Advancement of the green sector within an ongoing context of transition to a low-carbon economy in Africa has the potential to foster entrepreneurship development and faster growth potential, particularly for youth-and women-led entrepreneurial initiatives.

By expanding the portfolio of bankable, concept-proofed green business models that are both market- and investor-ready, we can create job opportunities and contribute to the continent’s economic welfare. The ensuing creation of job opportunities bolsters the continent’s GDP growth potential, currently valued at $500 billion/year over the next 30 years.

The Greenovations Africa program combines incubation and post-incubation programs, providing participants with sector-specific skills, entrepreneurial knowledge, and the resources needed to boost their chances of success through the maturation process of their business concept or solution.

In turn, they help you turn your concept into a viable and market-ready product ready to showcase its high growth potential.

About VC4A

Benefits

• Technical expertise in the selected green sectors
  • Cutting edge technical knowledge and skills to implement innovative solutions in climate action, renewable energy, smart agriculture, water management, and waste management sectors to drive the economic development of the continent.
  • Latest entrepreneurship concepts and tools for the development of successful businesses and start-ups on the continent.

• Dedicated mentorship and access to network of Entrepreneurship Support Organizations (ESOs)

  • One to one mentoring with successful entrepreneurs and internationally renowned experts from across the continent and beyond to accompany selected participants in their business solution maturation journey:
    • Technical expert support in the selected sectors.
    • Live and interactive business advisory and coaching sessions.
  • Network of partners in the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Africa and beyond.
  • Cooperation with local Entrepreneurship Support Organization (ESOs) on the continent for dedicated physical support including the development of the Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

• Integration into local hub with state-of-the-Art facilities

  • Incubation space with dedicated services to support participants in the maturation of their start-ups/business solutions.
  • Access to a co-working space and facilities of AfriLabs hub members for the maturation of your solution.
  • Online learning environment with dedicated digital tools to strengthen your knowledge in selected sectors, and entrepreneurial skills.
  • Connection with local actors from the start-up scene.
  • Access to business information database and other resources from the tech hubs space.

• Exposure to international institutions and forums supporting the implementation of green /climate solutions.

  • Exposure to regional forum of UNFCCC such as the Africa Climate Week, the Conference of Parties.
  • Exposure to regional forum of the African Union and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) such as the SDG Conference.
  • Exposure to regional, Pan-African and institutions supporting the implementation of green solutions (African Development Bank, African Union Development Agency AUDA–NEPAD, UNFCCC, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), UNECA, etc.).

• Seed funding

  • The thirty (30) successful applicants to the program will receive seed grant funding of 3,300 Euros to bring their projects to fruition and market ready.
  • Exposure to Africa-focused investors.
  • Connection to funding scheme and mechanism of UNFCCC.

Requirements

• Be a young African aged below 35 old, holding a passport of one of the member countries of the African Union.
• Be based in one or more countries on the African continent.
• Have an innovative green business in an early stage of development.**
• Be digitally literate (know how to use the internet, computers, etc.)
• Be fluent in English.
• Innovative business solution in the defined green sector with high impact potential
• Practical feasibility of the product/service
• Commercial potential of the product/service
• Growth potential of the innovative business solution

How to Apply

The Melton foundation Global Citizenship Challenge is a unique competition for change-makers to showcase how they are helping their communities.

With the UN Sustainable Development Gals (SDGs) as a reference framework for global issues and a call to action when defining your Act of Global Citizenship, a simple act can mean the world!

About Melton Foundation

• The top 10 Acts will be invited to showcase their Acts in a live event, and top 3 Acts of the Global Citizenship Challenge will receive cash prizes.
• Winners will also have access to internships, networking opportunities, and online showcases to further develop their acts of Global Citizenship and make a positive impact on the world.

Requirements

• Keep it Simple: Any one person should be able to lead an Act of Global Citizenship.
• Drive your Passion: Powerful Acts of Global Citizenship connect individual passion with motivation to drive social change.
• Leverage your unique asset(s): If you use your strength(s) and skill set to drive the change you want to see, your Act of Global Citizenship will become a piece of cake!
• Stay Local: Connect your Act of Global Citizenship with a community you already know.
• Think Global: Keep an eye on what global perspectives can add to the local picture … and add that ‘Global Citizenship’ spice to your act.
• Be realistic: Acts of Global Citizenship can take two hours, two days, or even two months. It’s up to you – and the people you want to engage.
• Get Creative: From starting a tough conversation with friends and family to launching a recycling petition at work – You decide which shape your Act of Global Citizenship should take.
• Take one step at a time: Acts of Global Citizenship further the Goals of Sustainable Development, no matter how small – whether it’s a family member or friend becoming more gender-sensitive, or your company changing its policy on sustainability.
• Spread the word: Tell organizers and others about what you did, why, and how – only then will your ‘Act’ inspire others, locally as well as globally.

