Even though it's after the deadline we will still review your application as and when we can.
Investment DetailsWe provide cash and support:
1. Cash: $20k equity investment, follow-on Funding up to $100k
2. Services (valued at $20k):
- Mentors (all former entrepreneurs with businesses ~5-10x larger than yours so you can learn from their experience)
- Export Certifications
- Sales Lead Generation: Calls with buyers
- Sales Coaching: weekly diagnosis of sales problems and accountability
- Grant Writing
- Formation of Strategy Board
- Operations Optimization
- Financial Controller/Outsourced CFO
- Discounted accounting software/ERP
- Weekly in-person/online problem solving meet-up and training: sales, operations, etc
- Weekly Dinners/Talks from successful entrepreneurs
- Optional publicity. Publicity is a mixed blessing in Kenya. If you want to stay chini ya maji we won't publish our investment in your company.
- We know there is very little capital for agri-business in Kenya so we expect to keep re-investing in your business so you don't have to look for outside capital (unless you want to)
- We expect to never sell our shares and partner with entrepreneurs for the longterm
Areas of Interest- Dried fruit
- Transport
- Certifications esp. dealing with new EU regulations
- Export
- Timber
- Furniture
- Locally assembled farm equipment
- Commodities exchange
- Value added produce
- Sales layer on top of export companies
- Leather
- Equipment import/leasing
- Dried eggs
- Meat
- Preserved food
- Make-up
- Buying from farmers
- buying in Ksh and selling in hard currency like USD
- Products with little market risk (we know there are buyers for Avocados, I'm not sure if there is a market for bug protein potato chips)
- Legal dislocations, such as recent legal changes that give you a competitive advantage like deregulation of pyrethrum or increased import duties
- Other businesses with high growth potential
Of course, not all of these items will apply to any one business.
Of Less Interest- Markets that have been tried and typically don't scale well
- Companies with less than $20k annual revenue
- Selling to farmers, like farm inputs for smallholder farmers. We prefer to buy from farmers
- Buying in hard currency (e.g. USD) and selling in Kenyan Shillings, like imported vegetable oil
- Climate oriented investments that depend on climate regulations and carbon credits.
Guidelines for eligibility
- BOLD ambitions
- Value-addition in agriculture
- Operating in Kenya
- Use quickbooks/zoho/odoo or migrate accounts to professional accounting system before receiving investment
- Complete financials by the 5th of each month and audit by Feb 28 each year
- Spend 80%+ of time and 48+ hours / week on this business
- Be on the Strategy Board of another kuzana startup
- Uses Google Workspace or similar reliable email server
- Open to creating Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) or other incentive system to retain top talent at your company
- Offer stock options to board members as an incentive
- Committed to living in Kenya (Local or expat with longterm work permit)
- Fast growing. Ideally 10%+ Month-on-Month for new companies or 30-200% Year on Year for 2+ year old companies
- Ideally profitable
Selection process
- This screening application.
- Full application
- Video call
- Request for documents
- Meet in person and visit your facility
- One Day Sales clinic (who are you selling to and how can you supercharge your sales over the next 1 month?)
- Provide Nov managment accounts by Dec 5
- Notification of acceptance Dec 15
- Program starts Jan 17, 2025 in Spring Valley, Nairobi and every Friday thereafter for 12 weeks, 9am to 5pm plus dinner afterwards
