Amref Health Africa Innovate Now Cohort 2.0 Accelarator Program 2020 – Nairobi, Kenya

Application Deadline: 12 midnight 30th April 2020

Innovate Now is Africa’s 1st Assistive Technology Innovation Accelerator and Inclusive Innovation Ecosystem. It comprises a series of 3-6 month-long accelerator programs that support Assistive Technology venture across: design, product development, disability expertise and business expert. We focus on helping startups overcome the Valley of Death: Prove product-market fit and demonstrate the demand and ultimately attract investors in order to deliver better outcomes for AT users.

Innovate Now Cohort 2.0

THEME: Mobile and AT: Bridging the access gap to Assistive Products and Services using mobile technologies

1. Period: May 6th -August 6th, 2020
2. Application Deadline 6th April 2020
3. Duration: 3 months
4. Location: Nairobi Kenya

Requirements

1. Geography: East Africa
2. Stage: Seed-stage ventures past proof-of-concept with MVP and some traction (e.g. users, paying customers, working product)
3. Sector: AT and mobile-focused Startup ventures
4. Legal Entity: Both for-profit and non-profit social enterprises registered in any East Africa country
5. Inclusive Participation: open to all persons including persons with disabilities and women with no discrimination: gender, sexual orientation, religion or nationality.
6. Age: Applicants must be of legal working age in Kenya (18 years) or guaranteed by a guardian of legal working age. They must have all the legal rights to work in Kenya.

Are you:

1. Addressing a relevant problem within the Innovate Now Cohort 2 theme?
2. A team of innovative, execution focussed-agile problem solvers?
3. Do you have a passion for making a significant impact on the lives of persons with disabilities through a sustainable and scalable venture?
4. Led by an authentic founder(s)?
5. Have a culture of empathy, continuous learning and solving with a balanced set of expertise around your problem domain: technical, design, business and marketing?
6. Structured in a functional and efficient team (defined ownership, commitment, roles and accountability) and organisation (systems, processes and resources)?

Cost

1. All applicants will bear any direct cost of participating in the programme, including accommodation and transport.
2. Participants will not be charged any money to participate, and meals and refreshments will be provided during programme activities.
3. Persons with disabilities will be reimbursed for any additional costs they have to bear to participate in the programme to reduce barriers to equal participation in the programme.

Benefits

1. Access to Kenyan-based and global mentors and subject matter experts
2. Access to our growing network of Live-Labs-A unique concept that allows you to test, get feedback and validate directly with persons with disabilities across Kenya
3. Technical Assistance: tangible, direct support relating to what’s needed for your startup succeed: legal, marketing, fundraising, experiment design, pitching and investor readiness.
4. Access to our global inclusive innovation ecosystem and partner network across organisations of persons with disabilities, universities, funders, AT experts, disability experts, inclusive design experts, corporates and NGOs.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Amref Health Africa Innovate Now Cohort 2.0