Are you running a tech startup and want to transform the agriculture and food tech industry in Africa? Do you have a tech solution that makes the industry more sustainable and profitable while at the same time empowering value chain actors? Do you want support in raising investment, reaching more customers, and having a significant impact?
SAIS Investment Readiness is a Pan-African program for African tech startups from the agriculture, food sector, and climate sectors (specifically including the livestock sector, that want to scale their business). The Investment Readiness Program (IRP) aims to improve investor readiness so that the startups supported can raise more capital to reach more customers and achieve greater impact.
The IRP is offered by “Scaling digital Agriculture Innovations through Startup (SAIS)”, a project implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). It is co-funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Our overall goal at SAIS is to increase incomes in the African agri-food sector through scaling proven digital innovations.
For 2025, up to 20 startups will be selected to participate in our yearlong Programme. Since 2019, SAIS has accelerated more than 46 outstanding FoodTech and AgTech startups
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for the programme, your company must meet the following minimum requirements:
- Be registered in Africa
- Be for-profit
- Have a minimum viable product
- Have a digital or tech-enabled solution for the agriculture, food or livestock value chain
- Have a management team of at least two people
- Have evidence of traction (paying customers, first revenue)
- Contribute to climate change adaptation, income generation and/or food & nutrition security
Offered Benefits
Selected start-ups receive services worth up to 35,000 EUR including:
- Mentorship and coaching with local and international experts tailored to your specific needs to develop and implement strategies for rapid growth.
- Additional services & technical resources to optimise certain key areas of your business, e.g. legal advice, online marketing, digital product optimization, design, and coding.
- Individual trainings, e.g. pitch training, growth strategy, data analytics & management, term sheet, valuation, market analysis, marketing & sales.
- Investment and partnership facilitation, e.g. guidance on fundraising strategy, preparation of fundraising rounds, support for due-diligence processes, introduction to investors & funds.
- Networking and showcasing opportunities at two in-person community events scheduled back-to-back with the Africa Tech Summit in Nairobi, and one additional sector conference (travel costs for one representative from each start-up are covered by the programme).
- Community exchanges and peer-learning, e.g. virtual group trainings and workshops, company visits, deal rooms, topical exchanges and inputs from external speakers and guests.
Add-ons on an as-needed basis:
- Programme for Female Leaders: networking, peer-to-peer learning and increased visibility for female founders and women in leading positions.
- Cash2Start-ups: access to working capital loans of up to 50,000 EUR for up to 9 months, designed to support your growth.
- Digital Agency Support: targeted technical assistance to start-ups to work on their digital components and become more data driven.
