Deadline: May 20, 2020
Applications for the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University/AWIEF LeadTech Incubation Program 2020 Young Female entrepreneurs are now open. The LeadTech is an intensive 6-month incubation program dedicated to early stage women-owned or women-led tech start-ups. Based on a competition model.
The program aims to nurture and provide a supportive environment for women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and become independent. The goal of the program is to foster innovation and entrepreneurship at start-up for scale and to strengthen sustainability of growth.
Sharing the belief that entrepreneurship and women’s leadership are key drivers in transforming the African Continent, the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, through its entity P-Curiosity Lab, have partnered with the Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) to support 15 African young female entrepreneurs as part of the 2020 LeadTech startups promotion.
Target Sectors
- HealthTech
- EdTech
- FinTech
- EnviroTech
- BioTech
Benefits
The program will enable startups to have access to:
- World-class mentors and experts
- Tailored trainings and capacity building
- Corporate partners
- Community of changemakers committed to women’s empowerment
- Events (pitch days, demo days, invest days and the annual AWIEF conference and exhibition)
- Space Infrastructure and Facilities
Eligibility
- Applicants should be between the ages of 18 and 50
- Must be citizens of an African country
- Have an innovative offer that integrated digital technologies into the process
- Must resolve a real issue for customer or meet a need in the market
- Must have a proof of concept (prototype)
- Have early customer interest / are close to product – market fit / early validation
- Have raised or could raise (pre) seed investment
- Passionate and committed
- Complementary team with experience/expertise of subject matter.
Application
LeadTech Timeline
- Application phase: The application submission are to be open until April 24
- Selection phase & Interview: The selection phase will start from April 27 to may 11. Pre-selected start-ups will receive a notification for the interview process
- Three weeks of in-house incubation: Selected startups will go through a three-week in-house training at the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, BenGuerir Morocco.
- Five months of virtual incubation: Start-ups will receive remote support through an e-mentoring platform. They will be closely working with a network of mentors and experts.
- Pitch & Demo Day: Start-ups will have the opportunity to pitch at the end of the program at the 6th Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) 2020 in South Africa.
For more information, visit LeadTech Incubation Program.
