In case you missed it – Uncap, a funding platform seeking to revolutionize access to early-stage funding in Africa, recently launched what they call “Innovative Funding and Growth Platform to Give Local Early Stage Founders Access to Unbiased and Remote Capital.” Their main mission is to make early-stage funding accessible to every good entrepreneur in sub-Saharan Africa. Uncap uses a remote and data-driven investment model that caters for existing startups in need of capital of between 10,000 and 50,000 USD. Find out more in their press release. And in other news… ANDE East Africa Welcomes New Steering Committee Members
ANDE East Africa chapter is delighted to announce that Mary Mwangi, Programme Manager at Argidius Foundation, is the newly elected Chairperson. We are also pleased to welcome three new Steering Committee Members including: The Associate Vice President at Intellecap Arielle Molino, the Managing Director at Solidaridad East, Central and Southern Africa Rachel Wanyoike, and the Regional Manager East Africa at Shell Foundation Wanji Ng’ang’a. We look forward to working with them in continuing to strengthen the impact of the chapter in the region. Learn more about the chapter and the steering committee.
ANDE Africa Advocacy Convening
31 August 2021 | 12:00 PM WAT/1:00 PM SAST/2:00 PM EAT
ANDE West, South and East Africa Chapters, with support from Argidius Foundation, cordially invite ANDE Members to a dialogue on advocacy approaches for the SGB sector in Africa. The convening will bring together diverse ANDE members to share experiences on effective advocacy approaches and strategies to facilitate and promote the development of resilient ecosystems for SGBs to thrive. Register now.
ANDE Annual Conference
28 - 30 September 2021
Have you registered for our flagship Annual Conference yet? As always, the agenda will be highly interactive and feature workshops, showcase presentations, speed networking, and more. Any number of colleagues from ANDE member organizations are welcome to attend. Members should log into the website to register or request a login. Please contact us if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you!
ANDE Annual Conference 2021 Scholarships
Deadline: 25 August 2021
Qualifying ANDE members have three opportunities to apply for ANDE Annual Conference 2021 Scholarships. ANDE's Annual Conference features workshops on solutions to common challenges, networking sessions, and plenaries with leading thinkers in the SGB space. Read more and apply for scholarships here.
ANDE Career Opportunities
Pitch Forum: Commonwealth Business Women Network (Kenya) | CBWN
25 August 2021
Originally established by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth Business Council in 2002, CBWN is now an accredited organization and Community Interest Company directly recognized by 54 governments across six continents committed to advancing UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 and the Commonwealth Charter. CBWN is focused on encouraging, enabling and embedding women in leadership and women’s economic empowerment through work in Talent, Training and Trade. Register now for the pitch forum. Agribusiness Deal Room 2021 | AGRF
7-10 September 2021
The African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) will be held virtually this year (in-person attendance will be limited). The theme of this year's event is "Investing in resilience and sustainable food in Africa ". The Forum brings together over 2,500 stakeholders in the agricultural landscape and enables them to take practical actions and share lessons that will move African agriculture forward. If you are an SME or entrepreneur looking for investors and meet the criteria here, please register and submit your profile. We are facilitating an Agribusiness Dealroom that will facilitate matchmaking between enterprises, investors and other stakeholders. Annual Fintech Conference | FITSPA
8 September 2021
The theme of this year’s FITSPA Annual Fintech Conference 2021 is “Building a Safe and Regulated Eco-system.” The conference will include sessions on data privacy, digital disruption, incubating innovations, funding strategies, bigdata, and much more. Learn more and register. Access to Finance for Women Entrepreneurs Symposium | MEDA
15 – 16 September 2021
This virtual symposium builds on the momentum of gender equality and inclusivity for women entrepreneurs and how gender lens financing can accelerate sustainable economies. The symposium will bring together investors, financial institutions, businesses, public and nonprofit representatives from East Africa that facilitate inclusive and sustainable economies around the world with the intention of creating avenue for Small and growing businesses (SGBs) to share their investment experiences with other SGBs and get an opportunity to interact with investors and other stakeholders in the investment industry. Register now. Global Impact Summit 2021 | GSG
6-8 October 2021
Members can contact Kristen Lamke for a 10% discount on registration.
