African science-oriented startups have a new fund to pitch to. The Next Einstein Forum (NEF) and Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) have partnered to hold a NEF investor Meetup which will offer African social entrepreneurs an opportunity to win $125 000 across five categories.
CcHub said in a statement last month that the objective of the meetup — which will be held in Nairobi, Kenya before the NEF Global Gathering in March — is to help prepare exceptional African science startups for investors.
Applications for the NEF Investor Meetup close on this Friday (20 December)
The sessions will take the form of a bootcamp, after which participating scientists will gain knowledge of how they are delivering value, through their solution, to end-users.
In addition, they will have an understanding of funding options, valuations and how to tell a compelling story when pitching their solution to investors.
Applications for the NEF Investor Meetup close this Friday (20 December), with shortlisting of finalists set to take place between 20 December and 27 January.
Final selection of participants will take place on 27 and 28 January.
Applications are open to early-stage companies and scientists that are interested in commercialising their solutions and are available to travel from 5 March to 13 March.
Applicants must be no older than 42 years old by the end of 2019, be conversant in English or French, hold a passport from an African country, or be of African descent and living on the continent.
CcHub and NEF are looking for science startups with proven or tested ideas or solutions that fall under the five categories of the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) “High 5’s”. These are:
- Integrate Africa
- Light up and power Africa
- Feed Africa
- Industrialise Africa
- Integrate and improve the quality of life for the people of Africa
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To be considered for the meetup, scientists are expected to have adequately researched the problem they are looking to solve and have a clear picture of the target segment it affects.
In addition, the solutions must either improve on an existing process or be completely new in Africa.
Matching with investors
Participants of the investor meetup stand a chance to win $25 000 per AfDB High 5’s category.
In addition, the startups will also be matched with investors for a chance to raise funding.
Those selected to attend the meetup will receive a free ticket and accommodation to attend the NEF Global Gathering.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world