Funding Opportunities for African Businesses

1. Enter the Mombasa Plastics Prize in Kenya

Deadline: 8-Nov-22

Nominations are now open for the Mombasa Plastics Prize that aims to encourage innovation and awareness amongst aspiring entrepreneurs and leaders (ages 18-25) in Mombasa County, by inspiring the development of solutions that tackle the problem of plastic waste mismanagement within informal settlements.

The prize, funded by USAID and the Government of Canada, is being managed by Challenge Works in close collaboration with other organizations working across the innovation ecosystem in Mombasa.

This prize builds on the work of the Afri-Plastics Challenge, which aims to reduce marine plastics in sub-Saharan African countries by developing and scaling innovative solutions to plastic mismanagement.

 Prizes and support  

• The Mombasa Plastics Prize is a fantastic opportunity to learn valuable new skills, at no cost to you, and be in with a chance of winning some incredible prizes, worth over 7 million Kshs! As a finalist, you will:
• Have the opportunity to receive world-class professional training and mentoring in entrepreneurship and business skills, at no cost to you.
• Receive seed funding worth approx. 150,000 Kshs (approx. $1,200 USD) per team, to help you develop your idea.
• Be reimbursed for all relevant expenses and receive a stipend, to make sure you are not out of pocket.
• The winning teams will receive cash prizes, to help make their ideas a reality:

• • Winning team: 3.5 million Kshs (approx. $30,000 USD)
  • Second place: 2.5 million Kshs (approx. $20,000 USD)
  • Third place: 1.2 million Kshs (approx. $10,000 USD)

 Eligibility Criteria

 To be eligible to enter the Mombasa Plastics Prize, competitors must:

• Compete as an individual;
• Compete in English;
• Reside in Mombasa County;
• Be between 18-25 years old;
• Have an interest in tackling plastic waste in informal settlements in Mombasa;
• Have a willingness to work as part of a team.

Also Read: Funding Opportunities For African Businesses

For more information, visit https://mombasaplasticsprize.challenges.org/prize-prix/

2. Call for Proposal for Digital Innovation Hubs in Nigeria

Deadline: 11-Nov-22

The Digital Transformation Center Nigeria (DTC Nigeria) has launched the Digital Innovation Hubs, a coordinated group of organisations with complementary expertise and a public-benefit objective, offering a set of services and activities to small businesses to support their digital transformation and innovation through a one-stop shop.

DTC Nigeria aims to improve the capacities of the innovation ecosystem – policy implementation, performance of organisations and networks as service providers for the digital economy, offering scalable digital solutions, competences – for the growth of the digital economy. The project is working closely with Nigerian actors in the innovation ecosystem such as: National Information and Technology Development Agency, research institutions, innovation hubs, hub networks, start-ups, MSMEs and women.

The DTC Nigeria is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. Its primary focus is on Digitalization and Entrepreneurship. The project aims to contribute to the improvement of the capacity of the Nigerian economy to implement digital innovations for growth, through supporting the digital transformation of the economy and society.

 Focus Areas

 A Digital Innovation Hub needs to provide Services and Activities along Four Areas:

• Test Before Invest

• Should allow companies to try out a digital technology and validate its benefits and feasibility before investing in it.

• Skills & Development

• Should provide companies and their employees with the required skills to understand, evaluate, implement and operate the deployed digital technologies.

• Ecosystem Building

• Should foster the cooperation between existing and the emergence of new actors within the local innovation ecosystem.

• Access to Financial Loans

• A Digital Innovation Hub should advise and broker financing options to companies that want to deploy a digital technologies in their operation.

 Objectives

DTC Nigeria will support the formation and operationalization of two (2) Digital Innovation Hubs (DIHs) in Nigeria that will:

• Drive the digital transformation of MSMEs across Nigeria and build regional innovation ecosystems around them.
• Link with the African and European networks of Digital Innovation Hubs to foster technology and knowledge transfer.

