Deadline: February 22, 2023
Applications are open for the Fashionomics Africa Incubator & Accelerator Programme 2023. The African Development Bank’s Fashionomics Africa call for applications is seeking for African fashion, textile, apparel, and accessories entrepreneurs and businesses to apply and benefit from the Fashionomics Africa incubator and accelerator programmes.
Programme Overview
Fashionomics Africa is an initiative of the African Development Bank that aims at increasing Africa’s participation in the global textile, apparel, and accessories value chains. The objective is to support the growth of micro-small and medium-sized enterprises that dominate this industry, equipping them with the necessary business skills, financial acumen, access to markets, market intelligence, and financing opportunities to scale up their businesses in an increasingly digitalized economy.
The initiative is launching the Fashionomics Africa incubator and accelerator programmes to build sustainable business models and access financing opportunities. The curriculum and content will be structured in separated incubator and accelerator programmes, focused on improving the marketability of early stage (incubator) and growth-oriented start-ups (accelerator) to financiers through an emphasis on strengthening business and financial models, investment readiness, branding, marketing, digitization, sustainability and circular economy actions applied to the industry, and outlining preparations for the capital raising process through detailed coursework on entrepreneurial finance.
Benefits
- The programme will culminate to 12 selected finalists each from the incubator and accelerator programmes vying for the top 2 prizes for $20,000 USD each to scale up their operations.
Eligibility
- Open to participants who can provide an identification document like a passport, national ID card or voters card issued in an African country, and/or domiciled in African countries.
- Applicants should be 18 years of age and above. Priority will be given to youth between 18-35 and women-led fashion businesses.
- Any fashion micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) or fashion entrepreneurs operating in the fashion ecosystem, including but not limited to fashion designing and dressmaking, accessories design and making, textile design, fashion illustration, fashion photography, technology-enabled fashion businesses, and service providers whose main sector of focus is fashion, are welcome to apply.
- Applicants should have an existing account on the Fashionomics Africa Platform or create one.
Application
The call for applications will close on February 22, 2023. Applications submitted after the deadline will be automatically declined.
For more information, visit Fashionomics Africa.