Cultivate Africa is an event organized by the Africa Union Commission in partnership with Hallpax. Its main objective is to unlock a concerted multi-stakeholder partnership toward a sustained and effective response to potential adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security and nutrition and food systems. Against this backdrop, GIZ and Mercy Corps AgriFin invite to the side session “Scaling AgTech Innovation through Digital Platforms”, which will give insights on how technology innovators in the agriculture sector in Africa can be supported in scale and operational viability by engaging with emerging models of digital platforms in order to maximise impact for smallholder farmers.

As a part of Make-IT Alliance’s commitment to build up international start-up ecosystems, they have teamed up with AsiaBerlin Summit to host the Make-IT Day 2020 on 24 September. This online-only event should be a top priority for anyone interested in getting more deeply involved in the development of start-up ecosystems in emerging economies.
Participation is free and registration is still possible. Register for the Make-IT Day 2020 now!

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.

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#Food Africa Accelerator: Kenyan Women and Youth in Agriculture to Access up to USD 100,000 in Investment

Kenyan youth and women-led agribusinesses have been awarded an opportunity to access USD 100,000 as investment for their companies through the Food Africa accelerator. The accelerator is inviting post revenue level agribusinesses in Kenya to apply for the program in order to meet the growing demand and challenge of food security in the country. This comes at a time where a recent report by the Kenya Food Security 2019 Steering Group revealed that, approximately 1.3 million people in Kenya are currently facing crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity, which has been further exacerbated by Covid-19.

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.

#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.

MLIKA is an effort to support the startup ecosystem in the country and gives a platform for budding entrepreneurs to grow by identifying, recognizing and celebrating their innovative solutions to the various innovation ecosystem stakeholders.

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Make-IT in Africa, Merck and Nest hosted the 8th edition of the#WhatsGood series at Mettā Nairobi. How is data accelerating progress in health care? This question was discussed together with experts in this field such as Dr. Vanessa Kithyoma, the CEO of mHealth Kenya.

Make-IT in Africa and Mettā Nairobi bring you the Investor Readiness Masterclass. The session will be facilitated by Yacob Berhane on 17th October 2019 from 10.30 p.m. to 1.00 p.m.

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

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.

Make-IT in Africa and Mettā Nairobi bring you the 16th installment of the “Women-In” series where we will be hosting a star-studded panel consisting of women at the top of their game in the tech industry. The panel will be hosted on 2nd October 2019 from 6.00 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.

The main purpose of the series is to celebrate women in different sectors, their achievements, and their roles. Looking at the great strides that have been made over the years by women throughout the world, we want this platform to empower the next generation.

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

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.

The first bootcamp of the Joint Start-up Programme between Make-IT in Africa and Merck will conducted with 20 selected start-ups. During the bootcamp, selected start-ups will take part in workshops with Merck experts, external experts, coaches and assigned mentors.

Their Kick-off Bootcamp will focus on the status of the healthcare landscape in Africa, business operations, financial operations and the creation of a healthcare network, in addition to other topics.

The University of Nairobi convenes a number of stakeholders to organize and execute the annual Nairobi Innovation Week (NIW) to support and accelerate the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in the region. The theme for this year was “Innovation and Kenya’s Big Four Agenda”. The main areas were food security and nutrition, enhancing manufacturing, universal health coverage, and affordable housing.

Working with partners, Make-IT was partnering with NIW to host a Startup Ecosystem Forum on June 11th, 2019, at Manu Chandaria Auditorium, University of Nairobi from 08:00 a.m. to 01:00 p.m. The forum was an opportunity for start-up ecosystem stakeholders to engage, network, and gather insights regarding the fast-developing ecosystem.

Make IT in Africa supported the official launch of the Association of Startup and SME Enablers of Kenya held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Upperhill, Nairobi on 21st May 2019 from 3.00 p.m. to 7.00 p.m. This marked a significant stage in the strengthening of the Kenyan entrepreneurship ecosystem.The launch was attended by stakeholders of the Kenyan Entrepreneurship Ecosystem including, incubators, coworking spaces, accelerator programs, government agencies, foreign missions, startups among other supporters of the ecosystem.

East Africa Com is a premier strategic event for telecoms, media, broadcasting & technology leaders in East Africa. The 2019 edition was held at Radisson Blu, Upperhill in Nairobi from 14th May 2019 to 15th May 2019. The event theme was “Accelerating digital transformation to strengthen East African economies”.

Make IT in Africa participated in this year’s event as the lead partner for AHUB East. AHUB East is the startup feature at East Africa Com. A networking space for inspiring tech-fueled startups, investors, large enterprises, MNOs, large incubators & accelerators, analysts and media.

NTW is Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest annual technology event for product makers – bringing various actors and influencers within the tech ecosystem to one space to exhibit the forefront of innovation and technology. ​Powered by ​Moringa School​, NTW will take place over 3 days and bring together over 1500 members of the technology ecosystem to exhibit the forefront of innovation.

The event theme, “​Technology in Africa: The Past, The Present and The Future” will delve into the evolution of technology in Africa, the various solutions being applied in the African context and the exciting opportunities yet to be capitalized on as we navigate the digital revolution.

The ‘Tech For Big 4’ Conference is an assembly of the tech community in Nairobi, policy makers, start-ups, entrepreneurs and corporate partner with the intention of answering the question of how. During this conference, you have an opportunity to interact with likeminded as well as divergent thinkers who, through networking and collaboration, may unlock the solutions you offer towards sustainably achieving the Big4Agenda while continuing to contribute to the country’s economic growth.

Make-IT in collaboration with Village Capital and Nailab recognized the contributions of different partners and the start-ups that took part in the inaugural Make-IT Accelerator 2018 program that took place between January – September 2018. The colorful dinner was hosted on 29th November 2018 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi at 18.00 pm.

Make-IT Accelerator Program Closing dinner

Make-IT Accelerator Program stakeholder closing dinner was held to recognize the contributions of different partners and the start-ups that took part in the inaugural Make-IT Accelerator 2018.The goal of the dinner is to re- engage and recognize the different stakeholders, partners and start-ups and strengthen the future collaborations for the Make-IT in Africa program to succeed.

On 6th March 2018, 5 start-ups from the Make-IT Accelerator Kenya participated in the international start-up pitching contest “Stars in Africa Awards” in Nairobi, Kenya. The 5 start-ups Make-IT in Africa signed up for the contest are: Micrive Invinite Ltd, Tech Kidz Africa, Taimba, Grassroots Bima, and ZOA.

From 05.-09.03.2018, the Nairobi Innovation Week was held at the University of Nairobi. Make-IT in Africa exhibited its offering to start-ups and was a strong partner for an ecosystem event on Friday morning bringing together the government, private sector, development partners, start-ups, investors and start-up enablers.