 Benefits

Through this call for proposal, DTC Nigeria will select suitable DIH consortia for the creation of Digital Innovation Hubs in Nigeria; one in the Green Economy Sector (Agtech, circular economy or clean tech) and in other in-demand sectors. Successful applicants with selected proposals will receive the following benefits:

• Comprehensive training program on the creation, set-up and management of Digital Innovation Hubs.
• Financial support to cover the costs for setting up structures, processes and logistics in the Digital Innovation Hubs, service development/provision, staffing, equipment (i.e., facilities, websites, dissemination materials, legal and IPR consultancy services, administrative support), as well as for travel and accommodation costs.
• A Mentor in form of an already fully operational DIH, to support the mentee in networking with other DIHs, investors, innovative entrepreneurs, potential customers, etc.,
• Business development support.
• Networking with African and European DIHs, investors, innovative entrepreneurs, and ICT start-ups.
• Study trips to African & European DIHs to facilitate knowledge exchange.

 Who are they looking for?

 DTC Nigeria is looking for organizations that will form a consortium (minimum of two partnering organization) to create two (2) DIHs in Nigeria. Such organizations can be, but are not limited to,

• Technology and/or Innovation Centers,
• Science, Technology and/or Innovation Hubs,
• Entrepreneurship Support Organizations (Incubators, Accelerators, Investors, etc.),
• Business Support Organizations (Chambers of Commerce, Sectoral Associations, etc.),
• Innovative companies / private Technology Providers, cutting edge technology focused Small and Medium sized enterprises (SMEs),
• Development Agencies and Organizations (Economic, Regional, SME, Industrial and/or Technological Development),
• Research & Development Organizations (R&D).
• Universities/faculties and/or university/faculty-based research centers.
• Vocational Training Institutes,
• Industrial Clusters, IT-related associations/companies,
• Public or private funding/finance organizations.

 Outputs

 This will be achieved through working in the following outputs:

• Output 1: By promoting innovation-friendly framework conditions for the digital economy my by improving cooperation between policy actors and actors in the innovation ecosystem from the private sector, science and research as well as civil society;
• Output 2: Through the capacity development of selected actors in the innovation ecosystem and promoting cooperation of Nigerian hubs.
• Output 3: By promoting innovative digital solutions by building innovation partnerships with (international) business and
• Output 4: Through the development and institutional anchoring of a further training format to promote digital and entrepreneurial skills among women.

 Eligibility Criteria

To enter into the application process for the creation of Digital Innovation Hubs in Nigeria, applications subject to this call for proposals need to meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Consortia Eligibility Criteria:
• Applications must be presented by consortia consisting of a minimum of two (2) organizations.
• The consortium members must have at minimum an internal agreement to enter into the creation of a Digital Innovation Hub aiming a public benefit, under the following principles:
• That it is created with the mission to support companies in their digital transformation.
• That it is created to serve the interest of the general public and not (primarily) to support profit-making interests.
• That the DIH’s activities will not give rise to more than incidental economic benefit to the Consortium, its partners or affiliated entities.
• That it does not compete with existing commercial offerings.
• That it has identified the roles and responsibilities of its consortium members.
• The consortium’s purpose must include the provision of services to small businesses to support their digital transformation and innovation.
• Each consortium members must have minimum five (5) full time staff collaborators and the partnership consortium overall must have at least ten (10) full time staff collaborators.
• The consortium members must have complementary expertise in technology, application area and financial capacity to create the hub.
• Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) Project proposal Eligibility Criteria:The DIH will have a dedicated specialization area, in either:
• Green Economy (Ag. Tech, circular economy and clean tech) or,
• Any other in-demand sector.

For more information, visit https://www.dtcnigeria.ng/DIH

3. TETFUND Alliance for Innovative Research (TETFAIR) for Researchers and Academics in Nigerian Universities

     Deadline: October 31, 2022

 TETFAIR is a year-long programme, sponsored by TETFUND. A unique opportunity for researchers and academics in Nigerian universities to transform their ideas into market-driven solutions, including the development and fabrication of prototypes. Selected teams of researchers and academic staff, who have ideas for innovative solutions in one of our areas of focus, will be taken through a journey that combines technology and product development along with venture creation.