How to Apply

• Step 1: Use the submission form to send all the information about your ‘Act of Global Citizenship’, this could be a small act of social good that you have completed recently.
• Step 2: The ‘Global Citizenship Challenge’ has its focal point on building a movement for good ‘online’. So to qualify to compete, once you have completed step 1, share your ‘Act of Global Citizenship’ on social media! There are a few things to keep in mind while sharing your Act on social media:
  • Tag the Melton Foundation in your posts. They are on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!
  • Add the following hashtags to your social media feature of your Act of Global Citizenship
    • #ACTivateGlobalCitizenship
    • #GlobalCitizenshipChallenge
    • #MeltonFoundation
• Note: Step 2 is complete only once the Melton Foundation has acknowledged your social media feature – so feel free to message them until they do!
• Step 3: Sit back and wait for them to invite you among the Top 10 participants, to showcase and pitch your ‘Act of Global Citizenship’ and take home the prize money, career opportunities, and more!

Application Deadline

Season one of The Next Titan Africa, tagged ‘Changemakers’ is searching for young entrepreneurs with blazing passion and terrific business acumens and exceptional innovators; dramatic & ruthless executors; changemakers & trailblazers.

They would live together and battle it out on the 12 week- entrepreneurial reality show, with different tasks on weekly basis, and the winner would walk off with a grand prize of US$100,000.

 About Next Titan Nigeria

Requirements

• You must be a citizen of any of these four African countries: Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania and Malawi, where the participants of the current season are being drawn from.
• You must be at least 21 years of age and not more than 35 years old.
• You must be a Graduate or an undergraduate of a Higher Institution of Learning.
• You must be in excellent physical and mental health.
• You must be willing and able to move into and reside in the “The Titan House” in Lagos, Nigeria for the duration of the 12 weeks of the show.
• You must be willing and able to fully participate for the duration of the 12 weeks of the show, based on the dates set by the Producers.
• You must be willing and able to peaceful co-exist with the other contestants who will be your housemates during the duration of the show.
• Neither you nor any of your immediate family members must be an employee, producer, director, or agent of TINGO INC, and Bravopoints International Ltd.
• You must follow the Instagram page @thenexttitan_africa before you proceed.

How to Apply

• Stage 1 – Registration: Fill out Registration Form on the website stating your business ideas, with upload of your full pictures.
• Stage 2 – Auditions: Successful contestants from the first stage will be invited for Auditions holding in Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania and Malawi
• Stage 3 – Regional Virtual Bootcamp: Successful contestants from each country will participate in the Virtual bootcamp of the country.
• Stage 4 – Top 50 BootCamp: Top 50 Contestants from the regional virtual bootcamp will be invited to participate in the Top 50 Bootcamp holding for three days in Lagos, Nigeria.
• Stage 5 – Top 20 Finalists: Top 20 from the Bootcamp will make it to the Titan House. They will live together for 12 weeks, battle one another over 12 business tasks, gradually eliminated until the final four that will make it to the finale.
• Stage 6 – Grand Finale: The Winner goes home with a Grand Prize of $100,000 and three runners-up will walk off with $10,000, $6,000 and $4000 respectively.

Application Deadline

Not Specified.

For Articles, News, Jobs and Scholarship Opportunities CLICK HERE

Applications are now open for the SME Growth Lab Accelerator Program 2023 for Female Entrepreneurs.

To commemorate the 2023 International Women’s Day, SME Growth Lab Africa and Shecluded partnered to enable female entrepreneurs across Africa and Shecluded community members to participate in SME Growth Lab’s first women-only cohort of its Digital Accelerator Program.

Through this partnership we aim to reach hundreds of female entrepreneurs across Africa, providing them with the necessary training and support to overcome business challenges, grow their ventures, and drive economic growth.

SME Growth Lab Africa (SGL Africa) is a Digital Accelerator Program designed to empower business owners with digital skills, knowledge, mentorship and community events to transform their businesses and drive economic growth.

About SME Growth Lab Africa

SME Growth Lab Africa is a community Impact Project created to upskill Small and Medium scaled businesses, especially across the underserved communities in Africa.

