After a successful first round in which 21 projects were selected, the fund’s second round will create opportunities for investment in four East African countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

The Coffee Innovation Fund, financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), supports innovative approaches to improve the production, processing and marketing of coffee and increase local value creation. Coffee grown in bunk beds, blockchain-based transparency mechanisms, coffee paired with eco-tourism – these are just a few examples of projects that were selected during the first idea competition. Factsheets for these projects can be found here.

The Fund enables start-ups and cooperatives to pilot new ideas and gain experiences as they will receive in-kind financial support and access to a broad network in the coffee sector.

What you need to know about the Coffee Innovation Fund:

  • It promotes the design and implementation of innovative practices, systems and tools in the coffee sector,
  • is a cooperation between one or more private businesses and GIZ,
  • provides commercial benefits for private partners, while bringing developmental benefits for the coffee sector in the country,
  • is designed by both partners but implemented by the private partner with support from third-party service providers,
  • can contribute up to €50,000 worth of investment per project to cover cost of materials, technology and technical assistance,
  • is not a cash disbursement-based fund and
  • requires matching contributions from applicants (contributions can be monetary or in-kind).

GIZ will partner with the selected companies to assist in the design and implementation of the projects. Proposals will be selected according to criteria pertaining innovation, replicability, inclusivity and potential impact.

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The Coffee Innovation Fund is open for applications until December 31, 2020. Apply by filling out the form below!

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