Requirements

• You should be a team of between 2 to 4 researchers/academic staff, from a Nigerian university (TETFund enlisted beneficiary institution). Your idea should be one of our areas of focus. Your vice chancellor’s office would need to approve your nomination by signing an endorsement form.
• Your team should include multidisciplinary complementary skills that can potentially take the idea (with our help and mentorship) from an idea, through the development and fabrication of the prototype to a market-driven product.
• A member who has an idea for an innovative solution and has relevant knowledge and skills.
• A member who has additional complementary relevant skills (technical/scientific/mechanic depends on your area of focus).
• A member with financial/business/ entrepreneurial skills or orientation.
• Your innovation should be at the idea stage or early stages of development.
• Ideally, your invention should include a hardware/physical element (not only digital elements)

 Benefits

 The 12 month journey runs both in person and online and includes:

• Practical training, tailored mentorship, integration of tools for entrepreneurial and creative thinking and behavior, business model development, alongside product and technology development methodologies, advanced design methods, and familiarity with the world of patents and economic aspects of entrepreneurship.
• Access to the INNOV8 HUB in Abuja – an ultramodern fabrication and innovation center designated for the development of prototypes with the support of professional experts.
• An all-expense paid training in Abuja which will cove flights, accommodation, feeding and daily stipends
• Opportunity to showcase the innovations to relevant potential design partners/ strategic partners/ investors (local and foreign)
• The journey is designed and facilitated in collaboration with international experts form the acclaimed Zell entrepreneurship program. The technology development journey will include hands-on support from experts in collaboration with Makelab. The program will also include collaborations with the renowned Technicon.

For more information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the TETFUND Alliance for Innovative Research

4. Seed Grants for Supporting Women Entrepreneurs to Develop Sustainable Solutions to Wash Challenges

       Deadline: 23-Oct-22

Are you a woman entrepreneur developing a business focusing on improving access to Water, Sanitation, or Hygiene? Then, you can apply for the Women Innovators In WASH program.

The “Women Innovators in WASH” is an incubation program aiming to support women entrepreneurs in Africa and Latin America with an innovative business project in the water, sanitation and hygiene sectors.

The Women Innovators in WASH Incubation Program’s overall goal is to sustainably improve access to safe and affordable Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) products and services for communities living in Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Tanzania, South Africa as well as Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia.

Throughout the program, you will create your own executive summary business plan to present to potential investors or new co-founders while receiving the necessary support from a personalized mentor, and having the certainty that you are building a business validated by your potential clients.

They are looking for early-stage women-led ventures across the following value chains

WASH is an acronym that stands for “water, sanitation, and hygiene”. Together, they want to support you to develop and scale your innovative solutions to any of the following WASH challenges:

(Safe) Water

Type of innovations may include but are not limited to:

• Household/ community water treatment and safe water storage
• Innovative water treatment and water filtration in homes and emergency contexts
• Products for testing water quality
• Provision of safe water

Sanitation

Type of innovations may include but are not limited to:

• Lightning and amenities for safer latrines
• Fecal sludge treatment
• Innovative fecal sludge disposal

Hygiene

Type of innovations may include but are not limited to:

• Innovative handwashing solutions for difficult contexts
• Affordable soap and soap alternatives
• Affordable or sustainable menstrual hygiene solutions

Funding Information

$15K in total dividend for the top 4 entrepreneurs: $5K each for the first two and $2.5K each for the other two.

 Why Participate?

Methodology and Structure

You will follow their step-by-step methodology, working directly on your business and making the most important decisions. You will also be able to visualize your financial projections, growth, and impact plan for the next years.

 Find your Mentor

You’ll be partnered with a professional to personally guide you in weekly mentoring sessions so that your project grows in the right direction.

 Seed Funding Opportunities

Pitch your business in front of a top-level jury and win a seed capital prize, granted to the finalists of their final Demo Day event ($15K in total divided for the top 4 entrepreneurs: $5K each for the first two and  $2.5K each for the other two).

 Experience Active Learning

Their platform offers a learn-by-doing approach inspired by MIT’s Disciplined Entrepreneurship and you’ll get to generate a business plan in PDF.

 Anytime, Anywhere

Collaborate from anywhere at any time through their online platform; no barriers, limits, or excuses; just an internet connection.

 Global Network

Also Read: Funding Opportunities For African Businesses

Become a part of a supportive community of founders from 89 countries that share resources and harness challenges together. So far, 3000+ entrepreneurs from 126 countries have gone through their programs!

