Water and Energy for Food (WE4F) is an international initiative that aims to support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the water, energy, and food sectors. This call for applications is an incredible opportunity for water-energy-food businesses which are looking to scale, so as to increase their impact in the areas of food security, gender and poverty reduction in an environmentally sustainable way.
Sponsoring Agency: Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Type of Fund: Accelerator, Incubation, Mentorship and/or Training
Deadline Available: Available
Deadline Date (mm/dd/yyyy): 06/15/2021
Size of the Fund: USD $500,000 to $1 Million
Water and Energy for Food (WE4F) is an international initiative that aims to support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the water, energy, and food sectors. This call for applications is an incredible opportunity for water-energy-food businesses which are looking to scale, so as to increase their impact in the areas of food security, gender and poverty reduction in an environmentally sustainable way.
The Water and Energy for Food (WE4F) programme is funded by Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Union (EU) and is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in two regional hubs in East and West Africa.
The overall objective of the WE4F (impact) is to increase food production and income of smallholder farmers through greater agricultural productivity and more sustainable practices of natural resources use. The specific objective (outcome) is the strengthening and upscaling of climate-friendly, energy- and/or water-efficient innovations by SMEs for a more productive and ecological sustainable food production.
The underlying assumption is that the private sector can have a transformational effect on agricultural systems and therefore, seeks to work closely with businesses in the fields of water, energy and food/ agriculture. The proposed project, Scaling Business Solutions for Water and Energy for Food, seeks to support SMEs working in the fields of water, energy, food and agriculture by providing customized TA to help build the capacity of these organizations enabling them to sustainably scale and maximize impact.
Benefits for Selected Innovators
• Be part of the accelerator first cohort in East Africa: At least 15 enterprises from across 7 countries will be shortlisted to be part of the first regional programme. Support will be delivered over a 15 to 18-month period.
• The program will provide business advisory and access to finance support of between €50,000 to €500,000 to:
o Expand your business to other geographies, products, or services,
o Unlock investments for your business to scale, and
o Increase your business’s annual turnover.
• Financing opportunities: Select enterprises may qualify for results-based financing opportunities to help achieve scaling goals.
What kind of impact does the specific programme target?
• Environmental impact: energy savings, green energy, water savings, and GHG savings.
• Socio-economic impacts: agricultural productivity, food security, jobs, income, youth, and gender.
• Focus on gender, youth and small-holder farmers.
• WE4F is looking for businesses that want to scale their growth in revenue, expand into other countries, and raise additional investment.
Eligibility Criteria
• WE4F is looking for innovative Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) who are addressing the water-energy-food nexus in East Africa. The enterprises must offer solutions that increase sustainable food production, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and / or reduce water and energy intensity of the food chain, while increasing income for smallholder farmers, women and youth.
• The enterprises should also meet the following minimum criteria:
o Geography
Entrepreneurs must be legally incorporated as a for-profit company in one of these 7 East African countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi, Somalia
o Age
Businesses must be operational for at least 18 months.
o Size
WE4F IS looking for established enterprises with annual revenue of €50,000 to €500,000 equivalent – not at pilot or prototype stages. Applicants should also have a well-established team of between 5 to 200 employees.
o Ambition
Applicants must have an established current customer base with ambitions to scale to new geographies, products, customer segments, and/or increase annual turnover. They should be seeking debt, equity, or blended finance investments to scale the business.
o Impact
The best candidates will demonstrate direct/indirect positive impact to the smallholder farmers, the environment, women, and youth.
Please Note:
• The programme specifically encourages applications from women-owned and/or women-led enterprises.
• Applications responses must be written in English.
• Enterprises should be open and willing to demonstrate at least 20% matching funds (either by cash or in-kind contributions) to the overall award if selected.
• Government entities, non-profit organizations, academic and research institutions, and individuals are not eligible to apply.
More information at: https://eastafrica.we4f.org/
Eligible Countries:
Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda
