What we offer The award recognizes African female founders with unique businesses that have a strong digital component and embrace social impact. We honor, support and celebrate your ambition by offering unique opportunities for visibility and further development of your business. The award ceremony for the SAIS Female Founder Award 2024 takes place at VivaTech in Paris on 22- 25 May 2024 in the form of a pitching competition. The three selected winners will be travelling to Paris to attend the event in person. Our prestigious jury will announce the winners’ rankings during an on-stage ceremony. The three winners will win in-kind support worth up to 30,000€ for the first place, up to 15,000€ for the second place, and up to 7,000€ for the third place. This in-kind support can be vouchers and various tailored services to best boost their business, including: Vouchers for special expenses (e.g. online trainings, software licenses, and other services). Services: Personalized coaching sessions with local and international experts based on individual needs. For example, marketing, investor relations and pitching to further increase visibility. Facilitation of meaningful connections for your business development and potential scaling vision by providing local ecosystem integration Round trip airfare to Paris and accommodation for the entire stay at VivaTech 2024 Introduction and involvement to SAIS Female Leader Circle Community wherein women in the start-up ecosystem participate from Inputs sessions with experts from different areas and peer-to-peer exchange sessions. These monthly meetings serve as a platform for insightful discussions, networking opportunities, and skill development tailored to the unique challenges faced by women in the entrepreneurial realm. SAIS Female Founder Award Certificate and a seal for your website to recognize your business
Who can apply To be eligible for the SAIS Female Founder Award, you must meet the following conditions: Founder You are an African female who (co)founded and runs a start-up / growth stage business. You should have technical experience in your area of operation. Impact You promote female visionary leadership, support other female leaders and contribute to women’s economic empowerment. You are fostering a culture that values diversity. Your work has a positive impact on solving an important problem in the industry. You contribute to start-up ecosystem development. Team Your start-up has a team of at least three people (including yourself as a founder) who work full time for the start-up. Digital product/ service Your product/service is digital or has a strong digital component. Your product is offering an impactful solution in the AgTech, FoodTech or ClimateTech sectors in Africa. Legal form: Your business is registered and operates on the African continent. Your business has an official certificate of registration. Market access and traction Your company has been registered at least 2 years before submitting the application. Your start-up Must have clear evidence of traction (customer base, revenue). Business model You have a unique value proposition in the market(s) where you operate. Your start-up should have an understandable and convincing business model (clear problem statement and defined customer segment).
Evaluations Our esteemed jury will assess all applications in terms of entrepreneurial vision and resilience, social and economic impact, technical and industry expertise, contribution to empowering female entrepreneurs and the contribution to fostering diversity in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Frequently Asked Questions What is SAIS? SAIS stands for “Scaling digital Agriculture Innovations through Start-ups” and is a project implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ GmbH) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). It is co-funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Bayer Cares Foundation. We are a company development and accelerator programme for African Tech start-ups in the agriculture, food, and climate sectors. Start-ups and their solutions are a central pathway to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We offer annual Investment Readiness Programmes (IRPs) in English, French, and for the livestock sector. You can read more on our website: https://sais-accelerator.com/ Can I apply if I’ve already won a similar award before? Yes, you are welcome to apply! Can I apply if I’m working as a solopreneur? No, you should have a team of at least 3 people. Can I apply if my co-founders are male? Yes. But make sure to describe your contribution in developing the start-up, as we assess and celebrate high vision female founders who have proven to drive their vision into action. We are a team of 2 female co-founders. Can we both apply? Yes. But make sure to describe your contribution in developing the start-up, as we assess the founder individually. Can I apply if I’m an African founder, but my business is based outside Africa? No. Your start-up needs to be registered and operating in Africa. Can I apply if my start-up is not from the AgTech, FoodTech or ClimateTech sector? No. Only start-ups operating in these three sectors (AgTech, FoodTech, ClimateTech) are eligible to apply for the SAIS Female Founder Award. Is the award equity-based? The award is equity free. We offer you vouchers and various tailored services that best support your start-up’s further growth, integration into the international start-up ecosystem and into the SAIS Female Leaders Circle. Are the travel costs to the 3 winners award ceremony at VivaTech in Paris covered by GIZ? Yes, the travel costs to Paris (accommodation, flights, invitation letter for your visa application and Vivatech ticket) for one person are covered, and the opportunity to pitch your start-up on VivaTech stage are part of the award. Can I apply if my startup is hardware-based? Yes, but your hardware-based start-up should include a digital component for the application. What does the prize include? 1st Place Vouchers: up to 12,000€ Services: up to 18,000€ 2nd Place Vouchers: up to 5,000€ Services: up to 10,000€ 3rd Place Vouchers: up to 3,000€ Services: up to 4,000€ Your question is not listed? Email us: sais@giz.de or visit our website www.sais-accelerator.com