Selected startups focused on serving the African continent will have access to coaching from HBS students, networking opportunities with African-focused investors and the chance to win over US$ 50,000 in cash prizes.
The 26th Harvard Business School Africa Business Conference will be held from 16 to 17 February 2024 with the theme "Africa Forward: Competing in a Global Era". As part of the conference, the Africa Business Club will host the New Venture Competition, which seeks to showcase the diversity of entrepreneurs making a difference on the continent today.
From the pool of entries, 10 semi-finalists will be invited to present their businesses in front of more than 1,000 participants and receive feedback from a panel of experienced judges. The winner and the second and third place finishers will receive cash prizes of US$ 30,000, US$ 000,000 and US$ 15,000 respectively.
CNV semi-finalists will have the opportunity to get feedback, advice and input from conference participants as well as senior partners in Africa-focused VCs from across the continent.
Selected ventures will also have the opportunity to showcase their companies at the Startup Fair networking and recruitment event and take part in networking lunches with renowned speakers.
The registration form will be open on the conference website from 16 October 2023. All registrations must be received by 11.59am (Brasilia time) on Wednesday 15 November 2023.
Eligibility criteria
The competition is open to all African and African-focused entrepreneurs with businesses focused on shaping our future. Entrepreneurs who offer unique, local solutions to local problems and who meet the following eligibility criteria are highly encouraged to apply:
- Early-stage startups (for-profit or not-for-profit)
- Focussed on Africa, with most or all of its operations in Africa.
- Less than 50 employees.
- Less than 5 years of experience.
- It has raised less than US$ 1,000,000 in funding to date.
Evaluation criteria
The competition is about assessing the commercial merit and potential viability of each proposed new venture. The judges will assess its potential for economic success and the likelihood of achieving that success based on the team's plan, experience and validation of key assumptions and a clear and convincing presentation of the following:
- Product/Service (what it is; why distinctive).
- Team (relevance to the problem/ breadth/depth of skills; ability to execute).
- Opportunity (timing, market size/need, penetration capacity, strong value proposition and business model).
- Context (favourable regulatory/tax/political and sector context).
- Competitive advantage (Business and Product / Technology).
- Easy to copy? Barriers to entry? IP? Contracting capacities, How many competitors? etc.
- Risk/Reward (ways of managing the upside/downside).
- Structured experimentation (market validation of the value proposition/growth hypothesis).
- Financial (realistic assumptions underlying any financial projections).
- Traction and Execution (defined milestones).
- Market entry strategy.
- How are you acquiring customers?
- Marketing/Sales Channels/Partnerships?
Naturally, the more concrete the plan, the better. Teams that have a proven technology, have recruited partners or even attracted customers "beta" can increase their chances of success. On the other hand, strong early-stage ideas that have not yet been launched, but have been thought through and tested, will be well received and considered on the basis of their autonomous potential and the team's ability to execute them.
For the candidate/entrepreneur, the chance to learn and the process of defining a strong business idea and model, testing assumptions and making a convincing pitch about the viability of a new venture will be invaluable.
Deadline: 15th November 2023
Click HERE to sign up
