Deadline: April 15, 2024
Applications are open for the African Impact Challenge 2024. Inspired by The Prosperity Paradox, AIC is run in different African countries every year. Since launching in 2020, they have built the capacity of 1000+ early-stage African entrepreneurs and funded over 100 of them. This has happened in Ghana (2020), Kenya (2021), Rwanda (2022) and South Africa (2023). In 2022 they also launched the Pan-African Health Entrepreneurship Stream, which now runs annually with the support of Mastercard Foundation.
The challenge starts with a self-paced Pre-incubation phase beginning in April 2024, which leads to the selection of top-performing ventures for funding and incubation. Each top-performing venture will be interviewed and allowed to choose between a non-dilutive grant or a simple agreement of future equity investment. They will also have a chance to build in Toronto during summer 2025.
Benefits
- Top performing teams receive up to $25,000 in either grant funding or a simple agreement for future equity (SAFE) investment.
- They also travel to Toronto the following summer, with all costs covered, to learn and expand their entrepreneurship network.
Eligibility
- Open to young Africans (under 39) who live in the countries of the given year’s challenge.
- A desire to pursue impact-focused entrepreneurship as a means of livelihood.
- A desire to solve critical problems with technology.
- Full time commitment from the team building the venture.
- 2024 Health Entrepreneurship Stream: Pan-African ventures enabling health outcomes.
- 2024 Country Innovation Stream: Scalable ventures based in Botswana from any sector.
- 2024 Community Impact Stream: Social enterprises or nonprofits based in Botswana.
Selection Criteria
- You should be solving a pressing problem/challenge in your country, by providing a comprehensive solution with clearly defined job(s) to be done.
- Your solution should be technology enabled in its creation and/or use.
- Preference will be given to solutions that target non-consumption, by increasing adoption, accessibility and affordability.
- Preference will be given to innovative business models that are scalable.
Application
For more information, visit African Impact Challenge.
