Applications are open for the Village Capital Agriculture Africa Program. The program will select a cohort of 12 ventures, who will participate in three 3-day workshops that will take place between October 2019 and December 2020. Their award-winning curriculum encourages deep collaboration within the cohort and helps entrepreneurs explore and leverage business synergies among themselves. They are focusing on the Agriculture sector for the program. Village Capital finds, trains, and invests in entrepreneurs solving real-world problems. They build communities around entrepreneurs and their ventures to improve opportunities for growth and success.
Early-stage startups need validation from customers as well as relationships with key partners in order to tailor solutions as they scale.

Moreover, They build communities of entrepreneurs solving specific social problems – from energy efficiency to the health-wealth gap – and empower the entrepreneurs to decide who receives their investment capital. Further, Their peer-selected model delivers better results for entrepreneurs and those who back them. Village Capital does not just seek the next best idea, invention, or business; rather, they seek innovators who are solving real global problems. Specifically, they focus on two major problem-solving areas: access to opportunity for underserved communities (through health, education, and financial inclusion ventures) and resource sustainability of the planet (through energy and agriculture ventures).

They will streamline this process, helping startups connect and interact with:

• Leading investors, entrepreneurs, and other sector experts who will offer mentorship during workshops;
• Potential customers, partners, and other industry stakeholders, who will participate in business development sessions at the workshops;

Further, The program will culminate in curated investor meetings with investors from their network for all companies in the cohort.

Benefit

• Village Capital will bear flight and lodging costs for a team member to attend.

Eligibility

• At least one full-time team member based in the country of operation
• A minimum viable product
• Meaningful customer or business validation (not limited to revenue, can also be successful pilot studies, number of users, and/or strategic partnerships)