Finca Ventures 2025 Prize Competition

The FINCA Ventures Prize Competition supports rising African entrepreneurs who are leveraging innovative technologies and designing disruptive business models to drive impact and innovation in sub-Saharan Africa. Learn more about last year’s competition here!

We encourage entrepreneurs who meet the eligibility requirements described on the FAQ page to apply. FINCA Ventures will award grants in two categories. Sample application forms for each category are below.

To submit an application, create an account by entering your email on this page and then answer all questions posed in the application. The application deadline is April 30, 2025 at midnight (GMT-5). All applications will be reviewed and approved by the FINCA Ventures Prize Committee.

What is the FINCA Ventures Prize?

The FINCA Ventures Prize is a competition for African entrepreneurs with bold visions, disruptive business models, or new products or technologies that can create meaningful impact for poor and low-income people in developing markets. Entrepreneurs compete for the opportunity to be awarded grant funding of up to $100,000 to further develop their social enterprises.

What kind of companies are eligible to participate?

We are looking for companies with a significant presence in sub-Saharan Africa and whose solution fits into one of the following two categories: climate-smart agriculture and fintech for financial inclusion.

In the climate-smart agriculture category, we seek entrepreneurs who are developing and scaling innovative solutions which improve the climate resilience of smallholder farmers. Key areas of interest include supporting smallholder farmers with access to improved inputs, financing, climate-smart agricultural knowledge and extension services, climate and weather-related information, insurance products, irrigation and mechanization, and offtake markets.

In the fintech for financial inclusion category, we are looking for founders who are rethinking the provision of financial services through innovative digital-first channels to provide access to financial resources, increase financial literacy & unlock productivity of underserved populations.

Eligibility

Who is eligible to participate?

Companies must have at least one African founder, be for-profit, post-revenue, be revenue generating for five years or less, be operational in sub-Saharan Africa, and address issues in financial inclusion or agriculture as described above. To win a grant award, participants must be able to travel to San Francisco (with costs covered by FINCA) to present in front of a panel of judges and attend the awards ceremony and reception.

Is there a cost to participate?

There is no cost to participate in the competition. For applicants invited to pitch at the events in San Francisco, FINCA will arrange for and cover the costs of travel.

What materials are required to enter?

Applicants must create an account and answer all the questions posed in this application form available at https://fincaventures.awardsplatform.com/. Submissions must be complete before the competition deadline.

Judging and Prizes

How does the judging work?

The FINCA Ventures Prize Committee will review all eligible entries and select three finalists per category to pitch in front of a panel of judges at the Center for Social Innovation, Stanford Graduate School of Business on September 15th, followed by an awards ceremony and reception on September 16th. Finalists must be able to attend the event in person.

At the event, the judges will select and announce the first, second, and third place winners within both categories.

What is the judging criteria?

The entries will be judged according to the following criteria:

• Strength of Entrepreneur & Team
• Innovativeness of Solution
• Social & Environmental Impact
• Market Traction and Financial Sustainability
• Strategy for Growth

What are the prizes?

In each category, the grand prize winner will receive a grant award of $100,000. The second and third place finalists will receive grant awards of $60,000 and $40,000, respectively.

Support

If you have questions, contact Melissa Tickle at melissa.tickle@finca.org.