Deadline: September 30, 2022
Apply now for the USADF Accelerate Africa Entrepreneurship Challenge 2022. USADF’s Accelerate Africa Entrepreneurship Challenge is an initiative of USADF’s Youth and Women. An Entrepreneurship Portfolio designed to address Africa’s youth bulge, economically empower youth and women, and impact job creation across Africa.
The USADF Accelerate Africa Entrepreneurship Challenge 2022 is intended to invest in Micro, Small, and Mid-Size enterprises (MSMEs) that:
- Address Africa’s youth bulge by prioritizing job creation to enhance youth productivity and livelihoods
- Economically empower youth and women to apply business solutions to social problems and create sustainable employment across Africa
- Addresses unmet needs of underserved and at-risk communities and/or market demand
- Formalize market opportunities and supply chain linkages for youth and women-owned MSMEs
Benefits
Winning applicants will receive:
- Grant capital of US$50,000 to US$250,000 from USADF
- Access to intensive local technical assistance and governance support
Eligibility
Applications will only be considered if they:
- Entity is African 100% owned and managed, registered, and operating within Africa
- Owners must provide passports or other government-issued IDs showing citizenship are submitted.
- All shareholders, members of the board and senior management must be citizens of a subSaharan African country
- Express clearly how they will benefit underserved populations across Africa including showing demonstrable positive impacts for youth and women
- Express clearly how they will achieve sustainable growth
- Fully and legally registered in Africa, and the registration is submitted
- Document adequate expertise in the field they are proposing or document how they will acquire the necessary expertise
- Clearly document how they will use USADF grant capital to carry out their concept
Winning proposals must:
- Further develop, scale up or extend the use of proven solutions/technologies for social impact in Africa.
- Benefit underserved populations or low-income rural or urban populations
- Demonstrate financial sustainability or the potential for financial sustainability
- Propose a budget of no more than US$250,000. Proposals with budgets greater than US$250,000 must bring leveraged resources from one or more other sources that meet the total financing requirements.
- Leveraged funds from other private sector and donor sources are encouraged
- Demonstrate clearly whether and how many new jobs will be created
- Women-owned or -managed business is a plus
Application
- All applicants must submit a completed proposal template in English or French. All applicants are required to use the linked application template (provided on the USADF website: www.usadf.gov/apply).
- The completed application template along with the required documentation should be submitted by email on or before September 30, 2022, to the following email addresses respectively:
| Country | |
| EntrepreneurshipBEN@usadf.gov | Benin |
| EntrepreneurshipBFA@usadf.gov | Burkina Faso |
| EntrepreneurshipBDI@usadf.gov | Burundi |
| EntrepreneurshipCIV@usadf.gov | Cote d’Ivoire |
| EntrepreneurshipDRC@usadf.gov | Democratic Republic of Congo |
| EntrepreneurshipKEN@usadf.gov | Kenya |
| EntrepreneurshipLBR@usadf.gov | Liberia |
| EntrepreneurshipMWI@usadf.gov | Malawi |
| EntrepreneurshipMRT@usadf.gov | Mauritania |
| EntrepreneurshipNER@usadf.gov | Niger |
| EntrepreneurshipNGA@usadf.gov | Nigeria |
| EntrepreneurshipRWA@usadf.gov | Rwanda |
| EntrepreneurshipSEN@usadf.gov | Senegal |
| EntrepreneurshipSOM@usadf.gov | Somalia |
| EntrepreneurshipSSD@usadf.gov | South Sudan |
| EntrepreneurshipTZA@usadf.gov | Tanzania |
| EntrepreneurshipUGA@usadf.gov | Uganda |
| EntrepreneurshipZMB@usadf.gov | Zambia |
- Proposals will only be accepted at the above email addresses for each respective country.
- General inquiries can be directed to Entrepreneurship@usadf.gov and will not be accepted at other email addresses.
Visit USADF for further details
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