Business & Innovation


SABII – Swiss Africa Business Innovation Initiative

Click on a step in the interactive info-graphics below for more details.

 

SABII is a joint program to foster startup entrepreneurship and cooperation in Sub-Saharan Africa and Switzerland. In a competitive scheme science-based business founders are selected based on their prior experience (own company incorporation, MOOC certificates, course attendance certificates at Higher Education Institutions or proof of business coaching through agencies).African startups are invited to attend the Advanced Workshop in Africa in the environment of the Afrilabs Annual Gathering. During the 3-days workshop, mentoring is provided by experienced Swiss and African entrepreneurs. At the end, the eight most promising and innovative pitches to a Swiss-African jury are selected and the business heads invited to Switzerland for a one-week stay with business peers. Insights into the local startup ecosystem and creation of linkages and synergies with local stakeholders are provided by our partner Venturelab.

Swiss Startups are invited to attend the Afrilabs Annual Gathering where a Swiss – African Business Corner allows to showcase own products and business ideas to peers of one’s own field. In a preparatory workshop roughly one month before departing to Africa major stakeholders of the Swiss and African markets provide an overview and introduce to market opportunities. Participants of the Innosuisse Coaching program are very much welcome to apply!


SASBI – Swiss African Science and Business Innovators Program

On 30th of June, the Directors’ Roundtable on Innovation kick-started this new phase by bringing together stakeholders from Tech Transfer and Innovation Offices. Under the name of SASBI, the Swiss African Science and Business Innovators Program, joint activities are launched and a greater understanding is targeted of each other’s know-how transfer ecosystem. This program is part of the Swiss-African Academia – Industry Training (Sensitization Phase) financed by the Swiss Ministry for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).

Learn more about SASBI and current events



Business Hubs and Networking Opportunities

Afrilabs

AfriLabs was founded in 2011 to build a community around rapidly emerging tech hubs―innovation spaces that serve as meeting points and communities for developers, entrepreneurs, and investors.

 

Seedstars

Seedstars funds and accelerates the most promising startups in emerging markets by connecting investors and mentors with talented entrepreneurs.


Disrupt Africa

Disrupt Africa is a one-stop-shop for all news, information and commentary pertaining to the continent’s tech startup – and investment – ecosystem. With journalists roaming the continent to find, meet, and interview the most innovative and disruptive tech startups, Disrupt Africa is a true showcase of Africa’s most promising businesses and business ideas.


Funds for NGOs


Funds for NGOs is not a funding organization. They do not directly provide grants and they also do not fundraise or write proposals, but provide the resources NGOs need to learn how to provide these services themselves.  They use their website to spread knowledge from experienced fundraising experts to NGOs around the world and increase their capacity.


TIA South Africa


The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) is a national public entity that serves as the key institutional intervention to bridge the innovation chasm between research and development from higher education institutions, science councils, public entities, and private sector, and commercialisation.

TIA’s focus is on technology development; from proof of concept to the pre commercialisation. To achieve this, TIA established the following funds: the Seed Fund, the Technology Development Fund and the Commercialisation Support Fund.

In order to deal with the effective implementation of these funds, TIA implemented pre- and post-investment processes to improve client management, turnaround times and post-approval support to existing and new technology projects within the TIA portfolio. In terms of non-financial support to its projects TIA’s Innovation Skills Development (ISD) unit continues to strengthen its support in the areas of business and entrepreneur development.


Impact Hub Africa

Impact Hubs are a catalyst to foster social innovation. They form a global community, consultancy and a creative space. They work at the intersection of innovation and society to collaboratively create impact with an entrepreneurial mindset.


African Leadership University


The African Leadership University ALU is an institution focussing on transferring business skills and delivering career development. Their programs reach from undergrate over MBA to the professional entrepreneur level. Founded 2015 in Mauritius they also maintain outreach offices in Rwanda and Nairobi.


Strathmore University Business School


Based in Nairobi, SBS offers postgraduate academic management programmes (Master, MBA, PhD) as well as advanced level executive education in different sectors such as Business, Public Policy, Finance, Agribusiness and Healthcare.


EU-Africa Start-Up Fair


The EU has selected top 100 promising start-ups, 50 from Europe and 50 from Africa to attend the 6th EU-Africa Business Forum. These startups were given the opportunity to showcase and promote their services and technology to investors and decision makers during a Startup Fair. In addition they will be able to attend a number of side events dedicated to entrepreneurship, digital economy, energy and agriculture.


EU-Africa Business Forum


The EU-Africa Business Forum (EABF) is an integral part of the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES). Its main objective is bringing the views of business to both European and African leaders on critical issues pertaining to both continents’ relations.

It brings together African and European business leaders representing multi-nationals, large corporations, small and medium-scale enterprises and confederations, and multilateral and regional institutions to discuss how to improve the business and investment climate between Africa and the EU.


Empretec UNCTAD


Empretec is a flagship capacity-building programme of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for the promotion of entrepreneurship and micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) to facilitate sustainable development and inclusive growth.
Empretec’s core product is the Entrepreneurship Training Workshop (ETW), which aims to foster the motivation and self-confidence of participants who have chosen to start or expand their businesses.


Briter Bridges Innovation Maps


The Briter Bridges Innovation Maps are the first of a number of visual series aimed at showcasing technology ecosystems across emerging markets. The maps are sector focused and provide an overview of several verticals across Africa, MENA, and beyond.
Innovation Map


Cartier Women’s Initiative


This website lists practical resources and tools for entrepreneurs such as guides, videos, podcasts, tips to create and grow businesses.
Also they showcase a short list of women entrepreneur networks in Africa.


Pupella Innovation Space


Sharing Expertise, Skills, and Good Practices among Start-ups, Academia & Supporters in Basel (Innovation Hub in Allschwil, Gewerbestr. 24).


The Afropreneur Radio

Celebrating the next generation of African entrepreneurs, creatives and innovators


Opportunities for Africans

Opportunities for Africans (OFA) is an online information portal that seeks to connect Africans to the latest life changing opportunities.

The portal hosts life changing opportunities such as scholarships, fellowships, internships, conferences, jobs, competitions, Volunteering and other life changing .

The OFA portal was created with the aim of helping Africans achieve their potential by seizing the latest opportunities around the Globe.

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