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Millionaires Academy has put together a list of organizations which are willing to give money to young entrepreneurs and what to do to get the grants:
1. Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP)
The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme is the flagship entrepreneurship programme of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, founded by the entrepreneur, respected investor and philanthropist Tony O. Elumelu.
The $100 million programme is pen to citizens and legal residents of all 54 African countries. People with a business that is less than three years old or have a new business idea can apply. It is currently closed and the TEF 2017 selection announcement will be made in 15 days.
2. Seedstars Africa
In 2015, Seedstars awarded $6.8 million in total to emerging market startups in the Seedstars World Best Startup competition.
Seedstars World has partnered with VC4Africa for all applications coming from Africa and recently they invested $330,000 in SimplePay a young Nigerian company.
To apply for 2017, visit the Seedstars website.
3. Acumen Fund
Acumen is a non-profit global venture fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of poverty. Acumen has invested in Paga in Nigeria and other companies in West Africa.
Acumen and the Lundin Foundation also recently announced a $1.5 million aggregate equity and debt investment in Esoko Networks Limited (“Esoko”), a Ghanaian-built technology platform.
You can apply for them to invest in your business on the investments page of their website.
4. Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund
AECF uses a Challenge Fund model where funding is awarded through competitions. You can apply through their websites.
Only private sector companies are eligible to submit their innovative business ideas, and have to comply with the eligibility and selection criteria of the each competition.
The best ideas could be awarded up to US$1.5 million in grants or repayable grants. While each competition is different, all competitions seek business ideas that are judged on their commercial viability, innovation, and potential development impact of their projects.
5. African Development Foundation
The principal aim of the African Development Foundation (ADF)’s grants is to enable grassroots groups in Africa to generate increased income through productive enterprises that expand the overall economic production capacity and increase the economic security of their families and communities.
ADF provides small grants of US$250,000 or less to private and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Africa.You can apply for grants on the website of the foundation.
6. African Women’s Development Foundation
The AWDF’s Main Grants Programme supports local, national, sub-regional and regional organizations from across the continent working towards women’s empowerment. The AWDF makes grants for work related to any of our six thematic areas.
Grants can be given to support and strengthen of organisations through strategic planning, governance systems and fundraising and communication strategies.
In order to streamline their application process, AWDF is currently accepting proposals online. Download and read guidelines on the website to apply.
7. Agri-vie
The Agri-Vie Fund I is an agri-business fund. The fund’s geographical scope is Sub-Saharan Africa and the investments are made in the whole value chain of the agricultural, forestry and aquaculture sectors.
The fund’s main investment focus is on the value added components of the agricultural value chain involving processing, distribution, marketing and branding as well as services. While the Fund has some exposure to early stage businesses, its main focus is on later stage investments where capital is allocated to the development and expansion of existing ventures.
8. eVA Fund
eVA Fund was launched in January 2010 by Vincent Kouwenhoven and Brian Hirman. The fund is dedicated to mobilize capital and experience in the Netherlands/Europe to invest in small and medium sized African internet related companies.
eVA Fund focusses on development in terms of capital and business development support, i.e. knowledge, experience, access to proven business concepts/applications, and network. The target region is sub-Saharan Africa. You can check out the overview of their investment criteria on the website.
Source- Naij
