Exciting prospects await African startup founders this week! From funding for agtechs & fintechs, to sector-agnostic grants, and a program dedicated to empowering women entrepreneurs, there are funding opportunities across various sectors.
If you’re looking to scale your startup, consider tapping into these opportunities to help fuel your growth.
GET Compass
Grooming Endowment Trust was set up as a nonprofit in August 2020 to promote sustainable social initiatives in education, health, enterprise and community development. Endowed with initial seed funding from Grooming Centre, the Trust provides grants and investments to social enterprises creating impact in their communities.
The GET Compass is a grant program that supports small and medium-scale businesses. Get up to 2 million Naira in Grant which enables you to scale up and also facilitates programs that would give you the expertise to carry out your business processes better.
Benefits: Up to ₦2 million in grant.
Application deadline: May 29, 2023
Find out more about the grant program.
Accelerating inclusive green growth through agri-based digital innovation in West Africa (AGriDI)
The ‘Accelerating inclusive green growth through agri-based digital innovation in West Africa (AGriDI)’ intervention supports innovations to address key challenges related to climate change, sustainable use, and management of biodiversity as well as responsible production and consumption among farming communities in West Africa.
AGriDI aims at strengthening innovation systems and fostering adoption of agri-based digital technologies in West Africa. Digital technologies offer potential to make it easier and more efficient for farmers and small business owners, especially women and youth, to produce (thanks to access to information and technologies) and market their goods and services, leading to greater profits.
Benefits: Up to €300,000 in grants per project.
Application deadline: May 31, 2023
Learn more about this intervention here.
Academy for Women Entrepreneurs Lesotho, Eswatini and South Africa
The U.S. Mission to South Africa and the Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) are once again partnering to implement the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs program in South Africa. To expand the reach of this successful program, the U.S. Mission has extended participation to Lesotho and Eswatini for the first time.
The Academy for Women Entrepreneurs is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. It supports the U.S. National Strategy on Gender, Equity and Equality. Implemented in nearly 100 countries since 2019, the program has enabled about 25,000 women entrepreneurs to explore the fundamentals of business and learn new skills, including how to create business plans and raise capital. The program aims to promote economic growth and prosperity and empowers women to build better futures for their families and communities.
Benefits: Business management training, mentorship, networking and peer-learning opportunities, access to business opportunities, potential seed funding, and vast global network.
Application deadline: May 31, 2023
University Startup World Cup
University Startup World Cup (USWC) is an annual event powered by Venture Cup Denmark. The best university startups from around the world come together to network, exhibit and pitch for a chance of becoming the world’s best university startup!
Benefits: Up to $15,000 in prize money, access to international student entrepreneurs network.
Application deadline: June 11, 2023
Find out more about the competition.
ARM Labs Innovation Program
ARM Labs is designed to engage early-stage FinTech startups in a series of activities aimed at exponentially advancing the growth of their companies within a short time frame and ensuring their investment readiness.
Selected startups will be provided with financial investment, distribution, access to investors and lots more!
Benefits: Up to $50,000 in equity funding, mentorship, provision of workspace, access to inventors and alumni network.
Application deadline: June 15, 2023
Learn more about the program here.
UNICEF Innovation Fund
The UNICEF Venture Fund is looking to make up to US$100K in equity-free investments to provide early-stage (seed) funding to for-profit start-ups developing frontier technology solutions that can positively impact the lives of the world’s most vulnerable children and youth. If your product is registered in one of UNICEF’s programme countries, is a working prototype, has demonstrated results, and is (or could be) open-source licensed, we encourage you to apply.
Benefits: Up to $100,000 in equity-free investments.
Application deadline: July 28, 2023
Learn more about this opportunity using this link.
Do not forget to go through our previous posts for more opportunities to help your startup thrive.
