The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Youth Economic Initiatives Support Fund (FAIEJ) have announced a call for applications in Lomé for the selection of Startups, Micro-enterprises, and Incubators. The competition runs from August 26 to September 15, 2021, as part of the Togolese Facility for Acceleration and Innovation (FTAI) project.

According to the FAIEJ, the startups and micro-enterprises that are chosen as a result of this competition will be financed based on the proposed innovation.

Incubators will be in charge of assisting selected entrepreneurs with the design, maturation, and launch of their creative products, with the goal of nurturing their emergence, growth, and connection to the national innovation ecosystem.

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This competition follows the one for SMEs, in which 10 companies will be chosen to receive financial assistance of up to 20 million FCFA.

Note that the FTAI is a UNDP-Togo program aimed at assisting the development of entrepreneurial ventures with a strong innovative component in Togo. It comprises of a risk-absorption mechanism related to the launch of an innovation that provides enterprises with direct structured support for a period of 12 months.

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The FTAI, as a reminder, has a budget of 265 million FCFA per year.

Conditions To Qualify For The Fund

To be considered for the fund, the startup founder must: 

• Be a Togolese between the ages of 18 and 40 on the day you submit your application;

• Have a registered business in Togo in one of the following economic sectors: processing, services, ICT, agriculture, and livestock;

• Have at least three years of experience in Togo; 

• Prove a yearly turnover of between 30 million and 1 billion FCFA; 

• Have a product or service on the market that can replace imported goods;

• Present a bankable project via a business plan;

• Propose an innovation either in: the manufacture of its products, goods or services; production methods (processes); opening up to new markets (outlets); the renewal of raw materials (sources of supply); the organization of work; etc.

How To Apply 

Interested startups based in Togo can know more here. 

FTAI UNDP startups Togo FTAI UNDP startups Togo

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Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer