2024 Investment Innovation Fund (Kenya)

ANDE has run Catalyst and Challenge Funds since 2009 with the purpose of fueling initiatives poised to improve the capacity of organizations within the small and growing business (SGB) sector.

The Investment Innovation Fund will enable selected entrepreneurship support organizations (ESOs) to design supplemental programs or other interventions in consultation with investors that are likely to lead to more capital deployed in waste and circularity businesses. These proposals should pilot, test, or expand scalable solutions that support waste and circularity SGBs in Kenya to create learnings and insights for uptake by the broader SGB sector.

These funds have taken many forms and addressed various sector challenges since then, but their core function remains constant – the fund awards SGB support service providers with the risk-tolerant capital they need to test or pilot innovative approaches to SGB sector challenges and distribute learnings within the ANDE community and SGB sector at large.

Categories

• ANDE is specifically seeking submissions employing creative capacity building solutions that increase the chances of the portfolio attracting private capital to help them grow and scale in at least one of the following categories:
  • Transformative approaches to delivering incubation or acceleration services including recruitment, selection, cohort and program design or other elements seen as constraints to the investability in Waste and circular economy SGBs.
  • Supplemental services delivered independently or in coordination with traditional incubator or accelerator programs including tailored consulting services, bespoke matchmaking, investment facilitation, mentorship or other approaches to address investment deficits in traditional acceleration.
  • Novel approaches to addressing systemic constraints that result in less investment being received by waste and circularity enterprises. For example, an incubation or acceleration program targeting waste management and circularity enterprises designed in partnership with potential follow-on investor/s that improve chances of follow-on investment.
• These activities should also, when possible, build the capacity of implementing organizations to continue to expand access to financing for waste and circularity in the future. Submissions should be for activities of up to 18 months with a maximum total request of US $100,000.  Note that proposal budgets will be evaluated for efficient use of funds.

Geography

• Please Note: Funding will be directed to ESOs from the US, so all necessary government approvals need to be in place for application.
• Only SGB ESOs with programs in Kenya will be considered. Programs taking place outside of Kenya will not be considered.

Applicant Criteria

• Incubators, accelerators, capacity development providers, entrepreneur support organizations, and research and advisory service providers are welcome to apply. Preference will be given to proposals submitted by consortiums consisting of ESOs and investors.
• Note that donor agencies, foundations, and corporations are not qualified to apply. Also, when investor-ESO consortiums apply, funding will only go to ESOs. The number of proposals supported will be contingent on the quality and impact of the proposals received.
• Organizations may form a consortium and submit a joint proposal. An organization may submit or be involved in up to two proposals, however only one proposal will be selected. Only proposals submitted in English will be considered.

For more information, visit Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs.