ELIGIBILITY:

Companies must have at least one African founder, be for-profit, post-revenue, be revenue-generating for five years or less, be operational in sub-Saharan Africa, and address issues in financial inclusion or agriculture as described above. To win a grant award, participants must be able to travel to San Francisco (with costs covered by FINCA) to present in front of a panel of judges and attend the awards ceremony and reception.

There is no cost to participate in the competition. For applicants invited to pitch at the events in San Francisco, FINCA will arrange for and cover the costs of travel.

Applicants must create an account and answer all the questions posed in this application form available at https://fincaventures.awardsplatform.com/. Submissions must be complete before the competition deadline.

The entries will be judged according to the following criteria:

Strength of Entrepreneur & Team

Innovativeness of Solution

Social & Environmental Impact

Market Traction and Financial Sustainability

Strategy for Growth

BENEFIT:

In each category, the grand prize winner will receive a grant award of $100,000. The second and third place finalists will receive grant awards of $60,000 and $40,000, respectively.