Eligibility Criteria

• You are or identify as a woman and your business is women-led (or at least 50% of the founding team is female).
• You are based in and your venture impacts Africa (Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Tanzania, South Africa) or Latin America (Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia).
• You have an early-stage innovation-based business (you have a business concept developed or an MVP recently launched) and your business is either a for-profit or a social enterprise.
• You can dedicate at least 6-8 hours per week during the duration of the program (4 months) to work on the platform and have online meetings with your mentor.
• You have access to a computer or tablet and a reliable and stable internet connection, as all the program will be online.
• You speak fluent English (keep in mind the whole program and all activities related will be in this language).

For more information, visit this link.

5. Sustainable Manufacturing and Environmental Pollution Programme

   Deadline: 14-Dec-22

The Sustainable Manufacturing and Environmental Pollution (SMEP) Programme seeks to fund 3 to 6 interventions, across 8 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal), that aim to address manufacturing pollution in the textiles sector.

Themes

• Concepts should align with 1 of the 4 thematic areas:
  • Improved knowledge sharing and data production systems
  • Increased efficiency in wet processing
  • Addressing excessive amounts of unsold and second-hand garments
  • Developing and upscaling of more environmentally friendly fibres.

Sectors:

Climate change, Environment, Girls and women, Health, Private sector/business, Technology, Trade, Water and sanitation.

Funding Information

Up to £10,000, £10,001 to £100,000, £100,001 to £500,000, £500,001 to £1,000,000, More than £1,000,000.

 Eligible Countries

• Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nepal, Pakistan, Tanzania, Uganda.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants are requested to propose solutions that include collaboration from various actors necessary to ensure ultimate success. Collaboration partners should bring together manufacturers operating in the textile value chain (supply-side parties) and customers, including retailers (demand-side parties). Concepts may bring together different stakeholders, either as individuals or in a consortium, with at least one consortium member being based in the target country, including:

• Retailers and retail platforms (demand-side)
• Manufacturers (supply-side parties)
• Solution providers (these could include technology providers and/or researchinstitutions in the pollution-control and circularity areas
• Industry actors

Priority will be given to 8 SMEP target countries across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia namely Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal. Concepts from other ODA countries can also be considered. Providers may elect to work in more than one country in a (sub-) region.

For more information,

Visit https://www.gov.uk/international-development-funding/sustainable-manufacturing-and-environmental-pollution-smep-programme

6. Win up to Kshs 300,000! WIDU Local Call on Food Security for Kenya

      Deadline: Ongoing Opportunity

Are you an entrepreneur running a micro or small enterprise that contributes to sufficient, safe and/or nutritious food and agricultural production in Kenya? If yes, then the new WIDU Local Call: #FoodCallKenya is your opportunity to scale-up or start off your business!

Target Sectors

• Farming and food production
• Agri-Services
• Food processing
• Nutritional health
• Reduction of food waste
• IT and data for food security

Funding Information

Participating Entrepreneurs privately invest between Kshs 30,000 and Kshs 120,000. WIDU will multiply the investment by 2.5 – successful participants can receive a grant of up to Kshs 300,000 (the grant will not have to be paid back).

Why Food Security?

• With rising food insecurity taking center stage owing to the enormous challenges posed by COVID-19, Russian-UkraineWar and changing climate, WIDU Kenya will support micro and small businesses response efforts for a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient recovery of their agriculture and food systems.
• Within this context, WIDU Kenya encourages proposals that aim to increase the impact of agricultural and food systems interventions through emphasis on cross-cutting areas of gender, climate resilience, and improved nutrition outcomes.

Eligibility Criteria

Micro and small businesses (up to 20 employees), start-ups and new business ideas.

For more information,

Visit https://widu.africa/food-kenya

7. THRIVE/Shell Climate-Smart Agriculture Challenge – Supporting Farmers (Up to $100,000 in funding)

      Deadline: 11-Dec-22

The THRIVE/ Shell Climate-Smart Agriculture Challenge is now open for submissions to identify and support top start-up and scale-up innovators who are driving the global transformation to climate-smart agriculture practices. The challenge aligns with Shell’s Powering Progress strategy and the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Focus Areas

The key goal of the challenge is to identify and promote innovations that help farmers to:

• Enhance Land
• Solutions that promote carbon sequestration and avoid emissions while improving soil health.
• Connect Farms
• Solutions to improve farm connectivity to access carbon markets and carbon financing.
• Measure Soil
• Solutions that measure and quantify soil carbon, soil health, and greenhouse gas emissions.

