Applicants can now apply for the World Bank’s L’Afrique Excelle accelerator programme, which is meant to support scalable tech ventures in Francophone Africa.
Some days back, we reported that the World Bank Group launched Afrique Excelle, the Francophone edition of the XL Africa accelerator started in 2017. This is in partnership with the Tubaniso Agribusiness and Innovation Centre and managed by VC4A, Suguba and SahelInnov.
Scalable technology start-up in the late seed or pre-series A stage, that is well-positioned for growth and looking to raise between $250K and $5M can apply.
Here are the offers the programme is bringing on board
- Access to Francophone Africa-focused investors throughout the program and at a Venture Showcase at VivaTech in Paris
- Mentoring from two successful entrepreneurs or investors (international and local) to develop accurate company valuations, financial forecasts, risk management and customer acquisition strategies. Access to other expertise is provided based on your specific needs.
- The opportunity to engage with investors, domain experts, and corporate partners as well as peers at two all-expenses-paid residencies – in Mali and in France.
- Support in developing investment packages so you’re ready for investment following the program.
- Knowledge through curated content designed to teach you everything you need to know about marketing, financing and market expansion.
See Also: Cameroonian TechPreneur, Rebecca Enonchong Elected Into UN’s Africa Digital Identity Advisory Board
Eligibility Criteria
- Start-up must be for profit and registered with a team of at least three people
- A digital or tech product / service currently available in the market
- Either based in or deriving at least 75% of turnover in one or several of the following Francophone Africa markets: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, DRC, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, and Togo
- Strong management team
- Demonstrate tangible traction, evidence of revenue and potential to scale
- Start-up must have received investment capital, as debt or equity, or received grants from donor organizations or prize money from competitions.
Applications are open till January 14, 2019, with the programme beginning in March and ending in September.
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