Quarantine should not be time to just relax, rather, a period to gain new skills, finish that pending project or start a new one and seek new opportunities.
FinancialDay has aggregated a few opportunities which entrepreneurs, farmers, and innovators can apply to. These opportunities offer a chance for professional, personal and business growth. Keep checking regularly for form
Global Innovation Fund (GIF)
Deadline: Continuous
GIF provides seed capital to support the startup and field-testing of innovations in Africa.
“We support innovations that have already demonstrated success on a small scale.
“We support the expansion of innovations that have already demonstrated a strong track record of social impact and effectiveness.
“Across our portfolio, we support innovators who are committed to using and generating rigorous evidence about what works. We offer financing from USD$50,000 to $15 million, with the largest funding amounts reserved for innovations that can demonstrate evidence of success and that have the potential to spread across multiple developing countries.
“We accept applications on a continuous basis, with no deadlines or ’rounds’ of funding. In addition to this open application window, we actively seek out investments. Our review process is highly selective and rigorous, and less than 10% of applicants are invited to submit full proposals.”
To apply for this opportunity, visit GIF’s website on https://www.globalinnovation.fund/
MEST Africa Challenge
Deadline: April 18, 2020
Tech Entrepreneurs from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Rwanda are invited to pitch their startups for a chance to win over $50,000 in equity investment and the opportunity to join MEST’s incubator network.
Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic all MEST Africa Challenge events will be virtual.
Finalists will pitch and showcase their companies to investors, CEOs, ecosystem players, and panelists through virtual meetings and webinars. MEST currently advises against all non-essential local and international travel.
To apply for this opportunity, please visit this website: https://vc4a.com/mest/mest-africa-challenge-2020/
Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF)
Deadline: April 24, 2020
Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, through its entity P-Curiosity Lab, have partnered with the Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) to support 15 African young female entrepreneurs as part of the 2020 LeadTech startups promotion.
LeadTech is an intensive 6-month incubation program dedicated to early stage women-owned or women-led tech start-ups. Based on a competition model. The program aims to nurture and provide a supportive environment for women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and become independent.
The goal of the program is to foster innovation and entrepreneurship at start-up for scale and to strengthen sustainability of growth.
Sectors that are encouraged include; Biofuels, Biomass, Biotechnology and medical research, Clean technology and energy, Fintech, Healthcare, Information technology, Nanotech
To apply, please visit this website: https://leafunder.um6p.ma/leadtech
GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize 2020
Deadline: June 18, 2020
The GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize aims to find Africa’s brightest young agrifood entrepreneurs. We are searching for agribusinesses that bring technology, innovation, and passion to the agriculture and food industries.
You could win one of two US$50,000 cash prizes that will help you change your world and transform the agri-food business in Africa.
“We need strong agriculture and food businesses to get us through the pandemic and grow our communities and economies when it’s over. We want to support YOUR businesses to become profitable and scale, so you can lead the way.”
Two entrepreneurs, one woman, and one man will each win US$50,000 for the most innovative and scalable business ventures. Ten finalists will benefit from a package of support to boost their business. 250 applicants will benefit from online training to strengthen their business plans.
To be eligible, the entrepreneur applying must be aged 18-35 on the day of submission to the competition, be the founder/co-founder of the enterprise he or she represents in the competition and play an active role in its operations and leadership, and have no criminal record related to corruption, tax evasion, financial impropriety, felony or other offense.
To apply for this opportunity, please visit this website: https://vc4a.com/gogettaz/