250Startups Initiative Supported by ICT Innovation Ecosystem Strengthening Project

Do you have an ICT Solution for agriculture and education with a working prototype? Apply now for the 250Startups Incubation Program

The objective of this call for proposals (ICT x Agriculture) is to foster innovative ICT solutions through incubating start-ups which will provide innovative ICT enabled solutions to help mitigate agriculture related challenges.

Eligibility

Participation in this call is open equally to:

  • The founder (or co-founder) whose company registered within 3 years.
  • The founder or co-founder who commit himself/herself to participate in the 6-month program when selected.
  • Those who have strong motivation to solve challenges in agriculture sector in Rwanda and/or beyond by using ICT through private sector initiative
  • Those who have a working prototype available to present

Benefits

1.6.1. For those who passed interview

Applicants selected at interview will be granted benefits including:

➢ 3-days training on sharpening its business model

➢ Work environment (e.g. Internet, lunch, and transport)

1.6.2. For those who selected at presentation

In addition to the above, applicants selected at presentation will be granted benefits including:

➢ 6-months hands-on incubation support

➢ Business development support (e.g. Market development, Business model establishment, Professional services (legal and accounting))

➢ Technical advisory support (e.g. Sector specific expertise, ICT related expertise)

➢ Procurement support (e.g. Raw materials, Research cost, Travel cost)

*Approximately equivalent to 1 million RWF (TBC)

➢ Support to attend exhibitions and pitching events.

➢ Work environment (e.g. Office space, Internet, Lunch, and Transport)

Be noted that all the benefits will be provided in the form of in-kind by the Project and no grant will be paid in cash. Also, advance consultation and approval from the Project is mandatory to disburse money for items.

In principle, the Project can support only non-recurring expenses to start a new business unit (below cells in blue), NOT recurring expenses (below cells in gray). The details will be
explained at the beginning of the program.

Application for 250 Startups Incubation Program

Template and contents of the proposal

The proposal must:

  • Be written in English.
  • Use the template provided with evidence of your prototype (photo, demo, URL etc.)
  • Be compiled into one PDF file to submit. The file name should be “Title of your
    proposal_company name.pdf”.
  •  Utilize ICT devices, software, hardware, or platforms that enhance value addition or
    strengthen linkages between chain actors and/or a specific activity in agriculture sector.

2.3. Submission

Proposals must:

  • Be sent through the google form (https://goo.gl/forms/tgndj7zAz7v3lSVx2). Please be noted that all the applicants will be required to have a Gmail account to send the proposal to the secretariat.
  • Arrive at the latest by 18 (Fri) January 2019 23:59 Rwandan time. Proposals received after this deadline will be rejected.
  • The applicants will receive an automatic reply when the proposal was submitted successfully.

2.4. Remarks

This 250 startups incubation program cannot accept proposals submitted that:

  • Do not address the scope of the call.
  • Do not intend to commercialize the proposed solutions after this incubation support.
  • Are restricted to research or the publication of reports or books.
  • One can submit multiple proposals but only one will be selected. All the information in the submitted proposals will not be disclosed to anyone unless required to do so by law.
  • However, the information may be combined with that of many others and summarized in a report while protecting applicants’ anonymity

For more information,please visit http://www.250.rw/register.html

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