Join colleagues from across the impact movement over three days to work on measures for a just economic recovery and a fairer future for people and the planet. The Summit will explore the best impact initiatives and real-world examples, sharing practical tools and solutions to empower and inspire. Register here. Sankalp Global Summit | Intellecap
12 – 14 October 2021
Register now for the 13th Edition of the Sankalp Global Summit - a chance to collaborate with a global community comprising thousands of stakeholders from every segment of the development ecosystem. SOCAP21 Virtual | SOCAP Global
18-21 October 2021
Members can get 20% off your purchase a SOCAP21 pass by contacting Kristen Lamke.
In planning SOCAP21, the SOCAP team selected broad themes with intention to include more voices and perspectives in every conversation to broaden the perspectives at the table and has invited the SOCAP community to submit content ideas. Let SOCAP know what you’d like to discuss by voting for your favorite session ideas, and vote for ANDE's submission on Climate Metrics for SGBs.
Cente Ya Kikazi (CYK) "A Female Entrepreneur's Wallet" | Finding XY
Cente Ya Kikazi (CYK) improves access to business development support for Women-led Small & Medium Enterprises (WSMEs) in Uganda through training and improved access to finance. CYK is delivered through Entrepreneurship Institute of Africa with support from Finding XY, Village Capital, and Enventure. The training runs for 9 weeks, once a week for 2.5 hours. Participants get to work with experienced facilitators and get mentors to advise them on their growth journey. At the end of the program, the most viable businesses selected from the cohort will receive low interest loans ranging from of Usd 1,000 - 5,000. Apply now. Innovation Support Program | Traction
Deadline: 26 August 2021
Are you an entrepreneur or start-up with innovative product or service in any industry category? Do you need support with prototyping, branding, market-entry strategy? Apply today for the two-stage African Development Bank (AfDB) Innovation Support Program implemented by Traction. Seed Funding for Female Entrepreneurs in the WASH Sector | RISE by Sundara
Deadline: 31 August 2021
RISE by Sundara is looking for its next cohort of fellows. We are scouring the world for the best and brightest female social entrepreneurs working in water, sanitation and hygiene. Each RISE fellow receives seed funding (between $1000 and $5000 per year), a year of mentorship and business training from experts and coaches. Our online application is open until August 31st. Apply now! Social Impact Measurement and Management Online Course | EVPA
This online course by EVPA and Social Value UK is especially designed to support impact investors, foundations, social impact funds and other types of capital providers, in understanding how to measure and manage impact at the portfolio level. The course starts on 14 September 2021. Learn more. The Youth Ecopreneur Awards | ITC
Deadline: 15 September 2021
The Youth Ecopreneur Awards launched on International Youth Day are a green business competition specifically targeted at young entrepreneurs (up to 35 years old) from the least developed and developing economies, whose companies offer solutions to environment related challenges in three categories including renewable energy and energy efficiency, waste reduction and recovery and efficient use of water. The prizes include a financial prize for the three winners (total of USD 15k) as well as technical assistance and coaching by ITC and different partners. Overall, the Awards offer a stage and sounding board for youth to showcase their sustainable and scalable solutions to accelerate the green economic transition. Learn more.
$1 million Ocean Innovation Prize open for Applications | Blue Climate Initiative
Deadline: 15 September 2021
The Blue Climate Initiative has launched a $1M Ocean Innovation Prize alongside the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development in collaboration with the Sustainable Ocean Alliance. The Prize is designed to inspire, fund and support innovations that mitigate climate change through ocean-related strategies. Find out more about eligibility and how to apply.
Join the Global Community of Changemakers in East Africa | Ashoka
The Ashoka Visionary Program is a part-time executive program for decision-makers in the private and the public sector dealing with social innovations as well as social entrepreneurs. It enables participants to gain the skills needed to master both entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial challenges, to generate social impact and access to a global community of changemakers. Learn more and apply!
How can we Transform East African Economies and Societies?
In this episode, Fay Kakai of the Uganda Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Initiative (UEEI) sits down with Joachim Ewechu from Shona to talk about strategic segmenting of African businesses, funding challenges and new initiatives, the power of community and partnerships, as well as an alternative, thought-provoking, way to define success. Listen to this week's episode.
The Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) is a global network of organizations that propel entrepreneurship in developing economies. ANDE members provide critical financial, educational, and business support services to small and growing businesses (SGBs) based on the conviction that SGBs create jobs, stimulate long-term economic growth, and produce environmental and social benefits.
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