Injini Cohort 4

Do you have a technology-driven or technology-enabled innovation that could improve educational outcomes in Africa? Are you looking to take your early-stage startup to the next level?

Injini is now accepting applications for our next cohort of EdTech changemakers in Africa. If you are one of the selected Cohort 4 startups, you will participate in a five-month incubation programme that will take place both in Cape Town, South Africa and in your home market, where the team will support you remotely.

During this time, you’ll get an opportunity to work with subject matter experts in education, business, technology and entrepreneurship. But that’s not all, just for participating in the programme, you’ll receive a grant of R100,000 to spend on your business. Finally, if we’re impressed with your performance and trajectory once you’ve joined our alumni startups, Injini may offer an investment of up to R1 million for equity in your business!

Injini: Africa’s First EdTech Incubator

Injini is the first educational technology (EdTech) incubator or accelerator on the African continent. Based in South Africa, Injini invests in promising African EdTech startups and works closely with them to ultimately achieve their goal of positively impacting educational outcomes on the continent. The Injini incubation and investment programme was officially launched in August 2017 and has involved incubating and investing in the most promising early-stage startups from Africa and holding ecosystem development events across the continent to encourage broader innovation and evidence-driven EdTech solutions.

Injini has already incubated 24 EdTech startups from eight different African countries, including South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Zambia, and Nigeria. Injini has extensive reach on the African continent and has received over 1,200 applications from startups from more than 35 African countries. The team has also run ecosystem building activities in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia.

More about the Cohort 4 Incubation Programme:

The Cohort 4 Incubation Programme will be made up of three phases.

Phase 1 is set to begin in mid-March 2020 and will take place in Cape Town, South Africa. 1–2 decision-making members of your startup’s founding team will join us for an expenses-paid* stay in the Mother City for a period of six weeks. You’ll be expected to attend a number of business training workshops, engage with industry experts in 1:1 sessions and build a relationship with your mentor, who will support you through the duration of the programme.

Phase 2 will begin the moment you leave Cape Town and head back to your home market. During this 12-week period, you’ll be expected to apply the learnings from Phase 1 to your business on-the-ground, while the Injini team supports you remotely — we may even pop in to visit some of you on your home turf!

Phase 3 will commence back in Cape Town in July 2020, marking the final leg of the incubation programme. This four-week stretch will give us the chance to tie up loose ends and make sure your EdTech startup is ready for post-programme growth and possible investment.

* Injini covers the cost of international and domestic return flights to Cape Town, accommodation for the duration of Phase 1 and 2 and extends basic living stipends to subsidise the higher cost of living in Cape Town compared to other African cities. These expenses are only covered for founders who are not already based in Cape Town. All entrepreneurs are expected to cover their own food and in-country transportation costs, although Injini will occasionally sponsor group meals and social events.

Injini is looking for EdTech startups that meet the following criteria to join us for our Cohort 4 programme:

• Your EdTech startup is based in Africa and focused on improving educational outcomes somewhere on the continent.
• Your solution is aiming to address a key problem related to education in Africa.
• Your solution is evidence-based — meaning, you can point to research that backs up your methods or hypothesis.
• Your company is registered and a certificate of incorporation can be shared with the Injini team upon request.
• Your startup has (at least) a minimum viable product or prototype.
• Your startup has (at least) one full-time founder.
• One or more decision-making members of your startup’s founding team are able to travel to Cape Town during Phases 1 and 3 of the incubation programme.
• Participating founders from outside of South Africa must have a valid passport and eligibility to apply for a South African visa.
• Participating founders must be fluent in English.

The Application Process

1. First-round applications opened on Monday, 14 October 2019 and will remain open until 10 December 2019. We will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis, so it is in your best interest to apply early — promising applicants will be invited to participate in the second-round application process.
2. If we’re impressed by your first-round application, we’ll ask you to record a 2-minute video pitch and to complete another form that will dive a bit deeper into your solution, giving you the chance to convince us that you’re the best pick for Cohort 4. Note: the earlier you submit your first-round application, the more time you give yourself to complete the second-round process (if selected), which will close on 5 January 2020.
3. From this point, we’ll select our top 20 applicants and schedule remote interviews between each founder and the Injini team. These calls will take place between 13–24 January 2020.
4. Finally, we’ll invite the top 12 applicants to pitch to a panel of judges at the end of January 2020 in Cape Town (either remotely or in-person) to compete for entry into Injini’s Cohort 4.

At Injini, we believe African innovation will help to solve our continent’s most dire challenges in education. We can’t wait to read your application and, hopefully, welcome you to Cohort 4!