Call for applications 2021

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 €50,000 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 face-to-face bootcamp (travel, accommodation, etc.)

Yes, the eligibility criterion concerns the country where the structure is established and not the nationality of the project leader.

An acceleration project is a coherent set of activities whose objective is the growth of the company (in terms of turnover, customers, employees, etc.) and its scaling up (by example: development of a new range of activities, new products/services, geographical expansion, etc.).

Companies applying to Afrique Créative must have an objective of growth and scaling up. To demonstrate this objective, they present an acceleration project which brings together the activities necessary to achieve their set objective. This acceleration project takes place during the program (between June 2021 and November 2022).

For example: a company working in fashion may have a project to accelerate the development of an online sales platform allowing it to target a national and international clientele. The activities included in this project may be: the creation of an online sales site, the recruitment of a sales representative and a logistics manager, the development of premises allowing storage and shipments products, purchase of necessary materials, etc.

All activities presented in the acceleration project must be costed, that is to say presented in the form of a budget.

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.

Nigeria is not one of the countries covered by the program. You are therefore not eligible for this call for applications. Only companies established in the following 9 countries are eligible:

Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Ivory Coast ; Ghana; Morocco ; Uganda; Democratic Republic of Congo ; Senegal; Tunisia

For this second edition of the program the call for applications is open in the following 9 countries:

Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Ivory Coast ; Ghana; Morocco ; Uganda; Democratic Republic of Congo ; Senegal; Tunisia.

In the context of this call for applications, “a cultural or creative enterprise” is:

> An organization which has an economic model allowing it to generate its own income and not to depend on subsidies in a structural manner;

> An organization active in a cultural and/or creative sector: Radio; Music ; Movie theater ; Television; Scenic arts ; Design; Craftsmanship ; Fashion ; Visual arts ; Photography ; Architecture ; Cultural tourism ; Video games ; Editing ; Production of creative content for the digital industry, etc. (non-exhaustive list)

> An organization that has a strong social and economic impact: job creation, innovation, etc.

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:

• Organizational maturity and management capabilities
• Potential of the business model

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:

– Maturity of the organization and management capabilities

– Potential of the economic 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 “2021 Call” tab.

The national juries are made up of three jurors per country:

• A representative of the partner national incubator
• An institutional representative (AFD, French Embassy, or French Institute)
• A partner of the entrepreneurial ecosystem (recognized cultural and creative industries entrepreneur, investor, etc.)

The central committee is chaired by the French Development Agency (AFD) and composed of:

• A representative from each entity of the program organizing consortium (Africalia, I&P Conseil, Zhu Culture, Bayimba Foundation)
• A representative of the AFD
• An external partner expert in the cultural and creative industries invited for the occasion.

Preincubation, incubation and acceleration are the three phases that make up the program.

The pre-incubation phase lasts three months and involves between 15 and 18 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 six 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.

The acceleration phase lasts three months and concludes the program after the second phase. Companies are supported by their creative mentor, but also by an investor who prepares them for their future fundraising.

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:

• Positioning and contribution to the cultural and creative sector
• Social and environmental impact and contribution to sustainable development goals
• Organizational maturity and management capabilities
• Potential of the economic model and scaling strategy
• Usefulness of the Creative Africa program and development potential

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 pre-selected candidates will be announced the week of June 21, 2021

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:

• Group all documents into a single file (word, pdf, powerpoint)

If you encounter a significant technical problem, please contact us well in advance to find a solution.

The envelope made available to entrepreneurs to cover the incubator's service costs is 10,000 euros. This amount is an integral part of the requested grant (i.e. maximum 50,000 euros)