Growing Founders are trained in business acumen, sales, marketing, and leadership development. Through the program, selected participants have access to diverse business resources, strategic partnerships, mentorships, and exclusive community events.

Benefits 

• Training on business acumen: sales, marketing, finance & legal.
• Exclusive access to the entrepreneurship community
• Mentorship from business experts
• Access to business resources
• Certificate of completion
• 24/7 support

Requirements

• Must be a FEMALE business owner operating in Africa
• Must be between ages 18 – 40
• Must be committed to attending the virtual sessions and group calls
• Eager to volunteer and participate in community sessions.

How to Apply

Score big and make a difference – Join our challenge to build Paris Saint Germain’s sustainable & collaborative platform to engage our fans and bring football to every corner of Africa.

Paris Saint Germain is calling for innovative companies and entrepreneurs to create the next collaborative platform to support the creation, production, and distribution of official products in Africa.

The ambition is to leverage technology to facilitate the future creation of products locally using short circuits and further engage their fans across the continent.

Your startup has the power to leverage technology to support local talents across Africa ? You have the capabilities to create the next platform for inspiration and creation, production, and distribution in Africa?

Participate now, for a chance to highlight the next generation of talents in Africa.

About Paris Saint Germain (PSG)

• Invitation to the final event in Cape Town
• A License for the Accelerator Squared online platform.

Requirements

Be part of our Development in Africa by designing the tool, allowing us to create even more engagement and connection with our fans across Africa.

We are looking for the next generation collaborative platform to design, produce and distribute our product closer to our fans in Africa. The final objective of this platform is to bring together creative minds and local manufacturers to create PSG next product line in collaboration with the club.

In addition, we want this platform to enable us to bring our products to our fans in the shortest and most sustainable way possible, and use the right distribution channels with an adapted payment method.

Ready to take on the Challenge ?

• Connect with key actors: Your solution should enable the club to share their needs to different communities, sharing project briefs with many companies across Africa.
• Foster local creativity and production: Your solution should enable to attract the most innovative designers and producers to connect and suggest the best way to address the need locally.
• Distribute & fit local markets: Your solution should enable PSG to find the best partners to fit local distribution challenges and propose adequate payment methods.

Interview date, Process and Venue

• Application: March 2023 – Apr 30, 2023
• Shortlisting: May 1st, 2023 – May 14, 2023
• Final Event: June, 15 2023

Application Deadline

How to Apply

At Novartis, we are reimagining medicine to improve and extend people’s lives. Novartis has a rich history spanning over the course of 250 years, developing innovative products to address some of society’s most challenging healthcare issues.

Named one of Forbes’s Most Admired Pharmaceutical Companies of 2021, Novartis is a global healthcare company which aims to deliver high-value medicines that alleviate society’s most significant disease burdens through technology leadership in R&D and novel access approaches.

Our team’s purpose is to put patients first. As healthcare and technology continue to evolve, we strive to develop breakthrough treatments and find innovative ways to deliver them to populations and patients in need.

We work to expand access to medicine, eliminate disease, and make healthcare sustainable in the developing world.

Part of our culture as a company is to unleash the power of our people; we want everyone at Novartis to bring their best self to work, feel empowered to achieve their goals and influence change.

Through The Novartis Reimagining Healthcare Scholarship with One Young World, Novartis wants to extend our culture of Inspired, Curios and ‘Unbossed’ to provide an opportunity for young leaders who have a passion for healthcare and want to join us in improving and extending people’s lives and making this world a better place.

About Young World

We are One Young World, empowering and developing young leaders to build a fair, sustainable future for all.

The Summit It all begins with the annual One Young World Summit – the beating heart of what we are about.

For young leaders, the Summit is the landmark event of the year. It is a chance for the individuals responsible for shaping the future of our world, to come together to confront the biggest challenges facing humanity.

The Summit is the ultimate place to be inspired, share learnings, and connect.

Benefits 

• Access to the One Young World 2023 Summit in Belfast, United Kingdom, which takes place from 2 – 5 October.
• Hotel accommodation in Belfast between 1 – 6 October.
• Travel to and from Belfast (economy). All meals covered (includes breakfast, lunch and dinner on conference days).
• Ground transport that may be required between Summit accommodation and the Summit venue.

Requirements

• Aged 18 – 30
• Nationals of all countries are eligible to apply for this scholarship. One Young World will prioritize applicants from countries that are traditionally underrepresented at the One Young World Summit.
• Applicants cannot be employed by Novartis. Applicants must demonstrate a considerable positive impact in the healthcare sector in some capacity.

