As entrepreneurs we often find ourselves in the difficult situation that not all areas of our company are working as they should in order to be scalable and get investment. But we also know that when starting a business, we are often limited in manpower, financial flexibility or the specific knowledge and are therefore struggling to attract potential investors or partners.
Since 2019 the project ‘Scaling Agriculture Innovations through start-ups (SAIS)’, implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH which is a German Development Agency (non-profit), supports startups to improve their investment readiness in the growing African ecosystem. It works on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and co-founded by Bayer Cares Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The goal is to enable African startups grow to improve the lives of their customers.
If you are an entrepreneur located in Africa and interested in making your AgTech or FoodTech startup ready for investors, this is an opportunity for you! The SAIS Investment Readiness Programme 2023 offers services worth up to USD 50K for your company development.
Startups which are qualified to participate in the Investment Readiness Programme (IRP) of SAIS are provided with a variety of benefits. Those include among others (1) regular advisory and coaching sessions provided by experts on the specific field where the startup requires support, (2) optional access to co-working spaces, (3) access to the comprehensive GIZ-SAIS network of investors, private sector stakeholders and partner institutions (4) meet-up events on a regional, national or international level and (5) add-on services for female entrepreneurs. Complementary, there are further services accessible for the startups of the programme, based on their specific needs.
The SAIS-IRP focuses on startups that provide digital innovation and are targeting the markets agriculture, food and livestock. Since the beginning of SAIS-IRP in 2019, more than 51 startups in Africa have been already accelerated. During these years SAIS has been strongly consolidating itself as a support for companies in the AgTech and FoodTech industry and has been growing, improving and adapting to the needs of its applicants. During the participation at SAIS-IRP, the startups raised $22.5M total investments. As a result of extensive support during the programme, 90% of the startups which have participated in SAIS are still on the market.
Continued growth combined with rapid and positive evolution have allowed SAIS to expand the programme. Consequently, SAIS is offering the IRP 2023 for English speakers, for French speakers and has a specific track for livestock tech sector startups. This enables the candidates to have a unique and perfectly tailored experience. And the best is the ongoing support! The programme not only runs for one year but will support engaged candidates further along the road.
Now it’s up to you! You are welcome to apply to the Investment Readiness Programme 2023. The application can be submitted until October 31 here.
If you are selected, you will be able to join the kick-off event in Nairobi in March 2023!
