Call for Entrepreneurs Uganda 2025

Published: 28/10/2024

1. THE OVO APPROACH

OVO serves as an accelerator and investment facilitator for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with an entrepreneurial focus in Africa. It provides crucial support encompassing comprehensive coaching programs to assist these ventures in their growth and development. Recognizing that these businesses often face financial challenges that surpass what microfinancing services typically offer, OVO aims to bridge this gap by providing tailored programs that may lead to investment.

 

To support these ventures comprehensively, OVO adopts a dual approach that integrates growth and investment-readiness coaching simultaneously. The growth coaching focuses on helping businesses expand operations, increase market presence, enhance sustainability, and improve overall performance, laying the foundation for long-term success.

 

At the same time, investment-readiness coaching prepares businesses to attract potential investors by ensuring they have the essential elements in place, such as a robust business plan, sound financial projections, and operational readiness. This parallel approach ensures businesses develop holistically, both in terms of growth and readiness for investment.

 

Following this coaching process, OVO's Investment Committee rigorously assesses businesses and grants approval by awarding the “OVO Certificate: Investing for Change”, signifying their readiness for investment. This certification enables ventures to be connected with OVO's network of potential business angels. Importantly, the final decision regarding investment rests with the business angels, who retain the authority to decide whether to pursue the investment opportunity.

 

OVO provides personalized coaching combined with a system designed to foster business growth. This system emphasizes practical knowledge exchange and intercultural communication, helping entrepreneurs access valuable expertise, skills, and best practices from experienced professionals. By facilitating this transfer of knowledge, OVO aims to drive sustainable growth, innovation, and long-term success for businesses.

 

Through an international network of volunteers, companies, investors, NGOs, and institutions, OVO connects entrepreneurs with critical resources and partners. This ecosystem not only accelerates growth but also helps entrepreneurs overcome challenges by offering targeted support and building trust quickly.

 

Key characteristics of the OVO approach:

 

Primary Objective: OVO aims to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Africa that fall within the "missing middle" category. These entrepreneurs face significant barriers in accessing capital, expertise, and technology, which hampers their valuable initiatives. However, growth-oriented entrepreneurs hold the potential to drive innovation, stimulate industry start-ups, reduce unemployment, and foster social prosperity within a country. 

 

Target Market: OVO focuses its efforts on SMEs in Africa that possess a strong social and/or ecological dimension and aspire to expand their businesses. The maximum funding requirement is set at EUR 50.000. 

 

Geographic Scope: OVO operates in Benin, Rwanda, Senegal, and Uganda. 

 

Sector Focus: OVO is open to supporting ventures across various sectors, as it remains sector agnostic. However, the proposed business ideas need to incorporate the utilization of sustainable technology, such as resource conservation, recycling, and pollution reduction. Or they need to contribute to the transition towards a more sustainable society or economy, such as providing access to affordable healthcare or education through the application of technology. 

 

Portfolio Management: OVO employs its pipeline to select the companies that will receive facilitated loans. Additionally, OVO carries out comprehensive coaching and due diligence processes and closely monitors the advancement of the loans. 

 

Financial Returns: Loans facilitated by OVO offer investors an annual gross return of 7% on their invested euro amount. Repayment terms are determined based on the financial projections of the recipient company. 

 

Loan Amounts: The facilitated loans typically range between EUR 5.000 and EUR 50.000.  

 

Funding mechanisms: Conventional loan options. 

 

Governance involvement: OVO ensures regular six-monthly financial review sessions with the boards of investee companies to monitor and support their financial performance and growth trajectory. 

 

Investment duration: Maximum investment commitment of 5 years. 

2. CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBILITY

The eligibility requirements for the SusTech4Africa Grow Program focus on triple bottom-line sustainability, which considers the impact on people, the planet, and profit. This means that proposed solutions should either benefit society or protect the environment, and be economically viable.

 

Technology plays a crucial role as an enabler for sustainable development in Africa. It can help address various environmental and social challenges by providing innovative solutions. For instance, technology can improve access to clean water, healthcare, education, and renewable energy. It can also enhance agricultural practices, promote conservation efforts, and support efficient resource management. By leveraging technology effectively, Africa can achieve sustainable development goals while creating opportunities for economic growth and social progress.

 

Financial Performance

  • The company operates primarily in Africa and is predominantly African-owned.
  • It has been formally registered as a legal entity for a minimum 3 years.
  • The total investment required by the company is capped at EUR 50,000.

Social Responsibility

  • The business contributes to social impact through the creation of local employment opportunities and the provision of essential goods and services to vulnerable or underserved populations.
  • It upholds equitable and respectful relationships with employees, customers, and suppliers.

Environmental Sustainability

  • The company's value chain embodies, or aims to embody, principles of the circular economy.
  • It strives to minimize its environmental and human health impacts, surpassing the standards set by current product or service offerings.

