They focus their efforts on the areas where they can have the greatest impact. As the world’s largest challenge fund, they provide patient capital to small and growing businesses that are not covered by traditional lenders. Their world-class advisors help businesses with simple, bespoke, and practical advice to help them grow, access capital, and become more resilient. They combine their knowledge and insights to inform future interventions and put evidence at the center of decision-making.
Global Affairs Canada (GAC) has dedicated a total of CAN $ 9.7m through the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) to catalyze the Blue Economy sector in the Republic of Kenya.
The project seeks to contribute to the economic empowerment of women enterprises, their suppliers, and producers along key supply chains where women are discriminated against in the Blue Economy in Kenya.
Program Objectives:
- Support evidence-based program interventions that support women’s economic participation in the non-traditional sectors of the blue economy.
- Enhance private sector engagement of women as economic actors in the blue economy sector.
- Increase private and public sector investment in women and young women-owned Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
Window 1 – Women in the Blue Economy Enterprise (WBEE) Window: Objectives
- Enhance financial inclusivity for the women and young women medium-sized enterprises operating within the blue economy sector increasing access to credit, enabling market linkages, supply of inputs, products, and services along the value chain, and creating employment.
- Provide targeted enterprise development technical assistance and capacity building on gender mainstreaming for enterprises.
- Advocate and increase awareness of the business case for investing in women in the blue economy in Kenya.
- Provide incentives for sustainable widespread adoption of climate-smart practices in Kenya’s blue economy.
Focus Sectors:
- Fisheries
- Agriculture/Forestry
- Productive use of renewable energy
- Waste management
- Biodiversity protection (marine and lake biodiversity)
- Tourism-provision of products and services to the tourism sector
- Supply of inputs and services(e.g., access to finance, climate-smart technologies – aquatic blue food storage and transportation, market information, etc)
- Social enterprises that reduce the burden of care for women and young women (e.g., daycare child services)
Location:
kenyaBenefits
Shortlisted applicants and grantee investees will be able to access AECF’s support package which includes:
- Provision of targeted pre-investment technical assistance on business development services as required by the investee through the AECF Advisory Studio.
- Assist in investment facilitation services that enable the enterprise to access follow on funding from other capital providers.
- Create market linkages that provide access to climate-smart technologies to enhance the sustainability of business models
- Create pathways for market access through B2B linkages, product development advisory services, facilitation of the certification process, and involvement in trade fairs among others.
- Gender equality and social inclusion incentives, e.g., top-up funding where applicable, which reward investees that make significant changes to their processes to be gender-responsive and create increased opportunities for women along the value chain, develop policies and practices in response to their gender focus and monitor progress milestones.
Eligibilities
Applicants showing a willingness to participate in the competition for grant funding must abide by the following eligibility criteria:
- Be legally registered as a for profit private sector enterprise with activities aligned to the focus sectors and with direct linkages to small and micro enterprises in the geographical scope. In the case of social enterprise, the firm must demonstrate the ability to commercialize products and services intended to improve well-being. The businesses must be physically established in Kenya at the time of award and investment by AECF.
- Enterprises with a minimum of 51% female ownership with a dominant representation of women employees, suppliers of raw materials, and distributors of goods will have a distinct advantage.
- The company should produce audited accounts for at least two (2) years (these could be from the parent company, if recently established as a branch or subsidiary in Kenya).
- The window targets enterprises which have an annual turnover of US$500,000 to US$2.5 million. Promising enterprises that do not meet the minimum turnover threshold will be considered on a case by case basis.
- Be able to show commitment to match AECF’s funding based on the ratios stated in the matching contributions arrangement highlighted in the matching fund’s section above.
- Request the grant funding within the stipulated time and funding range provided.
- Be compliant with the fundamental laws and regulations of Kenya, including tax, regulatory, health and safety, and human resource compliance laws.
- Comply with the applicable international human rights, labor standards, and environmental management laws as expressed in the International Bill of Human Rights and the core labor standards established through the International Labor Organizations.
- Demonstrate commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of women and young women while conducting business.
- Must not be involved in any act of corruption. AECF requires that the applicant (including its staff, contractors, and suppliers) not be involved in offering third parties, or seeking, accepting, or being promised by third parties, for themselves or any other party any gift, remuneration, compensation, or benefit of any kind whatsoever, which could be interpreted as an illegal or corrupt practice.
- Must not be involved in any act of terrorism or support terrorists’ activities. The business will comply with all applicable anti-terrorist financing and asset control laws, regulations, rules, and executive orders. The business should have a duty of care to ensure they are not dealing with suppliers on debarment, suspension, exclusion and anti-terrorism on its suppliers, consultants and staff.
- Allow AECF regular due diligence and monitoring visits.
- Demonstrate additionality; see broad view guide in section 10 of the term sheet below.
Eligible Regions: Kenya
Application Process
To apply for support, click on the “APPLY NOW” to register on their secure online application platform.
You will be expected to fill out an application form to determine your eligibility against the set criteria.
Application Deadline: January 20, 2023
Application ClosedOfficial link
