SAIS Investment Readiness Programme 2020

African agritech and food start-ups, listen up!

Have you successfully developed innovative digital solutions for the agricultural and food sector with a positive impact on income generation? Are you still looking for company development support to scale your business and increase your impact?

The GIZ-SAIS Investment Readiness Programme provides tailor-made company development measures aimed at improving your investment readiness and gaining access to investment and business opportunities.

WHO WE ARE

‘Scaling digital agriculture innovations through start-ups’ (SAIS) 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). Our goal is to scale digital innovations developed by African start-ups that enable their users in the agricultural or food sector to increase their income.

WHAT WE OFFER

• A six-month Investment Readiness Programme fully funded by GIZ-SAIS beginning in December 2019. The programme is built around regular virtual coaching and training sessions with experienced company developers and growth managers.
• Access to additional service providers to optimise certain segments of your venture (e.g. legal, cash flow, marketing, coding etc.).
• Three in-person meet-ups complete the programme: a kick-off workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, in December 2019, followed by a mid-term check-in in the third or fourth month and a link-up event with investors and business partners will conclude the programme.
• Throughout the duration of the programme, the GIZ-SAIS team will facilitate contacts and interactions with potential investors and business partners using the global investor cloud services. Further follow-up growth measures in close dialogue with committed investors and business partners are planned for those start-ups that successfully complete the Investment Readiness Programme.

WHO CAN APPLY

Eligibility criteria:

You can apply if your business:

• is a start-up registered in Africa, a for-profit business with a team of at least two people,
• is offering scalable digital solutions with a clear positive impact on income in the agricultural and/or food sector (e.g. through savings, business opportunities, added value, etc.),
• and is in the post-seed stage (i.e. have launched a minimum viable product, have an existing customer base, have evidence of revenue).

Selection criteria:

Projects will be selected on the basis of an application that showcases:

• a convincing business model,
• a highly-motivated team that ideally reflects gender equality and diversity,
• and presents a digital product that is scalable, demonstrably functional, user-oriented, commercially viable and makes use of sustainable technical solutions while also, ideally, promoting gender equality in the agriculture and food sector.

WHAT WE EXPECT

• A willingness by team members and ability to take part in all training measures, including physical presence during the kick-off, mid-term check-in and link-up event.
• Team members exhibit willingness to agree on individual milestones as well as serious ambition to achieve them within the timeframe of the GIZ-SAIS Investment Readiness Programme.
• The willingness to regularly communicate and share business information with GIZ-SAIS.

HOW TO TAKE PART

1) Online application

Please apply online by October 28, 2019, via the VC4A website and upload a short pitch video (max. 2 minutes) via an unlisted (i.e. hidden to the public) YouTube link. The video should clearly convey your vision, the problem you are addressing and how your product resolves it as well as the user experience. Please provide all requested information in order to ensure your inclusion in the selection process.

2) Virtual pitch

Based on the eligibility and selection criteria presented above, GIZ-SAIS will pre-select convincing start-ups that will be invited to a virtual pitch:

• The virtual pitch event will be held in November 2019, during calendar week 47 (November 18-22, 2019).
• Invitations to the pitch event including your time slot will be sent out by November 11, 2019.

3) Kick-off event in Nairobi

The most promising start-ups selected in the wake of the virtual pitch will be invited to Nairobi, Kenya, on December 12-13, 2019 for the GIZ-SAIS Investment Readiness Programme kick-off event. Please make sure that you are available at that time.

Any Questions?

For further questions and inquiries regarding the application process, please contact us via e-mail at SAIS@giz.de