An essential part of the shift to more egalitarian and sustainable food systems is played by small companies. The Biovision Foundation is searching for impact-focused agri-food SMEs with significant growth potential in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda as part of the Agroecological Food Futures Prize.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are welcome to enter this competition if their business plans support the Principles of Agroecology and promote environmental sustainability, circularity, food security, social equity, and/or local economic development. Applications from young and female-owned businesses are especially welcomed!

Candidates will face a difficult screening procedure with the possibility of being one of six finalists invited to a pitching and award ceremony in Kigali at the end of the year (date to be confirmed).

Before presenting their pitches to a panel of experts from the domains of investing, development cooperation, finance, sustainable agriculture, and food systems at the ceremony, all finalists will undergo coaching to help them polish them. The finalists will be judged by the panel on the basis of their agroecological alignment, profitability, and potential for growth and impact.

A significant issue in their company will be resolved by the technical support provided to the runner-up. During the selection process, the precise kind of technical support or service will be determined.

At the Pitching and Award Ceremony, which will feature a special networking session, all finalists will have the opportunity to network with possible donors and investors in addition to the aforementioned awards. Additionally, each candidate will have access to a local network of business owners with whom they may exchange opportunities, networks, best practices, and information.

A synopsis of the selection procedure

➡️ All applicants will undergo an initial review following the call for submissions, which ends on July 26, 2024.
➡️ The applicants that make it through this screening process will have their submitted business plans and financials evaluated for their ability to execute business strategies, achieve business impact goals, have demonstrated strong financial performance in the past several years, and effectively mitigate business risks.

➡️ The top 15 organisations advance to the following round, when managers and owners of the applying companies take part in virtual interviews. In order to ascertain conformity with the Principles of Agroecology, a B-ACT evaluation and a business health diagnostic will be carried out via these interviews.

➡️ A risk assessment and investment readiness diagnostic will subsequently be conducted on the ten selected candidates. Following that, site visits will be conducted to verify the information businesses have provided in their applications and throughout the process.
➡️ Six finalists will be chosen to come to the award ceremony and propose their ventures and requests for investment. These companies will receive pitching instruction in advance of this.

➡️ At the Pitching and Award Ceremony, three winners will be chosen by an experienced jury and given their awards.

The application deadline is on a rolling basis.

Scroll down for more details and click on the official link attached to apply.