September 2021

Coming hard on the heels of the USD 2.5 million investment in Pura Organic Agro Tech Ltd, the Yield Uganda Investment Fund that’s managed by ANDE member Pearl Capital Partners (PCP) has made yet another investment into the Ugandan agriculture sector – AMFRI Farms Limited. The 1.3m Euros investment marks the ninth investment by the Yield Fund. “AMFRI Farms goes through a painstaking exercise to ensure that there is complete traceability for its exports, right down to the trained farmers. This is the ethos of the Yield Fund and a great example of how to modernize Uganda’s agriculture,” said PCP’s Managing Partner Dr. Edward Isingoma. The investment provides AMFRI Farms with long-term “patient capital” capital to expand their production.

Further north - Ethiopia just celebrated the first day of 2014. This year’s festivities have however been dampened by the conflict and related economic woes. According to Reuters, the annual inflation stood at 26.4% in July. The rate has been above or close to 20% since the beginning of the year. Nonetheless, there have been notable changes in the investment landscape. We have witnessed successful reforms in the telecom, logistics, and energy sectors, which provides the second most populous country in Africa the transformative opportunity to unleash further growth.

And in Kenya - the recently published Kenya National Bureau of Statistics 2021 Economic Survey reveals a slump in the Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which was estimated to have contracted by 0.3% in 2020 compared to a revised growth of 5% in 2019. The fall was a result of a meltdown in economic activities due to measures instituted by the government to curb the spread of COVID-19.

And in case you missed it, the ANDE West Africa, South Africa and East Africa Chapters, with the support from Argidius Foundation held a dialogue on 31st August 2021 on regional advocacy approaches for SGBs themed Making the Case for SGBs Advocacy in Africa.  The convening brought together diverse advocacy experts from ANDE members and practitioners who shared experiences and strategies to create a more resilient environment for SGBs. The video recording is available to members who are logged on to the ANDE website.

ANDE Opportunities

Extended Deadline - Gender-Smart Investing Capacity Building Facility
Deadline: September 30th 2021
In partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the ANDE Gender-Smart Investing Capacity Building Facility will award five grants of up to $30,000 for gender-smart capacity building services to investors who will be supporting 1-3 SGBs operating in qualified geographies. ANDE has recently updated the application requirements and extended the deadline. Applications are no longer restricted to pre-investments and investors are not required to identify target beneficiary SGB(s) at the time of application. Interested applicants must submit an expression of interest by September 30, 2021.

SGB Evidence Fund: Call for Proposals
Deadline: 1 November 2021
The Small and Growing Business (SGB) Evidence Fund is a joint effort of ANDE and the International Growth Centre (IGC) to support collaborations between researchers and practitioners to understand the most effective ways to support SGBs and the economic and social impacts of SGB growth. The fourth call for proposals is open through November 1. Interested researchers and practitioners should read the one-pager and reference other resources, including guidelines, templates, FAQs, and a recording of the informational webinar.

ANDE Resources

Rural South and Southeast Mexico Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Snapshots
Mexico is a rapidly growing economy, ranked as the second largest in Latin America. This study includes the states of Campeche, Chiapas, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Puebla, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Veracruz and Yucatán. Read the report to learn more about the gaps in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, create connections with other actors, and use it as a tool to connect and collaborate with other players. 

Climate and Environmental Entrepreneurship in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is one of the fastest-growing regions in the world, with a total GDP of over USD 2.7 trillion. However, its progress is threatened by the increasingly adverse impacts of climate change. Entrepreneurship has a leading role in developing solutions to both mitigate and adapt to climate change. This report evaluates the current support ecosystem for climate and environmental entrepreneurs in six developing Southeast Asian countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Sector Opportunities

Youth Ecopreneurship Awards | International Trade Center
Deadline: 15 September 2021
ITC’s Youth Ecopreneur Awards are officially launched! This competition targets young entrepreneurs from least developed and developing economies who are making a positive impact in: waste, water and energy. Apply or nominate a young Ecopreneur for this opportunity to win USD 5,000 and propel a business forward! 

Request for Proposals: Financing Africa’s Top 100 Tree Restoration Enterprises and Projects | World Resources Institute
Deadline: 23 September 2021
Africa has pledged to begin restoring 100 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 through the AFR100 Initiative. Hundreds of local innovators are now pioneering project and business models that show that restoration can create a prosperous, net-zero-emissions future for Africa. But they need funding. That is why funders are looking to finance the top 100 non-profit community organizations and for-profit businesses that are restoring land by planting and growing trees. Early-stage for-profit businesses or non-profit organizations working in any of the 31 AFR100 countries can apply for $50,000-150,000 USD. Established organizations can apply for $250,000-$500,000 USD. After a two-stage application process through TerraMatch, the initial cohort of the top 100 will be announced in November 2021. Expressions of interest for the first round are open until September 23. Please read the full request for proposals to learn about the key dates and eligibility criteria. The selected projects and businesses will start receiving funds in early 2022.

B Leaders Training Program | B Lab Africa
Deadline: 27 September 2021
B Leaders is a training program designed by B Lab Africa to equip sustainability professionals with the tools and knowledge to guide businesses through the B Impact Assessment, which is a credible tool that companies can use to measure and improve their impact on workers, customers, community and the environment. This program is suitable for internal leaders (employees in management, HR, training, development, quality, audit functions) and external leaders (consultants and advisors). Participants complete a 4-week online training after which they join a community of consultants who empower businesses to improve their social and environmental impact and become ready for B Corp Certification.

