact? Then this unique (and free!) acceleration programme is for you!

The Investment Readiness Programme (IRP) is part of the GIZ project ‘Scaling Digital Agriculture Innovations through Start-up’” (SAIS). 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). It is co-funded by Bayer Cares Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Our overall goal at SAIS is to increase incomes in the African agri-food sector through scaling proven digital innovations in the AgTech, FoodTech and livestock industry.

What do they offer?

The SAIS Investment Readiness Programme (IRP) offers African tech start-ups from the agriculture, food, and livestock sectors a year-long tailor-made support program to make you investor ready and scale up your business! (Available in English and French).

• Regular sessions of personalized coaching with local and international experts
  • Tailored to your specific and individual needs, during which strategies and measures for rapid growth will be developed and implemented.
• Access to online training (tailored)
  • Structured around several key themes to develop your start-up further, e. g. Pitch Training, Growth Strategy, Data Analytics & Management, Term Sheet, Valuation, Market Analysis, Marketing & Sales, and so on.
• Integrating you into a local hub (optional)
  • To get you a workplace for 6 months and facilitate contacts with major players in the local start-up scene, if needed.
• Access to additional services
  • To optimize certain key areas of your business, e. g. legal advice, online marketing, digital product optimization, design, and coding.
• Access to the GIZ network
  • Of their global presence, local expertise, far-reaching networks, and years of experience working with the private sector, investors, and business partners. The network can help you to improve the visibility and contacts with start-ups nationally and internationally through participation in national, regional, and international events dedicated to African entrepreneurs.
• Add-on: Programme for Female Leaders
  • In addition to the above-mentioned, GIz offers special support for female founders and women in leading positions of the start-ups:
• GIZ’s Female Leader Circle meets with the aim of bringing women in leadership positions
  • Together, networking and learning from each other. Input sessions on topics that are of special interest for female leaders serve as a starting point for discussion.
• A bi-annual Female Founders Award recognizes the achievement of female founder.

Benefits

• Weekly advisory and coaching sessions
  • Weekly advisory and coaching sessions held virtually during which strategies and measures for rapid growth and scaling, product improvement and innovation, leadership and business management operations are developed and implemented with the startups.
• Additional services
  • Based on the startup’s commitment, access to additional services to optimize certain segments (e.g. legal advice, marketing, coding, product optimization, etc.) of the startups.
• Hub integration
  • Integration of the selected startups in one of GIZ’s partner hubs in their home country in order to facilitate their visibility and establish contact with relevant actors in the local startup scene.
• Access to GIZ-SAIS network
  • Access to investors and business partners from the GIZ-SAIS network.
• Extended services
  • Add-on services for female entrepreneurs.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the SAIS Investment Readiness Programme, you must meet the following conditions:

• Legal form
  • You have to be registered and operate in Africa.
  • You have to provide a certificate of registration.
• Team (founders)
  • You must have a founding team of at least two people who work ideally full time for the start-up.
  • Your founding and management team should have entrepreneurial and technical experience in their area of operation.
• Digital product/service
  • You must have a viable digital product that positively impacts the incomes of its customers.
  • Your product must have a positive impact on the African AgTech, FoodTech or livestock sector (vertical sectors that have an influence can be accepted like eCommerce, FinTech, Logistics, EdTech etc).
• Market access and traction
  • You must have launched your digital product at least six months before the application period.
  • Your start-up has to provide evidence of traction (customer base, first revenue).
• Business model
  • Your start-up should have an easily understandable and convincing business model.
  • Your start-up should have a clear statement of the problem, clear digital solution, clear customer segment, and clear revenue stream.
• Add-ons (But not musts)
  • You have women in your founding team or as senior managers.
  • You or one of your founding team members has an IT background.
  • You and your founding team members have previous start-up experience.
  • With your product you target a vulnerable group of customers.

For more information, visit https://vc4a.com/giz/giz-sais-investment-readiness-programme-2023/

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