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Applications for the Agribusiness Challenge Fund by the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund has opened for small medium enterprises (SMEs) and startups focusing on agribusiness.
The Agribusiness Challenge Fund
The Agribusiness Challenge Fund is a rolling call for proposals open from 18 March 2024 to 22 November 2024, with three application harvest periods in between.
The challenge will be open to SME applications from any country as long as the projects are being implemented in at least one of the 20 focus countries the Fund is targeting and meet the eligibility criteria.
Support from FRP will include grants ranging from US$ 500,000 to US$ 2,500,000, disbursed over a 3-year period, based on the applicant’s development stage, scalability, and business model, in accordance with agreed periodic milestone targets.
Funding structure will be determined on a case-by-case basis after evaluating proposals and organizations. Additional support to successful applicants will include tailored technical assistance in alignment with FRP objectives over the 3 year period.
The fund is focused on supporting businesses creating job opportunities for youth, especially young women, those with disabilities, and refugee youth.
CATEGORIES OF INTEREST IN THE AGRIBUSINESS CHALLENGE
- Primary production
- Processing and aggregation
- Trading and market linkages
CATEGORIES OF INTEREST WITHIN THE AGRICULTURE VALUE CHAIN
While broadly interested in any agribusiness opportunity that is capable of work creation opportunities for young women and men, those working in these or other parts of the agriculture value chain are encouraged to apply:
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Applicants will be requested to also state and describe if they have integrated climate adaptation, climate mitigation or digital aspects to their projects.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
To be eligible to apply, an SME must:
- Be involved in the sector of focus i.e., agriculture.
- Be an existing for-profit Small or Medium-sized Enterprise.
- Be implementing business in at least one of the 20 focus countries in Africa.
- Be requesting for grant funding ranging from US$ 500,000 to US$ 2,500,000, disbursed over a 3-year period, based on applicants’ development stage, scalability, and business model. Additional tailored technical assistance will be provided to successful applicants.
- Be providing matching contribution of at least 30% of the total project cost.
- Have innovative, practical, and scalable businesses that aim to create work opportunities for young women and men, young people with disabilities or refugee youth.
- Adhere to fundamental human rights, labour standards, and environmental management laws, both nationally and internationally, including seed laws/policy.
- Refrain from any involvement in acts of terrorism or support for terrorist activities.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Applications in the Agribusiness Challenge Fund will be selected based on the following criteria:
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Project description and objective |
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Alignment with Fund for Resilience and Prosperity priorities |
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Project Impact |
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Financing plan/Matching Funds |
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Team structure |
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Additionality |
