The SAIS Investment Readiness Programme (IRP) is calling African tech startups from the agriculture, food, and livestock sectors for a year-long tailor-made support program to make them investor-ready and scale up their business.
IRP, which aims to improve investor readiness so that the startups supported can raise more capital to reach more customers and achieve greater impact, is accepting 20 startups for 2023.
The program includes weekly advisory and coaching sessions with local and international experts, access to online training, additional services to optimize certain segments, Hub integration, and access to the GIZ-SAIS network. Additionally, the program has added services for female entrepreneurs, such as the Female Leader Circle and a bi-annual Female Founders Award.
To be eligible for the SAIS Programme, the candidate must be registered and operating in Africa. The startup must also have a founding team of at least two people, and the team should have entrepreneurial and technical experience in their area of operation.
In addition, the candidates must have a viable digital product that positively impacts the incomes of their customers, and the product must have a positive impact on the African AgTech, FoodTech, or livestock sector, including vertical sectors that have an influence that can be accepted like eCommerce, FinTech, Logistics, EdTech, etc.
Furthermore, the candidate must have launched your digital product at least six months before the application period and provide evidence of traction. The startup should also have an easily understandable and convincing business model, a clear statement of the problem, a clear digital solution, a clear customer segment, and a clear revenue stream.
Add-ons but not must include the candidate having women in the founding team or as senior managers, team members with IT background, previous startup experience, and products the startup targets a vulnerable group of customers.
The IRP is offered by “Scaling Digital Agriculture Innovations through Start-up (SAIS),” a project implemented by the GIZ and co-funded by Bayer Cares Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Since 2019, SAIS has accelerated more than 51 African startups. The deadline for the 2023 call ends on October 31, 2022. Apply here.
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