Application Deadline: September 11th 2020
VC4A are looking for 10 innovative early-stage startups to showcase their business to the world. You are based in Africa and your tech-enabled solution is already on the market. It starts to show some traction and you have expansion plans in mind? Don’t miss out on this opportunity to raise in the range of $150K and $1M and apply right here right now!
VC4A Venture Showcase Seed is the sister program of the annual VC4A Venture Showcase Serie A. Did you know that between 2017-2019, we selected 60 scale-ups from across the continent as part of 4 showcase programs, resulting in a number of Series A deals totaling over $100M?
Building on this success, the ‘VC4A Venture Showcase – Seed’ – in collaboration with AWS Activate, AfriLabs and ABAN – is a central component of our efforts to support investors connecting with early-stage ventures. This is an exclusive opportunity to introduce your company at once to everyone who’s anyone in Africa’s early-stage investment space.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
- Your company is for-profit, registered as an independent legal entity with less than 3 years of customer service operations;
- Your company has a product or service already available on the market and serving its first customers;
- Your highly scalable business model is visible through a growing number of customers or transactions, your pipeline shows future contracts and potential sales;
- You have a good estimate of your addressable market and potential social impact reach > 1M+ people/year with potential plans to expand across borders;
- Your product or service is clearly innovative and/or the business model is new and disruptive;
- Your founding team has 2+ years of time invested and at least one of the co-founders is based on the African continent with an African nationality;
- You are seeking Seed/pre-Series A investment in the range of $150K to $1M*;
- While there will be exceptions, your company has received investment above 25K USD from “Founder, Family, Friends & Fans” but not exceeding 1M+ USD;
- Founder(s) who previously started a successful company is a plus.
*Are you raising your Series A Round in between $500K – $10M? Consider applying to the 2020 VC4A Venture Showcase – Series A. Deadline August 14th.
Benefits
- Being recognized as 2020 VC4A Venture Showcase entrepreneur
- Participation in the VC4A Venture Showcase deal room, including 150+ early-stage investor organizations
- Professional edited 3 minute virtual pitch
- 30 min deep-dive session with investors in a private room
- Mentorship and pitch training by partner early-stage investors
- AWS Activate offers selected cohort AWS credits worth $10,000, tools, resources, and more to quickly get started on AWS.
- Joining the alumni network and having exclusive access to fundraising opportunities
SELECTION CRITERIA
Commercial Value of your Product/Service (25%)
Your company addresses a real problem in the market. Your product or service is different from others in the industry. Your business model is new and designed for scale.
Strategy for Growth (25%)
The market size is significant and there is potential to expand locally and into new markets. Your startup is scalable and has a clear strategy for growth. You can show demonstrable progress.
Management Team (25%)
Your team has the qualifications needed to make the business successful.
Market Traction & Financials (25%)
We will evaluate your market traction, revenue streams, and unit economics. If any outside funding has been raised before, it’s a plus.
TIMELINE 2020
| July 24 – Sept 11 | Application period |
| Sept 15 – Oct 13 | Selection process / investor review / interviews |
| Oct 14 | Seed Venture Showcase participants selection |
| Oct 20 – Nov 6 | Mentorship program with VC investors |
| Oct 28 – Nov 6 | Technical sessions with VC investors |
| Mid Nov | Launch of VC4A Venture Showcase – Seed deal room to 300+ VC investors |
| Nov – Dec | Ongoing showcase to VC4A investor network |
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the 2020 VC4A Venture Showcase