Jasiri Growth Accelerator announces Sh9.8m support for start-ups
Jasiri Growth Accelerator (JGA), an organisation supporting start-ups in Kenya and Rwanda, has increased its funding to $75,000 (Sh9.8 million).
JGA, which has supported start-ups in the two countries for the last five years, announced the launch of its third cohort and invited small companies from the two countries to apply.
“The JGA is an industry-agnostic, Eastern Africa start-up venture-building program that invests in early-stage start-ups operating in Kenya and Rwanda, with demonstrated product-market fit and led by a strong founding team,” a statement from JGA said on Friday.
The company said it was out to seek early-stage start-ups, which have the potential for high growth and evidence of traction in serving a large market.
The organisation is supported by the Allan and Gill Gray Philanthropies Eastern Africa (AGGP-EA). It aims to accelerate and de-risk promising start-ups and prepare them for funding by focusing on business concept refinement, commercialization and growth.
“In the third cohort of the Jasiri Growth Accelerator, we are excited to invite early-stage start-ups with potential for scale to apply. We are seeking ventures led by ambitious, dedicated, and impact-driven co-founding teams. Our commitment through the JGA is to work alongside the founding teams to support the achievement of their growth objectives while preparing them for further investment,” JGA said.
The support programme will run predominantly virtually for 10 months, providing flexibility, with occasional in-person attendance required for specific sessions.
The financial support also includes a tailored split between direct funding towards working capital and funded strategic advisory to address key development areas and growth priorities for start-ups, which aims to attain seed-stage investor readiness and access.
“This programme targets start-ups from Rwanda and Kenya that have the potential to be market-creating innovations, which are start-ups dedicated to solving complex challenges and delivering valuable products or services to a broad, previously underserved or unserved audience,” it said.