One Young World will evaluate these applications according to the following criteria:

• Demonstrated capacity for leadership.
• Evidenced commitment to delivering positive change within healthcare and health-based initiative.
• Having good understanding of global issues
• Have a track record of generating impactful and innovative ideas.
• Evidence of addressing key local and/or global healthcare issues
• Skills: Leadership, Innovation and Creativity, Collaboration, Entrepreneurial, navigating complexity, delivering results, Challenging the status quo

How to Apply

May 15, 2023.

Sanofi is calling for innovative startups and entrepreneurs poised with the mission of improving disease treatments delivery & access to care in Africa.

Your startup has the power to push the boundaries and build solutions beyond medicines while overcoming the bottlenecks in access to health care & treatments.

Participate now, for a chance to build & test your solution in partnership with Sanofi and its subsidiaries.

About Sanofi

Sanofi is an innovative global healthcare company, driven by one purpose: we chase the miracles of science to improve people’s lives.

Our teams across the world strive to transform the practice of medicine, turning the impossible into the possible for patients.

• Access coaching and mentoring from Sanofi executives to accelerate your solution development.
• Initiation of an assessment with Sanofi experts to explore the possibility to partner with us in Africa
• Invitation to the final event in Cape Town
• Visibility through ENRICH in Africa and Sanofi Africa main communication channels.
• A License for the Accelerator Squared online platform.

Requirements

Interview date, Process and Venue

• March 20, 2023 – Apr 30, 2023: Answer a few questions & submit your 5–10 slides ppt deck to present your solution.
• May 1, 2023 – May 14, 2023: Projects will be reviewed and selected by Sanofi and ENRICH in Africa partners.
• June 15, 2023: The 3 finalists will be invited to pitch at the AU-EU innovation festival in Cape Town.

How to Apply

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

The grand final will take place at the annual AU-EU Innovation Event in Cape Town (South Africa), bringing together key actors from the European and African innovation ecosystem. It is a unique opportunity to earn global exposure and seize amazing networking opportunities.

•  During the event, the 3 finalists will pitch their solution in front of a jury of innovation experts and Sanofi executives.

Join the online AWS FinTech Africa Accelerator powered by AWS Startup Loft Accelerator to take part in an equity-free program focused on supporting early stage startups with technology, product development, go-to-market advice and getting you funding ready.

The AWS FinTech Africa Accelerator is an online and equity-free 10-week program that leverages the best of Amazon’s infrastructure and partner network to support pre-seed and seed stage FinTech startups developing their projects in Africa and beyond in the following categories:

• Open & Embedded Finance
• Big Data & AIML
• Blockchain & Decentralized Finance
• FinTech-as-a-service
• Financial inclusion & Sustainability
• Other

About Amazon

Participating startups will join AWS’ Activate program which will provide founders with up to $25K USD in Activate Credits, in addition to a many other services.

Founders will also take part in a series of industry expert-led workshops and one-on-one sessions designed to address the specific challenges and opportunities each startup faces.

Requirements

• Startup will build the Project on AWS infrastructure using at least one of AWS services,
• Project was built before on AWS and is live,
• Project was built before on any other platform and will be migrated to AWS during the Acceleration program. In case of migration from on-premise, hosting or other cloud platforms, AWS has dedicated migration programs for the support that Participants can use. (for special migration program contact us at [email protected])

• Applications Close: 27th Apr, 2023

• Cohort Announcement: 18th May, 2023
• Cohort Start date: 5th Jun, 2023
• Holiday break: 1st Aug – 1st Sep, 2023
• Cohort end date: 18th Sep, 2023

How to Apply

• Startups will receive a confirmation of Participation in the Accelerator via email.
• Filling in the Application Form and attaching needed documents require providing personal details which include name, surname, e-mail address and other details.
• Submitting the Application for the participation in the Accelerator constitutes the acceptance of the Terms of Participation available on the website www.vestbee.com and the Participant’s commitment to follow them.

Application Deadline

D-Prize seeds new ventures that distribute proven poverty interventions. The world has already invented products and services to end poverty.

Yet we have found many proven interventions with large delivery gaps. Millions of people still don’t have access to basic poverty-fighting tools.

About D-Prize

D-Prize expands access to poverty-alleviation interventions in the developing world. Many solutions to poverty already exist.

The challenge is distributing these solutions to the people who need it most. Our programs produce new “distribution entrepreneurs” – social entrepreneurs who start new ventures that distribute proven life-enhancing technologies to millions of people living in extreme poverty.

