African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) Call for MSME-led Digital Solutions

July 29, 2022 new Calls 0

African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) Call for MSME-led Digital Solutions

African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) Call for MSME-led Digital Solutions

Applications are invited from digital-led and trade-related micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) who are seeking technical support and sustainability to submit their applications for the 2022 AUDA-NEPAD Call for MSME-led Digital Solutions. Interested persons should meet all entry requirements stated below.

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About the Call

The African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) in collaboration with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), announces this Call for Digital Solutions for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). This call is part of an MSME support programme within the Economic Integration division of AUDA-NEPAD supported by the GIZ Programme Green Infrastructure Corridor for Intra-Africa Trade (PIDA). The programme is part of AUDA-NEPAD’s umbrella programme 100,000 MSMEs Initiative.

This Call for Digital Solutions is looking for MSMEs that provide digital solutions which support trade and/or green infrastructure. Through this call, we are looking to provide business development support to MSMEs in the green infrastructure and trade sectors. If your business is looking for support to launch or scale a digital solution for green infrastructure and/or trade, please consider applying.

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Benefits

This is not financial support. AUDA-NEPAD will not provide any direct funding to the successful applicants.

The main purpose of this support programme is to empower MSMEs by helping them develop sustainable businesses. As such, we do not give funding directly but rather assist with the preparation of robust business plans, financial models and pitch decks that demonstrate the business case and are aligned to what investors look for. We focus on helping MSMEs develop a more holistic view of their business’s financial trajectory and to understand how to mobilise funding themselves and achieve their business outcomes.

Digital technologies drive innovation, economic growth and job creation across a multiplicity of economic sectors, and foster increased African interconnectivity. Hence, this call for solutions focuses on African businesses offering digital/tech-based solutions to their customers.

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We are looking to select 10 MSMEs to receive tailored technical assistance. Once selected, MSMEs will work closely with our team to design and deliver a customised technical assistance programme which will be carried out in 2023 to support your company’s specific growth needs across three key areas:

Investment readiness support Business-specific advisory Capacity building
  • Business plan development
  • Financial modelling
  • Market research
  • Investor pitch support and coaching
  • Finance mobilisation
  • Contracting / legal support (e.g., off-take agreements)
  • Compliance / quality management (e.g., alignment with industry-specific regulations / standards)
  • B2B matchmaking
  • Regulatory, procurement and trade (e.g., to meet procurement requirements)
  • Digitalisation support (e.g., data centre migration, digitalisation of existing services)
  • Training on business plans
  • Business strategy and development
  • Investor pitch
  • Various topics, based on identified MSME needs

 

Eligibility Criteria

For your application to be considered, your business/project should meet the criteria in the table below;

Youth and Women-led MSMEs are strongly encouraged to apply.

At least be an early-stage business
  • Be registered as a for-profit entity. Applications from Non-profit organisations (NPOs) / non-governmental organisations (NGOs) / non-profit company (NPCs) will not be considered.
  • Must have a team of at least three (3) people.
  • Proof of concept must have been established either by the MSME’s pilot or by similar, pre-existing projects elsewhere.
Your business idea must have a digital / tech focus
  • Digital / tech must be central to the business strategy/value proposition.
You focus on trade and/or green infrastructure        Your digital solution must address at least one of the two below (the digital solution can address both): 

  1. The digital solution must have a demonstrable climate change adaptation (increasing resilience) or mitigation (reducing greenhouse gas emissions) impact; or the digital solution must a beneficial environmental impact (e.g., clearing invasive species, reducing plastic waste, repurposing hazardous waste).
  2. The digital solution must be able to demonstrate its impact on trade and/or trade-related activities esp. across the national borders (within a country is acceptable).
You must be African
  • Be based in (i.e., registered) an African Union Member State.
  • The business must be Africa-focused i.e., it has its largest market (>75% turnover) and employment base (>75% of personnel) in Africa.

 

Application Process

Before you apply, please take note of the following:

  1. All eligible applications will be reviewed. While we endeavour to contact both successful and unsuccessful applicants with the outcome of their applications, we cannot guarantee this. Keep an eye on our social media (and this website) for updates.
  2. Shortlisted applicants will progress to a virtual training session. We expect this training to take place sometime in November 2022. It may take up to 5 consecutive days.
  3. At the end of this training, applicants will be invited to pitch their projects to our internal evaluation committee for final selection. We expect these to take place between late November to early December 2022.
  4. The evaluation committee will select the final applicants that will receive tailored technical assistance. We expect to announce the winners by 16 December 2022.

Please note, that at any point in the above process, we may request that you submit additional information. This may include, but isn’t limited to, providing references of investors and customers and additional information on your financials. The final selection is expected in December 2022. The technical support definition and delivery will occur from January 2023 for a period of between 3 and 12 months depending on each of the selected MSME’s individual requirements.

How to Apply for African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) Call for MSME-led Digital Solutions

Interested applicants should visit the official announcement page here to submit their applications.

Application Deadline

The deadline to apply is 31st August 2022.

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