 Benefits for Winners

Winners will be selected to receive:

Funding

Up to $100,000 in funding to develop a proof of concept.

Shell Gamechanger

Acceptance into the Shell GameChanger program with access to coaching and additional funding opportunities.

Market Validation

Potential pilot opportunities with Shell.

Award-Winning Thrive Accelerator

Selected applicants will secure placement in THRIVE’s Accelerator Program in 2024.

Thrive Ecosystem

Be shortlisted for future partnership opportunities with THRIVE’s network

Eligible for Investment

Considered or eligible for investment from Shell Ventures if investment criteria met.

Thrive Top 50 Fast-Track

Receive automatic nomination for THRIVE’s TOP 50 AgTech & FoodTech Listings.

Publicity

Gain brand recognition through THRIVE media and brand exposure across various channels.

Mentorship & Coaching

Access THRIVE’s extensive ecosystem of industry experts & receive focused startup coaching.

Selection Criteria

The Climate-Smart Agriculture Challenge is open to start-ups and scale-ups located around the world.

Start-Ups

• Pre-seed to seed stage
• Start-ups will be screened based on:
• Novel – is the idea fundamentally different, disruptive and unproven?
  • Valuable – could the idea create substantial new value if it works?
  • Doable – is there a plan to prove the concept quickly and affordably?
  • Relevant – is the idea relevant to the future of climate-smart agriculture?

 Scale-Ups

• Series A +
• Proven scalability of a base businessand formalized business model
• Detailed plan outlining:
  • Marketing reach
  • Team structure
  • Key product offering

For more information,

Visit https://thriveagrifood.com/shell-challenge/

8. CFYE: Call for Solutions in Nigeria

       Deadline: 7-Nov-22

 The Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) second Call for Solutions in Nigeria is now open for applications that will focus on expanding on the work currently being done by existing partners in the country by supporting scalable private sector led initiatives that can create employment opportunities for youth, particularly those in rural areas with lower levels of education and women.

In particular, CFYE is seeking:

• Businessmodels that have been piloted, have proven concepts and are looking to scale.
• Innovative models that aim to address systemic bottlenecks and bring about improvement to whole ecosystems.

 Funding Information

The minimum CFYE co-investment is € 200.000.

The Challenge

Nigeria is the 7th most populous country in the world with over 200 million people. Approximately 60% of this number are young, energetic working-age men and women, majority of whom reside in the rural areas and have lower education levels.  As of 2020, youth unemployment stood at 35%. A further 28% of young people in the labor force are underemployed (working 20-39 hours a week). As a result, a large proportion of people in the largest segment of the population are locked out of the productive economy because of the lack of employment opportunities available to them. Women are also negatively impacted, and research also shows that there is an over 5% gap between the rate of unemployment between men and women.  This imbalance along gender lines may mean that more women are excluded from opportunities that make them self-reliant and able to contribute to economic development.  Action is needed to stimulate economic growth and create employment opportunities for young people (especially youth in rural areas and women) and improve the decency of existing jobs.

Windows

Tech-Enabled Jobs

The Nigerian economy’s ongoing shift from its traditional agriculture-centered model to more technology-driven production and service provision models is largely driven by the increasing pressure being faced by Nigerian businesses to reduce operating costs, increase productivity, and improve customer experiences. Many activities that workers carry out today have the potential to be automated and several businesses are turning to technology to enable them to do this.

Jobs for Women

Women in Nigeria represent one of the largest pools of untapped labor, with 61.3 million women. However, they are underrepresented in the labour force with a gap of 13.42% when compared to men. The underrepresentation of women in the labour force and their growing participation in the informal sector has largely been linked to a number of factors,

CYFE Principles

Actively Support Women

CFYE strives to support equal opportunities for young women in the job market; CFYE’s ambition is to ensure that at least 50% of the youth reached in target countries are young women, and that women-led businesses are actively supported to apply for CFYE.

Maximize Additionality

CFYE will only support solutions and initiatives that would not be delivered within the same timelines, at the same scale, or delivering the same impact level, without support from CFYE.

