PAN-AFRICAN | Make-IT in Africa: Newsletter jUne, JUly/August 2020: Focus Ecosystem Collaboration

“It takes a village to raise a child – and it takes an ecosystem to raise a start-up”: This is the motto of Make-IT in Africa. In order to strengthen ecosystems, Make-IT works with different players in each of our five partner countries: such as political partners, ministries or innovation hubs. The goal: to promote knowledge exchange, offer capacity building for organisations, and promote multi-stakeholder dialogue.

Our newsletter this summer dives deep into the exciting progress made in nurturing business ecosystems – particularly for the digital and high-tech sectors.

Read more and subscribe!

Capacity Development for Agtech Start-ups - open call for applications

The new initiative Digital4Agriculture offers a unique training program that could be the next step for start-ups to level up and get platform-ready. We are looking for AgTech Start-ups that are keen to integrate their product or service onto a digital platform and want to expand their user base or open new revenue streams for their business.

The Robust and Sustainable Startup (RSS) Series from Make-IT in Africa in Ghana provides start-ups and small businesses with the expertise they need – not just to survive, but to succeed when faced with the challenges of a global pandemic. Starting at the end of June 2020, the webinar series will give participants an edge in a constantly changing Environment.

Register now for the last two webinars on Marketing and Business Model Design!

#Africa4Future Showcasing Event: Join Airbus Bizlab, GIZ and CcHUB on June 11, 2020

On Thursday, June 11th, 2020, the virtual showcase of the third edition of the Africa4Future will unveil 10 newest African companies from the programme using remote sensing technology (satellite imagery) to address the food insecurity and infrastructure deficit challenges across the continent. The online Event, will bring together investors, corporate executives and stakeholders from all around the world. .

Request an invite and be part of Africa4Future Showcase 2020 and learn more about the startups:https://www.airbus.com/newsroom/stories/Africa-4-Future-2020.html

Tech by Her Accelerator Programme: MEST and Make-IT in Africa announce 2020 Cohort

We are pleased to announce the first cohort of the Tech By Her accelerator program. The initiative, which was launched earlier this year, called for female technology founders in Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya to apply for one of the ten (10) slots available for a 3-month intensive accelerator program for technology-based start-ups. It was organised by MEST - in cooperation with Make-IT in Africa.

Investors have been hearing good things about Ghana and Nigeria for some time now. It’s no wonder: the region has seen a remarkable rise in entrepreneurs creating innovations to tackle big challenges. So it was high time to bring investors and innovators together with targeted matchmaking, networking, and partnership building. The result: Deep Dive Africa organised a seven-day Deep Dive Tour of the region from 27th November 2019 to 4th December 2019.

Read more about the tour in the news section.

How Make-IT is linking African start-ups with investors - a best practice from Ghana.

Each country in which Make-IT in Africa is active provides a wide range of support to their start-up ecosystems. An important part of these activities is the publication of an investment guide, which supplies tech entrepreneurs with the information they need to navigate their local investment landscape. It represents a cornerstone for the success of these young enterprises, together with direct training.

The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Investment Ghana was published in December 2019.

The Ghana Hubs Network (GHN) Annual Gathering (AG) is an opportunity for key stakeholders in Ghana’s entrepreneurship ecosystem to meet, network and build professional relationships that will enable the GHN to operate more effectively. Supported by Make-IT in Africa it took place in Accra from 13^th to 14^th December 2019.

Together with Impact Hub Accra we are excited to introduce to you the Deep Dive Investor Tour. The main goal is to foster lasting relationships between West African Startups and European investors and potentially generate capital flows to the entrepreneurship ecosystem of Africa.

Make-IT in Africa, in cooperation with GreenTec Capital Partners, will introduce this training content in a one-day session in Accra.

The course is aimed at start-up enablers (e.g. innovation hubs or other entrepreneurship intermediaries) to enhance the value these practitioners can provide on the ground. It seeks to enable practitioners to better carry out capacity building with tech entrepreneurs who need to improve their investment readiness to meet the Due Diligence requirements of their present or future financing partners.

State Secretary Dr. Mark Speich and his delegation joined a roundtable discussion with represantatives from several Startups from Ghana, Make-IT in Africa, the German Industry and Commerce (AHK) and the German Embassy.

For the first time, the World Summit Awards (WSA) held its Innovation Days in Accra. From November 3-7, a renowned international Grand Jury out of more than hundred shortlisted nominations selected the world’s 40 most important digital innovation with a high social impact. The WSA Grand Jury Meeting was hosted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and supported by “Make-IT in Africa”.