Water and Energy for Food (WE4F) East Africa Innovation Call
CALL SUMMARY: WE4F is looking for promising and innovative businesses working at the nexus of water, energy and food in East Africa. This call for applications is an incredible opportunity for water-energy-food businesses which are looking to scale, so as to increase their impact in the areas of food security, gender and poverty reduction in an environmentally sustainable way.
👉🏿The best candidates will demonstrate direct/indirect positive impact to the smallholder farmers, the environment, women, and youth
#⚠️The deadline for submission is 15 June 2021 at 11:59 PM EAT
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ABOUT THE WE4F EAST AFRICA HUB
Water and Energy for Food (WE4F) works closely with the private sector to scale up climate-friendly, energy and/or water-efficient innovations. The overall goal is to increase the sustainability of agricultural food value chains and address environmental and climate resilience in developing countries and emerging markets – with a particular focus on the poor and women.
Innovations may include technologies (such as weather forecast apps, solar cooling technologies, hydroponic farming approaches), business and finance models (such as pay-as-you-go models for solar pumping, leasing models for e-motorbikes in rural areas), and new modes of cooperation (e.g. sharing economy model, which favours access to technologies and services over ownership).
The objectives of the hub include:
- Supporting the distribution of innovations (solar technologies, apps, e-mobility, etc.)
- Strengthening entrepreneurial capacities
- Informing end-users and multipliers about innovations
- Improving access to financing for innovators and end-users
- Improving political conditions for innovations
- Accelerating the exchange of experiences on the local, regional and global level
WE4F is looking for promising and innovative businesses working at the nexus of water, energy and food in East Africa. This call for applications is an incredible opportunity for water-energy-food businesses which are looking to scale, so as to increase their impact in the areas of food security, gender and poverty reduction in an environmentally sustainable way.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
WE4F is looking for innovative Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) who are addressing the water-energy-food nexus in East Africa. The enterprises must offer solutions that increase sustainable food production, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and / or reduce water and energy intensity of the food chain, while increasing income for smallholder farmers, women and youth.
The enterprises should also meet the following minimum criteria:
1) GEOGRAPHY
Entrepreneurs must be legally incorporated as a for-profit company in one of these 7 East African countries:
2) AGE
Businesses must be operational for at least 18 months.
3) SIZE
We’re looking for established enterprises with annual revenue of €50,000 to €500,000 equivalent – not at pilot or prototype stages. Applicants should also have a well-established team of between 5 to 200 employees.
4) AMBITION
Applicants must have an established current customer base with ambitions to scale to new geographies, products, customer segments, and/or increase annual turnover. They should be seeking debt, equity, or blended finance investments to scale the business.
5) IMPACT
The best candidates will demonstrate direct/indirect positive impact to the smallholder farmers, the environment, women, and youth.
Please Note:
- The programme specifically encourages applications from women-owned and/or women-led enterprises.
- Applications responses must be written in English.
- Enterprises should be open and willing to demonstrate at least 20% matching funds (either by cash or in-kind contributions) to the overall award if selected.
- Government entities, non-profit organizations, academic and research institutions, and individuals are not eligible to apply.
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