Global Startup Awards
Deadline: 30 September 2021
The Global Startup Awards is the largest independent startup ecosystem competition with the mission to find, recognize and connect the future-shapers of the digital age from all around the world. For the first time ever, innovators from all 55 African countries have the chance to showcase their solutions and participate in the movement. GSA Africa aims to connect the best of African tech startups to a global network of leading investors and innovation ecosystems.

WE4F East Africa Looking for Business Service Providers | WE4F
Deadline: 6 October 2021
WE4F invites eligible service providers to respond to WE4F’s Call for Expressions of Interest (EOI) to become part of the pool of pre-vetted service providers to deliver technical assistance. As TA needs are identified, requests for proposals (RFPs) and requests for quotation (RFQs) will be issued to pre-vetted service providers in their respective TA category areas. All subcontracts resulting from limited competition among pre-vetted service providers will be issued by GIZ. Service Providers who may be considered are licensed businesses, companies, firms, associations, universities, NGOs or individual consultants with technical expertise and a proven track record in at least one of the seven countries (Rwanda, Somalia, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Malawi).

O-Farms Accelerator program | E4IMPACT
Deadline: 10 October 2021
O-Farms, an African SME accelerator led by Bopinc and Village Capital, is focused on accelerating the next generation of innovative circular agribusinesses in Ethiopia and Kenya. Are you an enterprise that is tackling food losses or adds value to the by-products generated in food production or processing back into the food system? Apply to join the accelerator program.

Survive to Thrive | African Management Institute
Survive to Thrive is a practical business growth programme focused on equipping business leaders with the tools to immediately address challenges and seize on opportunities. Over this 6-month journey, entrepreneurs will build a more resilient business through improved business practices, a more engaged team, and clear growth goals.

Sector Events

South Africa Innovation Summit | SAIS
21-23 September 2021
Africa’s top entrepreneurs, innovators, thought-leaders, policymakers, inventors, and investors will converge to the picturesque City of Cape Town to witness the very best of African innovation. Themed Expanding Horizons, the summit will tap into the international success stories and country conditions that make for attractive entrepreneurial growth and go across the continent to find the most amazing tech and tech-enabled start-ups that are solving Africa’s problems.

Free Course for Managing Impact on the SDGs | CASE at Duke
28 September from 10am PT / 1pm ET
The United Nations Development Program and CASE at Duke have released a free online training for global enterprises and investors on impact measurement and management for the SDGs. This training seeks to help businesses and investors manage their impacts on people and planet and close the multi-trillion dollar funding gap in achieving the SDGs. 

Fostering Systemic Change for Adolescent Girls’ Education | FCDO and USAID
6 October 2021 | 9:30am [GMT-4]
Join a roundtable with leaders from FCDO and USAID to discuss how both agencies, their delivery partners, and partner governments are fostering systemic change for gender equality in education, with a focus on adolescent girls. The discussion brings together FCDO and USAID leaders in gender equality and education, adolescent girls, national government representatives, and delivery partners. It will demonstrate how sustainable partnerships can maximize global efforts to build back better in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, support systemic change so that more girls can stay in school, be safe and learn, and open up a deeper dialogue about inclusive education.

Beyond the Known - Online Conference
26-28 October 2021 from 10h to 13h, CET
The ILO, BMZ/GIZ, EBRD, IFC, Swisscontact and Argidius Foundation invite you to the second edition of the Beyond the Known conference. The online conference aims at bringing together a diverse range of practitioners in the field of entrepreneurship and MSME promotion to foster a global community of practice and to facilitate exchange and peer learning on the latest developments and on the effective solutions that are being piloted in this domain. Participation is free but registration is required to ensure access to the event platform.

Sector Resources

Catalyzing Equality: Latin America and the Caribbean Gender Lens Investing Landscape Report| Value for Women
Value for Women has launched a landscape report on Gender Lens Investing in Latin America and the Caribbean, developed in collaboration and with the support of UN Women’s Win-Win Program. This report showcases the findings of a rapid scoping study to capture the state-of-the-field of investing with a gender lens across 9 countries in the region. It shows ecosystem actors how to progress from the why to the how through real examples from a study engaging Gender Lens Investing (GLI) first movers and other VC/PE funds on their GLI journey. The report is available in English and Spanish.

What We Are Listening To

Catalyzing Equality: Latin America and the Caribbean Gender Lens Investing Landscape Report| Value for Women
Value for Women has launched a landscape report on Gender Lens Investing in Latin America and the Caribbean, developed in collaboration and with the support of UN Women’s Win-Win Program. This report showcases the findings of a rapid scoping study to capture the state-of-the-field of investing with a gender lens across 9 countries in the region. It shows ecosystem actors how to progress from the why to the how through real examples from a study engaging Gender Lens Investing (GLI) first movers and other VC/PE funds on their GLI journey. The report is available in English and Spanish.

Career Opportunities

Innovative Finance Lead | Clean Cooking Alliance | Global
Global Monitoring & Evaluation and Operations Manager | Amani Institute | Global