Startup Funding Opportunities // 6 Programs to Look-out For

We’re sharing startup funding opportunities – innovation challenges/ programs – that are currently active and are accepting applications in October 2021 that you would want to consider.

Whether you are a Financial Services, Healthcare, Agriculture, Energy/utility, Education startup there are several startup funding opportunities focusing on startups in East Africa.

Here are 6 startup funding opportunities that you can apply to in the upcoming month of October.

The SGB Evidence Fund

The SGB Evidence Fund aims to address knowledge gaps in the small and growing business sector by commissioning high-quality, practitioner-researcher co-generated research projects that yield insight into what works to stimulate the growth of SGBs through improvements in firm productivity and performance, as well as build evidence on the economic and social impacts of SGB growth.

The fund will commission research projects that explore interventions that aim to address constraints to capital, labor, and efficiency – the key factors determining productivity growth – and which aim to understand the impact productivity gains have on job creation, job quality, and poverty alleviation.

More information on potential research areas can be found in our synthesis paper, which outlines the current state of knowledge across these areas.

This call is supported in part by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Aligned with its mandate, IDRC funding will be directed to support projects that involve researchers affiliated with institutions in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, IDRC funding will be directed to proposals that examine gender equity.

The application window is open until 1st November. Get more details here

National Innovation Awards (NIA)

The Kenya National Innovation Agency (KeNIA) has opened a nomination call for the National Innovation Awards (NIA), which aims to recognize and honour Kenya’s leading innovators with remarkable achievements in diverse fields.

The award consists of three categories: the Big 4 Innovation Award, Assistive Technology Award, and the Government Agency Innovation Award.

Big 4 Innovation Award seeks to recognize, and award outstanding innovations within the Big 4 Agenda of universal healthcare, affordable housing, food security, and manufacturing.

Assistive Technology Award aims to recognize and award innovations that are assistive and adaptive for people living with disabilities or the elderly population.

Government Agency Innovation Award aims to recognize Government agencies that have adjusted to technological changes and have gone above and beyond in spurring innovation in the country.

The award whose purpose is to stimulate and encourage innovation in the national priority areas will play a critical role in strengthening the National innovative capacity through motivation, recognition, and support of innovators.

Submission of nominations closes on 15^th October 2021 after which shortlisting and selection will follow. The exercise will culminate at the Kenya Innovation Week (KIW) Awards Gala slated for 8^th December 2021. Selected innovators will pitch during the week to an audience of investors, potential partners, and customers.

Get more details here

Youth Adapt Challenge

The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) and the African Development Bank has launched a call for applications for the first edition of the African Youth Adaptation Solutions (YouthAdapt) Challenge.

The call encourages young entrepreneurs, innovators from micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and other youth-led and youth-owned enterprises in Africa, to implement solutions for building resilience and adapting to the adverse impacts of climate change.

Young entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 35 are invited to respond to the call for the expression of interest and submit their business plan through the official submission portal

Startup Funding Opportunities // Apply to These 8 Programs

The Google for Startups Accelerator: Sustainable Development Goals

The Google for Startups Accelerator: Sustainable Development Goals (GfSAS) is a 3-5 month program for startup companies working on products/services that advance one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

The accelerator provides technical support to these companies, along with specialized training and mentorship on SDG partnerships, social impact measurement, leadership, and fundraising.

Google is looking for companies that are taking a technical approach to solve some of humanity’s biggest challenges, with the vision for changing the world for the better.

Apply by November 15^th. Get more details here

Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Accelerator 2021

The Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Accelerator is for social enterprises that are intentional about supporting women in one or more of the following ways:

• Social Enterprise Leaders: The primary participant identifies as female and is a founder, CEO, or other top-level leaders with decision-making authority.
• Employees: The business model intentionally creates more jobs for women within the enterprise.
• Value Chain Contributors: The organization creates increasing business opportunities for women along its value chain (e.g., using a village sales agent model that is more amenable to women villagers’ lifestyles or buying products made by women).
• Customers: Predominantly female customers by design. In this case, “customers” refers to those who are positively impacted by the enterprise.

The application deadline is October 22^nd. Get more details here

The Leap

The Leap is Bridge for Billions’ online incubation program for early-stage entrepreneurs around the world. In Latin America, the program is part of the PES LATAM alliance. Applications are always open.

Every month, different entrepreneurs join The Leap program to check the viability of their business projects.

Through our “learn-by-doing” methodology, the 8 interactive business tools allow entrepreneurs to check each of the aspects of their businesses: from finding their true value proposition and exploring how they can differentiate themselves from their competitors to reaching to understand how much money they need to launch the project, and much more.

The Leap has a subsidized cost of 100 USD / month for 4 months. To join the December cohort apply by 15^th Oct.

Get more details about the program here.