Clear Pathways to Employment

CFYE identifies and supports initiatives that present a clear pathway to creating, matching and improving jobs. CFYE looks for solutions that present a deeper analysis of youth employment challenges and present a sustainable solution that will lead to sustainable business growth and employment outcomes.

Collaboration with the Private Sector

CFYE actively targets private sector entities or consortia involving a private sector entity. While CFYE welcomes ideas from any organisation, CFYE is looking for market-based solutions, tailored to the context of every country. CFYE prioritizes initiatives that are led by or actively engage private sector. These entities can be local or international.

Youth Engagement

Actively involving youth, and especially young women, is a prerequisite for being considered as a CFYE partner. Interventions should demonstrate how youth were involved in developing the proposed solution and how these solutions are likely to contribute to the goals and aspirations of young people.

Sustainability

As part of the design of a project/investment, prospective Implementing Partners will be required to demonstrate how their initiatives will become independent of external funding as part of their business case. It is of importance that projects have the necessary means to sustain their job outcomes beyond CFYE’s funding.

What they’re looking for?

CFYE takes a holistic approach to assessing the concept notes and business cases received. CFYE evaluates the proposals based on a detailed criteria that considers the technical design, delivery feasibility and associated commercial proposal.

Key elements of CFYE’s evaluation and selection criteria are given below:

• Additionality: Will your project be able to reach the same goals, within the same timeframe and with the same quality without CFYE’s funding?
• Business Model: Can your idea demonstrate commercial viability in a competitive market environment, to create the highest value of returns to its stakeholders?
• Targets & Impact:Are you proposing ambitious and realistic job targets which are clearly aligned with CFYE employment outcomes?
• Scope & Pathways to Employment: Is your project able to layout a defensible and logical theory of change addressing the key challenges identified and leads to employment outcomes?
• Social Impact Aspects: To what extent do you understand and center your initiative on the true needs, challenges and aspirations of the young women and men you intend to work with?
• Sustainability, Scale & Resilience: Is your project likely to create scalable positive impact beyond CFYE’s contribution?
• Value for Money: Are you proposing reasonable and justifiable cost drivers and cost per job?

Eligibility Criteria

The following eligibility criteria will apply:

• Principles:  Should be able to adhere to CFYE’s guiding principles & priorities.
• Exclusion Criteria:  The project and organizations involved in delivering the project must pass the FMO exclusion criteria.
• Applicant Eligibility:
  • CFYE strongly invites applications from private sector companies, including business accelerators and impact investors, as CFYE believes that private sector involvement is the most effective way to develop and test market-based solutions that respond to the challenge of youth employment.
  • CFYE actively welcomes partnerships or consortium responses to this challenge.
  • Non-profit entities are also welcome to apply, but they must apply in consortium with a private-sector partner with confirmed labour demand as the lead applicant.
  • CFYE strongly prefers to work with fast-growing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The applicant needs to be in their scale up or growth stage. Activities presented in the projects/solutions need to be tested concepts
• Local Presence:  The lead organization or at least one of the consortium partners, has a local operating presence in the country.
• Job Type: Jobs may focus on waged employment, dependent self-employment or self-employment. The jobs created, matched or improved must be for youth aged 18-35 years. The proposal must demonstrate that the aspirations and requirements of youth have been taken into consideration in the design of the concept.
• Decency of Jobs: For jobs to qualify as “decent”, basic requirements include an average monthly income of the minimum wage requirement of N30,000/ month. Jobs should be maintained for at least 6 months and should be in compliance with the labour laws of Nigeria.
• Total Targets:
  • The minimum employment impact per project will be 1000 jobs within the project timeframe which is a maximum of 2 years.
  • The project must meet the minimum eligibility criteria for job targets through a combination of CFYE categories: create, match or improve.
  • There should be a clear Pathway to Employment in the project approach. CFYE will not support training-only projects.
  • Employment creation, matching or improvement (of jobs) must be a direct outcome of the project
  • Projects need to be focused on either tech-enabled jobs or jobs for women.
• Women Targets: Of the total youth employment created, matched, or improved;
• Window 1: at least a third (33.3%)  should be for women. However, larger beneficiary targets will be regarded favorably.
• Window 2:100% should be for women
• Leverage & CFYE Contribution: The applicant’s co-investment must be at least equal to the contribution requested by CFYE. The minimum CFYE co-investment is € 200.000. Sources of co-funding have to be approved based on the guidance provided.

