Support the emergence of cultural and creative industries (CCI), which create jobs, generate growth and bring change.
Identify a pool of entrepreneurs who can join the Afrique Créative acceleration program
Target audience : Cultural and creative businesses
Target countries : South Africa, Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea Conakry, Kenya, Morocco, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal and Tunisia .
Number of entrepreneurs selected for the pre-incubation phase : at least two per country.
The call for applications closed on November 15, 2023.
Find the program presentation videos in French and English on the page Facebook Creative Africa.
Afrique Créative is an acceleration program aimed at companies in the African cultural and creative industries. The program offers access to funding in the form of a grant between €30,000 and €60,000 as well as business and creative support for the implementation of an acceleration project.
The objective is to strengthen the capacities of entrepreneurs, support them in their scaling up and prepare them for future fundraising.
Yes, the program is completely free.
Yes. Costs related to Afrique Créative will be covered for the duration of the program. This includes participation in at least one boot camp face-to-face (travel, accommodation, etc.)
Yes, the eligibility criterion concerns the country where the structure is established and not the nationality of the project leader.
A scaling-up organization has already passed the start-up phase and is looking to scale up quickly to reach its full potential. The structure already has a proven business model and a solid customer base, and is experiencing rapid and sustained growth for several consecutive years.
The equivalent of 1/3 of the budget must be provided by the entrepreneur in equity during the program. This contribution of equity can be made through the financing of human resources, rent, communication media, etc. For example, for an acceleration project budgeted at 70,000 euros, Afrique Créative can contribute a maximum of 46,700 euros and the entrepreneur will have to contribute up to 23,300 euros. You can value part of the salaries and rents depending on what activities your project includes.
No, the personal contribution cannot already be invested at the time of application. It must be part of the acceleration project developed during the duration of the program.
Unfortunately no. The call is intended for companies and individual applications are not eligible. This status does not a priori make it possible to recruit other people or achieve significant turnover. However, Afrique Créative aims to accelerate the growth of incubated companies in order to have a socio-economic impact including in particular the creation of value and jobs.
Yes it's possible. However, it will be necessary to identify at least 1 reference person.
In the context of this call for applications, “a cultural or creative enterprise” is:
Unfortunately no. The program is aimed at businesses that have been legally registered for at least two years.
Candidate structures must be companies, that is to say structures which generate their own income through the sale of products and/or services and are not structurally dependent on external subsidies. Many entrepreneurial structures with a social purpose begin by adopting an associative legal status before creating a legal entity such as an SARL or SA for example. We therefore give the opportunity to structures aiming to become real companies to apply even if their legal form is currently an associative form.
According to this criterion, an association presenting an economic model and aiming to become a commercial enterprise can therefore be eligible.
The selection criteria which will make it possible to evaluate the applications clearly state:
Applicants will therefore have to demonstrate their ability to generate their own income and not structurally rely on public funds/subsidies.
The objective of Afrique Créative is the acceleration of entrepreneurial structures active in the cultural and creative field; which have significant potential in terms of income generation, job creation and which demonstrate a desire and capacity to move to another scale.
The structure must have 2 years of legal existence but there is no minimum level of turnover or customers. The structure must show evolution.
Evaluation criteria include:
– Organizational maturity and management capabilities
– Potential of the business model
Candidates will therefore have to demonstrate that they are already active in their field, have acquired a certain experience and have the ambition to further develop their activities as well as their ability to generate their own income and not to rely structurally on public funds / subsidies. These criteria are detailed in the “Call 2023” tab.
Preincubation, incubation and acceleration are the three phases that make up the program.
The pre-incubation phase lasts three months and involves 30 entrepreneurs. The company is supported by a local SAE to rework its acceleration project and the associated budget, and to prepare to pitch in front of a jury.
The incubation phase lasts twelve months and is aimed at companies selected at the end of the first phase. The company is supported by a local SAE and a creative mentor who help and support it in the implementation of its acceleration project.
All the details can be found on the site.
Yes. Grant disbursements are conditional on attendance at bootcamps and online courses.
The rating grids for applications will be based on the following criteria:
Impact in the program is considered in its broad sense of taking into account environmental, social and governance issues, both with customers, suppliers and employees: products or services having an environmental impact, job creation, etc.
Results for candidates pre-selected will be announced END January 2024.
Ideally, audited accounts. In the absence of audited accounts, a document (excel or pdf) presenting the current financial situation of the company: how much money the company generates and spends, what the company owns and how much it owes.
You can either:
If you encounter a significant technical problem, please notify us well in advance to find a solution.
The maximum grant budget is EUR 60,000, which means that the overall project budget can reach up to EUR 90,000. Participants are required to contribute 1/3 of this budget, which is equivalent to EUR 30,000. Additionally, out of the EUR 60,000 grant, EUR 10,000 is allocated to support the local incubator to help the project.
The commitment letter is a one-page document in which you agree, if your project is selected, to participate in all activities of this program. The template for the commitment letter is available on our website Internet dans the list of the annexes. You must download it and attach it to your application.
The “evolution of my structure” document is a table to fill in regarding the evolution of your business. The template is available on our website Internet in the list of annexes. You must download it and attach it to your application.