Technological Innovation

  • The company's production facilities utilize sustainable technologies.
  • These technologies represent a significant advancement towards sustainability compared to similar production units.

 

The companies selected to participate in the ST4A programme must demonstrate its potential for economic profitability over the repayment period of the loan applied for.

 

In addition to the above conditions, companies qualify for participation in the ST4A programme if they meet at least three of the following criteria:

  • Have achieved a minimum turnover of USD 20,000 in one of the previous three years
  • Be registered with the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB).
  • Have a minimum of two employees, including fixed-term contracts, apprentices, contractors and other subsidised forms of employment, for whom the contributions required by law are paid (NSSF, PAYE, etc.)
  • Have a functioning accounting system, or at least be able to show regular and up-to-date entries in the accounting journal. 
  • Be able to continue operations for a month if the promoter is absent.

 

Applicants must also submit the following documents via email:

  • A business snapshot of the company, process, product/service, target customers, business strategy, etc. 
  • A few images of the company's achievements and/or installations
  • Preliminary business plan
  • Recent presentation (pitch deck) in a PowerPoint or PDF file
  • Deed of incorporation and company registration number (URSB certificate of incorporation)
  • Articles of association and by-laws of the company if provided for by the corporate form
  • Financial statements for the last three years, accompanied by a statement from the chartered accountant at the time of presentation.

 

Send the above documents to this e-mail: felly.zake@ovo.be

 

Please note that sending in the above documentation is necessary for your application to be considered.

3. PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Programme :

Candidate selection

The programme begins with the selection of 10 entrepreneurs invited to take part in a 3-day Boost Camp. Selected entrepreneurs are required to confirm their ability to participate and also pay a one-time fee (see fee details below)
The selection is based on the above-mentioned selection criteria, an analysis of the required documents and a visit to the entrepreneurs. It is carried out in consultation with the implementation team. 

 

Online pitching

Selected entrepreneurs will be required to present their current business pitch decks to the business coaches and training team virtually. The purpose of the online pitching is to provide the coaches with a comprehensive understanding of the participating entrepreneurs and allow them to decide whom they will select for one-on-one coaching.

 

One-on-one coaching (6-9 months)

OVO's volunteer team, with extensive experience in various fields, will offer holistic support to Ugandan entrepreneurs, including the support of a Business Coach and specialist experts as required.
In six to nine months, entrepreneurs, with the help of their coach, develop an optimised business model, an ambitious but realistic business plan, and a detailed financial and investment implementation plan.

 

Boost Camp (3 days)

During the Boost Camp, Thomas More, OVO's academic partner, will co-host a training session with Einstein Rising based on various interactive tools, in particular the Social Impact Canvas. During the working sessions, the entrepreneurs are supported in their thinking by European Business Coaches. The training focuses on understanding the business model and establishing personal links between the project leaders and the coaching teams.
At the end of the Boost Camp, entrepreneurs are invited to present their business projects in the form of a pitch to a wider audience and a panel of judges.
The programme also includes a visit by the Business Coaches to the company they have been invited to work with.

 

Access to the loan

Evaluation and submission: After the training and support programme, the Ugandan company can submit a file to the OVO investment committee to obtain the ‘OVO Certified: Investing for Change’ label.

Committee decision: The investment committee assesses whether companies meet the criteria for the ‘OVO Certified: Investing for Change’ label.

Label and partners: This label guarantees that the company meets the minimum requirements for viability, sustainability, legal compliance, risk management and sustainability objectives. OVO then presents these dossiers to its network of Business Angels. Once their interest has been confirmed, OVO matches half the loan with the OVO Acceleration Fund.

 

Timetable for the event :

  • Application deadline: Friday 15th November 2024 at 23:59 CET
  • Due diligence period: 25th November to 6th December 2024
  • Final selection: December 2024
  • Preliminary meeting with selected companies: January 2025
  • Online Pitching: January 2025
  • Online Sessions and Online Coaching: January to March 2025
  • Boost Camp: 29th March - 5th April  2025

 

Boost Camp participation fee: UGX 500,000 

  • Selected entrepreneurs will be notified via email. 

(If you do not receive an email by 20th December 2024, please consider your application unsuccessful.)

  • A minimum of 2 people per company are required to participate in the entire program.
  • Selected entrepreneurs must confirm their participation by paying the Boost Camp fee by 3rd January 2025 and providing proof of payment.

4. SUBMISSION

To submit your project, fill in the form using this link: https://forms.office.com/e/DHRU6TgHpJ

 

Application deadline: Friday 15th November 2024 at 23:30 CET

 

Kindly note:

 

Participation in the OVO acceleration program does not guarantee the approval of a loan. 

 

The final decision to grant or deny a loan rests solely with OVO and depends, among other factors, on the belief in growth potential, repayment capacity, and the atmosphere of cooperation. 

 

The project owner may still refuse the loan if they do not agree with the proposed terms.

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