KUFANYA incubator announced on Tuesday the launch of its Ubuntu programme, the very first Tunisian soft landing programme specially designed to support Tunisian startups wishing to offer their services to sub-Saharan African markets. Through the Ubuntu programme, "selected Tunisian start-ups will have the opportunity to establish and build a solid business network and gain access to a skilled workforce in the programme's target countries, thanks to 6 months of personalised support." Eligible for this call for applications are approved Tunisian start-ups with innovative and successful technological products and services in the healtech, fintech, web development and environment (energy) sectors. Start-ups must also be based in Tunisia and generate sales on the market. A specialised selection committee will evaluate and select candidates on the basis of four fundamental pillars: ? The innovation of the developed solution ? The start-up's progress (technical, commercial and investment) ? The interest and potential for access to Francophone African markets ? The potential impact of their project (for startups in the environment) 15 start-ups will be selected to join a programme of mentoring and partnership, training and market awareness in Francophone Africa. At the end of a final jury, 5 startups will be nominated to join the markets of the target country. The Francophone African countries covered by the programme are Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal and Rwanda. Start-ups interested in going international in Africa should apply before July 30, 2023 via this link: https://forms.gle/rUNoUuuWMakz6dwA7 This programme is part of the Flywheel project, an initiative supported by Smart Capital and CDC (Caisse des dépôts et consignations) as part of the Startup Tunisia vision and funded by GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Internationale Zusammenarbeit) and the World Bank. Created in 2019, KUFANYA is the first African incubator in Tunisia to meet the needs of international entrepreneurs for support in their economic integration process in Tunisia. Anchored in the Tunisian ecosystem, KUFANYA now has more than 105 entrepreneurs trained and supported, 30 companies that have set up a service that can be sold on the local market, 2 startups that have been accredited and 4 support cycles for entrepreneurs that have been carried out, and soon an investment fund to support migrant entrepreneurs.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse