Chance to Get a Grant of US$40,000 at the Youth Agripreneur AgriPitch Competition

OPPORTUNITY DETAILS

Total reward

0 $

Nonprofit organization

Asoko Insight

Deadline

23 Oct 2020

Study level

Vocational Education

Opportunity type

Competitions

Opportunity funding

Full funding

Eligible Countries

Algeria , Comoros , Egypt , Jordan , Lebanon , Mauritania , Oman , Qatar , Somalia , Syria , United Arab Emirates , Bahrain , Djibouti , Iraq , Kuwait , Libya , Morocco , Palestine , Saudi Arabia , Sudan , Tunisia , Yemen

Eligible Region

All Regions

The African Development Bank’s Youth Agripreneur AgriPitch Competition and DealRoom connect expansion-ready, youth-led African businesses with global investors (debt, equity, and/or grant). The DealRoom focuses on youth-led agribusinesses under the themes of nutrition and gender inclusivity. The goal of the AgriPitch Competition and DealRoom is to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in agriculture among youth in Africa and to generate jobs, create wealth, and improve livelihoods through inclusive growth across the continent.

Qualified businesses will be promoted through the Asoko portal to global investors for matching. Interested investors can match with any deal by registering their prole and selecting target deals. Shortlisted businesses will participate in a virtual AgriPitch Competition from November 16-20, 2020, where winners will be chosen based on different categories under consideration.

Benefits:

The African Development Bank will award shortlisted businesses between US$10,000 and US$40,000 in the form of grant capital (US$120,000 in total is committed).

Eligibility:

Companies that are in one of the following categories: Youth with early-stage Start-ups, Mature Start-ups, and Women Empowered Businesses as per the African Development Bank criteria are eligible to apply for the AgriPitch Competition and Virtual Investor DealRoom.

The sector of focus: Agribusiness.
The company should meet the criteria for a category:

Start-ups: Must have a clearly defined prototype or proof of concept and may or may not have had any products introduced to the market.
Matured Start-ups: Firms with existing market traction: technology, product, service, etc., already on the market with a clear investment ask and growth plan & strategy.
Women Empowered Businesses: In addition to the criteria for a mature startup, firms must have at least a 51% share of women ownership or founded by a woman.

Evaluation Criteria:

All applicants should consider these criteria carefully as they build out their profiles for submission.

Value Proposition and Innovation Rationale (30% weighting):

How creative is the idea or how creatively the idea solves a problem related to ICT and agri-digitization?
Gender responsiveness.
Addresses nutrition.
Job creation potential.
Competitive edge.

Sustainability and Scalability (20% weighting):

Sound environmental management systems.
Potential for scaling-up.
Sufficient and qualified staff, including management.

Business Feasibility & Traction (30% weighting):

Clear customer pain/need intensity and market size.
Commercial and technically feasible with strong profit margins.
Existing traction and customers (for mature start-ups).

Professionalism and Presentation of Business (5% weighting):

Structure and presentation of the business model.
Ease of comprehension of the business.
Strong writing/presentation skills.

Investment Appeal (15% weighting):

Investment pull based on respective early start-up, mature start-up, and all-star stage.

About Asoko Insight:

Asoko Insight is Africa’s leading market intelligence and corporate data provider, helping investors, banks, multinationals, and governments to identify and verify clients and businesses across the continent. They provide insight into private corporates in Africa’s most dynamic economies and the people who run them, including their executives, directors, and shareholders.

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