Benefits

Requirements

• D-Prize is for aspiring entrepreneurs from anywhere in the world, of any age, and any background. The majority of our awardees have not launched nor raised any funding.
• D-Prize will consider funding existing organizations only if you are distributing an existing intervention and you have a need for high-risk capital that cannot be supported by your current donors or revenue.
• Existing organizations applying to D-Prize should have operated for no more than 18 months and raised no more than $30,000 in outside funding.

Interview date, Process and Venue for D-Prize Challenge for Social Entrepreneurs;

• Early decision deadline: 14 May 2023 at 23:59 PT (Pacific Time, UTC -7). Early decision proposals are more likely to advance to the next round.
• Regular deadline: 4 June 2023 at 23:59 PT.
• Extension deadline: 24 June 2023 at 23:59 PT. Extensions are limited to the first people who register at: www.d-prize.org/extension.

Round 2
Top entrepreneurs invited to participate in Round 2 will be asked to respond to short written questions – roughly based on a business plan. These questions ask more details about your operations, budget, milestones, and other items. Participants will receive a Round 2 Proposal Packet with full instructions. Those invited to the Second Round will have about two weeks to submit.

Final Round
Entrepreneurs invited to the Final Round will interview with judges over email and on the phone. Depending on the promise and cost-effectiveness of a proposal, judges may award up to $20,000 in funding. The average D-Prize award size is $15,000.

• Early Submission Deadline: 14 May 2023 at 23:59 PT (Pacific Time, UTC -7)
• Regular Submission Deadline: 4 June 2023 at 23:59 PT
• Extension Deadline (limited to people who register): 24 June 2023 23:59 PT

How to Apply

Submission Policies

• Proposals must be written in English. However, your English does not need to be perfect to apply, and grammar and vocabulary errors will not be penalized. We only want to understand your idea.
• Proposals must be submitted following the instructions in this packet.
• Extra material outside of the proposal will not be considered.
• Revisions to proposals after submission will also not be considered.
• Only one proposal per person or partnership will be considered.

Application Deadline

June 24, 2023

For more details, visit D-Prize website.

Impact Amplifier is seeking applications for its Africa Online Safety Fund.
Africa’s internet access has increased dramatically over the last 10 years with over 520 million people, or 40% of the population, now with access to the web. This has opened up many new opportunities for socio-economic development, including the potential for the internet economy to contribute nearly $180 billion to Africa’s economy by 2025.

The Africa Online Safety Fund will be awarding grants to organisations that address one or more of the safety issues the internet facilitates.

The Africa Online Safety Fund has three categories of funding: Transformative, Maturing and Catalytic. The Transformative projects are intended to be larger in scale, reach multiple geographies and or potentially large numbers of beneficiaries, and be scalable as a solution.

The Maturing projects are intended to test ideas at a larger scale, try new ideas within existing projects, and reach new audiences. The Catalytic projects are intended to be smaller, targeted, and potentially only locally or culturally specific.

About US

Benefits

• Applicants can be public benefit organisations, private or from the public sector. No individual applicants will be considered.
• The Fund is open to organisations throughout Sub-Saharan Africa but is prioritising Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana.  
• Only completed applications will be considered.

Interview date, Process and Venue for Impact Amplifier Africa Online Safety Fund

• INNOVATION AND REPLICATION – what is the level of novelty in the intervention/service? Can it function as a model for other interventions? Does it replicate other successful online safety interventions from different geographies?
• SOCIAL IMPACT – what is the scale of the online safety problem being addressed? What is the potential social impact of the intervention?  What is the potential impact if the intervention is scaled beyond the current plan? Can it in fact be ramped up? (Is it cost effective, sustainable, and replicable?)
• POTENTIAL FOR SUCCESS – how likely is the intervention to achieve its stated goals?
• MANAGEMENT TEAM – what is the strength and experience of the management team and the precedent set by the team in terms of cooperation, achieving goals, and beneficiaries served?

• FINANCIAL EFFICIENCY – is the funding requested an efficient use of resources? How does the amount requested, scope of the problem to be addressed, and beneficiaries to be reached compare to other applicants?
• SUSTAINABILITY – can the intervention planned become financially sustainable beyond this grant?  If so, how and to what scale?

How to Apply

Go to Impact Amplifier on survey.zohopublic.com to apply.

The application process will be in two stages.  Stage one is a short application form to be completed by all interested organizations. Click to apply.

All applicants that are shortlisted will be eligible to complete the second stage of the application process.

The details and requirements of this stage will be provided directly to all shortlisted applicants.

Application Deadline