Apply For African Entrepreneurship Award Worth 1m

How does the African Entrepreneurship Award work?

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The African Entrepreneurship Award offers $1 million to all eligible African entrepreneurs with an exisiting business or just an idea for one. The Award Journey is made up of 4 rounds of mentoring and starts by you taking a few minutes to submit an idea for Round 1. Once you hit the submit button, you begin a journey with real entrepreneurs who have been where you are today.

You may be asking yourself this whole time why you would be submitting your golden idea to the African Entrepreneurship Award. What are you getting out of this? We are not seeking to capitalize on ideas. Rather, we seek out the best ideas from all over Africa and empower you to plan, launch and scale your business. We will finance and help build your idea into a sustainable business that employs people, improves your economy, and impacts lives in Africa.

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Round 1

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Business ideas most needed in the region

When you start the journey, we will ask you questions about your business idea to get to know you and your idea’s relevance to the region. Once you submit your idea, our community of Regional Mentors will provide specific feedback directly to you via the website on your idea’s potential to impact your region.

During Round 1, you must convince the Regional Mentors that you understand the needs in your region and that your idea meets those needs.

We will share the Regional Mentors’ overall ranking of your idea with you at the end of Round 1 (before opening of Round 2). If your idea ranks in the top of “Most Needed in Your Region,” we will notify you that you are progressing to Round 2, “Most Likely to Succeed Across Africa.”

Round 2

Business ideas most likely to succeed across Africa

In Round 2 of your journey, we will ask you more questions about your business’s customers, competition, and scalability across Africa. Pan-African Mentors who are business leaders will give you feedback to enable your business proposal to succeed across Africa, equipping you to be successful on a broader scale.

During Round 2, you must convince the Pan-African Mentors that you know your potential customers’ needs; that you are able to communicate the idea; that you are well aware of your competition; and that you can visualize or explain the idea through visual or auditory means e.g.) a video, graphic, presentation, sound file, etc.

We will share the Pan-African Mentors’ overall ranking of your idea with you at the end of Round 2. If your idea ranks in the top of “Most Likely to Succeed across Africa,” we will notify you that you are progressing to Round 3, “Most Significant and Sustainable in Africa.”

Round 3

Business Ideas most significant & sustainable in Africa

In Round 3 of your journey, we will ask you more questions about the financial projections of your business, your leadership team, your advisors, and your barriers to success in Africa. Global Mentors who are experienced entrepreneurs and venture capitalists from countries all over the world will further guide you on your journey. Through mentorship and one-on-one dialogue, they will give you feedback to enable your business proposal to be more significant and sustainable.

During Round 3, you must convince the Global Mentors that you understand the risks you are facing including: leadership gaps, advisor needs, political barriers, customer constraints, and financial risks. During Round 3, Global Mentors will coach you privately via the website on how to improve your Executive Summary, which is a fantastic tool reusable in all of your future funding efforts and pitches.

We will share the Global Mentors’ overall ranking of your idea with you at the end of Round 3. If your idea ranks in the top of “Most Significant and Sustainable in Africa,” we will notify you that you are progressing to the Final Round, Presidential Jury. (NOTE: We will confirm Presidential Jury Round participation after an onsite visit by an African Entrepreneurship Award team member.)

Presidential Round

Business Ideas with most plausible and probable impact

The Presidential Jury is comprised of distinguished business leaders and entrepreneurs who have created and/or scaled businesses on five continents. Entrepreneurs who make it to the Presidential Round will present live to the Presidential Jury in Morocco, with travel and local housing sponsored by the Award. If they are unable to travel, they are still eligible to win and will be offered a time to present live via a video session to the Presidential Jury in Morocco.

Finalists will present their business idea and take live questions in a private setting in Morocco. Before presenting, finalists will be offered individual, live coaching by African and Global Boot Camp Coaches in order to be sufficiently prepared several days before their live presentation to the Jury. Finalists will be notified early enough so travel and visa plans can be made.

If your idea is one of the Final Winners, you will continue your journey of mentoring with a customized post-award plan designed to help you plan, launch, and scale your business.

Eligibility

You, the entrepreneur, must meet the following criteria as you submit your business proposal:

• You must be a citizen of an African country.
• You must be a minimum of 18 years old as of October 1, 2017.
• Your business must be applicable in an African country.
• Your business proposal must include a technological component (digital, machinery, computers, ICT, automated processes, field related technologies, etc.).
• Your business must be for profit.
• Your business idea must include a social impact. You need to articulate the problem that you are trying to solve as well as the solution that you propose to offer.
• Your business must be relevant to one of these categories:
• Education – positively impact education in Africa
• Environment – positively impact the environment in Africa
• Uncharted – a high-impact business venturing into unexplored territory or untested markets

Additional Eligibility Information

• You can submit a proposal as a resident of any country worldwide – keeping in mind that you must be a citizen of an African country.
• For example, a resident of the United Arab Emirates with Egyptian citizenship is eligible for this Award.
• Your business can operate in any African country even if you are not a citizen of that country.
• For example, a Ghanaian citizen can submit a proposal for a business in Liberia.
• You can submit a proposal for a business already in operation.
• Your business can operate across borders in multiple African countries.
• Your business should demonstrate the potential to scale beyond one region in Africa to pan-African impact.
• You can operate in multiple countries, but you will be asked to designate a primary community in Africa that will benefit or be impacted by your business 
• To Apply Click HERE