Also Read: Funding Opportunities For African Businesses

For more information,

Visit https://fundforyouthemployment.nl/call-for-solutions-nigeria/

8. UM6P and IFA launch the Africa Agtech Startup Showcase (€20,000 prize)

 Deadline Date: 30-Nov-2022

Innovation is positioning African agricultural systems for a productive and sustainable future. In light of this transformation process, the International Fertilizer Association (IFA) and Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) have launched the Africa Agtech Startup Showcase.

“The International Fertilizer Association created the Smart&Green platform in 2021 to bridge the AgTech ecosystem and providers of plant nutrition solutions. As a next step, IFA is partnering with UM6P to help connect entrepreneurs with potential partners and investors through the Africa AgTech startup showcase. And all of this to ultimately help feed the world sustainably,” said Alzbeta Klein, IFA CEO/Director General.

Categories

Startups from around the world are invited to apply online in one of the following five categories:

• Soil healthand plant nutrition solutions to protect and improve soil fertility as well as adaptive mechanisms for nutrient release and plant uptake.
• Advisory and information servicesfor farmers to improve crop yield and quality as well as farm profitability.
• Market access solutionsthat enable African smallholder farmers to reach off-takers or end consumers as well as suppliers of seeds, fertilizers, equipment and crop protection products.
• Supply chain servicesfor farmers, agribusinesses and cooperatives to better manage their relationships.
• Financial servicesfor African smallholder farmers, including savings, payments, credit, insurance and crowd funding services.

Funding Information

The largest gathering of the fertilizer industry, and the winning startup will receive a €20,000 prize.

Eligibility Criteria

• This international contest is open to entrepreneurs offering innovative responses to the challenges facing African agricultureto showcase their solutions to the plant nutrition industry. The IFA and UM6P judges will evaluate applications based on the competition criteria including impact, innovation and applicability to African smallholder farmers. Final selection will take place in May 2023 at the IFA Annual Conference.
• UM6P prioritizes applied researchand innovation relevant to Morocco and Africa by focusing on topics such as industrialization, food security, sustainable development, mining, behavioral and social sciences. It federates a number of schools and research institutes, covering science and technology (Agriculture, mining, energy, medical, chemistry, Computer Science…), Social Sciences and Business

For more information,

Visit https://bit.ly/3rpsmad\

9. US Embassy announces Funding to carry out New Cohort of the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs

      Deadline: 1-Nov-22

The U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe under the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a new cohort of the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE).

The Public Diplomacy Section invites proposals from non-profit organizations, civil society organizations, and U.S. government alumni organizations to design and implement an entrepreneurship program that equips women entrepreneurs with skills and knowledge to grow their businesses and adapt to adverse economic situations while growing a local network of women-led businesses. The intended program should empower women entrepreneurs to realize their full economic potential.

Program Objectives:

• The proposals should meet the following objectives:
  • Increase participants understanding of businessplanning, and scaling up operations,
  • Connect participants with U.S. based business experts and share U.S. models of running enterprises,
  • Build a network of female entrepreneurs that is committed to supporting and promoting relationships that help grow businesses and drive local partnerships, and
  • Equip participants with skills and knowledge to build sustainable businesses.

Funding Information

• Length of performance period: 8-12 months from date of award.
• Number of awards anticipated: One award
• Total available funding: $10,000-30,000
• Anticipated program start date: January 2023
• Program Performance Period: Proposed programs should be completed in 12 months or less.

Participants and Audiences

• The AWE program targets current or future women business owners in Zimbabwe.  AWE participants should commit to complete the program, have proven computer skills, and have access to the Internet or a reliable data connection.
• Applicants are encouraged to develop programs for underrepresented populations, niche business sectors, or areas of potential growth.

Eligibility Criteria

• The following organizations are eligible to apply:
  • Not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks, civil society, and non-governmental organizations
  • Business development organizations registered as non-profits
  • United Statesgovernment alumni organizations

For more information,

Visit https://zw.usembassy.gov/embassy-grant-opportunities/