BlueInvest Africa – Call for Pitchers

About

BlueInvest Africa targets registered African business companies that are already operating in the various sectors of the blue economy, including start-ups. It targets as well the African Small Micro and Medium sized businesses (SMMEs) officially established in an African country bearing an innovative idea subject to further commercial development within the African market.

150 on-site persons are expected to participate to the event together with remote attendees from Africa and Europe, including investors and entrepreneurs. This event will generate business contacts and opportunities to develop a network of potential partners, while allowing discovering business projects from the field and exchanging best practices and ideas.

The targeted audience of the event will be:

• Private sector, African start-up companies active in the blue economy, including small-scale businesses;
• International financial institutions, public and private institutional investors;
• International, national and regional organizations (private business platforms in countries);
• Research institutions, incubators and innovators.

The selected pitchers will be offered:

• The chance to deliver a pitch presenting their project (business idea/product/service) on the stage, on the spot in Seychelles during the event above mentioned;
• The opportunity to meet face to face public and private investors with the aim to clinch deals and obtain funding for their business/project;
• Coaching and mentoring sessions in group and/or individually (depending case by case) to prepare their pitch.
• A unique opportunity to meet other African project holders engaged in blue actions.
• A platform for receiving direct advice from several captains of industry operating in Africa.
• Access to several side-events on access to financing.
• Direct contacts with development banks and other financial institutions.
• Promotion of their stories and projects on different media and social media.

Eligibility criteria for the pitchers:

• The pitching company must be based, legally registered and active in an African country. The organizers will seek to achieve a geographical balance of the pitchers selected across Africa. Applications from women and young entrepreneurs are strongly encouraged. The head office/registered office of the company must be based in an African country. The activities of the companies should be carried out in an African country.
• The pitcher will have to be present on the spot in Seychelles and deliver a pitch about the company/business/project he/she will be representing. The pitcher can be a founding member of the company/business, director, CEO or any other members involved in the decision making and management of the company/business or a staff member designated by the company;
• The pitching company must appoint a backup person for the designated pitcher. The backup person will replace the pitcher in case of an emergency (sickness, accident, etc.). The backup person must be mentioned in the application and in the statement of availability. He/she must be fluent in French and/or English.
• The company/business must be a small and medium size enterprise (SME). SMEs are defined in the EU recommendation 2003/361. The main factors determining whether an enterprise is an SME are:
  • Staff headcount
  • Turnover or balance sheet total
• The project of the pitching company must focus on a blue economy sector either in a maritime or coastal area of Africa or African inland waters. The blue economy encompasses all maritime activities and sectors, both traditional and emerging whether they are based in the marine environment or on land (rivers, lakes, deltas). Projects in the following sectors are considered eligible if they take into consideration the sustainability aspect in the production process, the distribution process, the delivery of the service and or in the life of the product itself:
  • Fisheries and aquaculture
  • Bio-marine technology (living resources)
  • Coastal protection, nature-based solutions against climate change
  • Key enabling technologies (robotics, sensors, materials, etc.)
  • Marine litter, including plastic pollution
  • Marine services (insurance, monitoring, surveying, etc.)
  • Renewable energy
  • Shipbuilding
  • Shipping
  • Tourism

In case of selection, the duties of the pitchers are:

• To attend all the coaching and mentoring sessions offered by the organizers.
• To prepare a pitch in French or English in order to present their project following the guidelines and advice of the BlueInvest Africa designated staff.
• To travel to Seychelles and deliver the pitch on the spot during the BlueInvest Africa event.
• To attend the whole BlueInvest Africa event.
• To sign a statement of availability to fulfil all the above requirements.
• To appoint a person representing the pitching company that will act as backup. In the eventuality that a pitcher cannot travel due to an emergency (sickness, accidents, etc.), the backup person will replace him/her and will be trained to deliver the pitch. The backup person must be fluent in English or French.