SAIS Investment Readiness Programme 2026SAIS Investment Readiness Programme 2026
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SAIS Investment Readiness Programme 2026

Year-long, fully funded support to make African Agri/Food/Climate tech start-ups investor-ready

Organizer: Scaling digital Agriculture Innovations through Start-ups (SAIS)
Deadline: September 28, 2025 (in 3 days)
Category: Accelerator
Regions: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
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The SAIS Investment Readiness Programme 2026 is open for African tech start-ups working in agriculture, food and climate, including adjacent sectors that enable agricultural transformation. This is a neutral listing for informational purposes only. Apply directly through the organizer’s channels, not through us.

Programme snapshot

  • Duration: one year, fully funded, tailored support with no equity taken.
  • Focus: agribusiness, agritech, food production, and agri-adjacent solutions in climate, livestock, energy, biotech, fintech, circular economy, logistics, and more.
  • Application deadline: September 28, 2025. Languages accepted, English and French.

Who should apply

  • African start-ups using technology or tech-enabled models to improve agriculture and food systems or related value chains.
  • Teams evaluated on business model, technology, team, impact and traction, with special consideration for local founders and gender-diverse founding teams.

What you get

  • Technical assistance budget of up to €20,000 for expert consultancies, legal, marketing, certifications, ESG governance, product optimization, market entry, customer acquisition, sales campaigns, PR, design, training, and similar needs.
  • Access to revolving working-capital loans of up to €50,000, nine-month maturity, 1.5 percent interest.
  • Up to €10,000 in digital agency advisory from an international IT consultancy to boost digital, marketing and data capabilities.
  • Fully sponsored travel to two in-person community events scheduled alongside Africa Tech Summit Nairobi in February, plus one additional sector conference.
  • Investment and partnership facilitation through invite-only pitch sessions, curated investor introductions, fundraising strategy guidance and due-diligence support.
  • Entry into a community of 100 plus portfolio companies.

How it works

  • No bootcamps. No equity. No mandatory generic workshops.
  • Each start-up is paired with a dedicated advisor for one-on-one virtual check-ins, a custom roadmap and targeted deployment of services.
  • Advisors may conduct on-site visits, coordinate expert engagements and align deliverables to the start-up’s most pressing pain points.

Commitments if selected

  • Nominate a management team member as focal point, averaging two hours per week across the programme.
  • Send one employee to attend at least two in-person community events, expected February 2026 and February 2027 in Nairobi.
  • Share progress data during the programme and for one year after, including revenue, users or customers, funds raised and headcount, collected under data-protection rules.
  • Facilitate impact evaluation surveys with customers or clients, and collaborate with contracted experts, which may include sharing relevant business documents.

Timeline 2025 to 2027

  • Apply by Sunday, September 28, 2025.
  • Longlist interviews, Monday, October 20 to Friday, October 31, 2025.
  • Selection decisions by Friday, November 14, 2025.
  • Virtual kick-off and onboarding, end of November 2025.
  • Advisor appointment and on-site visit, December 2025 to February 2026.
  • In-person community event alongside Africa Tech Summit Nairobi, February 2026, SAIStival 2026.
  • Service deployment, conference visit and virtual check-ins, March 2026 to February 2027.
  • Graduation at SAIStival 2027, February 2027.

Eligible locations

  • Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Congo Democratic Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, French Southern Territories, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Africa, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Organizer and funding

  • Organizer, Scaling Agriculture Innovations through Start-ups, a GIZ project implemented on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and co-funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
  • Programme brand, SAIS Investment Readiness Programme.
  • Portfolio presence, 100 plus alumni and active companies across the continent.

How to apply and contact

  • Apply on VC4A in English or French by September 28, 2025.
  • Questions, email sais@giz.de.
  • More details available via the organizer’s website and LinkedIn pages.

This listing highlights application details for an external programme. We do not run this call and we do not accept applications. Apply only through SAIS and VC4A using the official channels.

SAIS Investment Readiness Programme 2026 | GIZ SAIS