Applications for the 2022 U.S. Chamber of Commerce Africa Digital Innovation Competition has opened for interested and qualified candidates.
The programme comes with a total Grand Prize package worth $25,000. This includes $15,000 in prize money, a 6-month mentorship with a Fortune 500 Tech Company and a 1-year subscription to digital tools/platforms.
The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is the largest lobbying group in the United States, representing over three million businesses and organizations.The group was founded in April 1912 out of local chambers of commerce at the urging of President William Howard Taft and his Secretary of Commerce and Labor Charles Nagel.It was Taft’s belief that the “government needed to deal with a group that could speak with authority for the interests of business”.
Summary
- Host: US Chamber of Commerce
- Category: Competitions
- Eligible Countries: African countries
- Reward: $15,000 prize money | 6-month mentorship | Laptop
- Deadline: June 30, 2022
Details:
As part of the 2022 Digital Economy Summit, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.-Africa Business Center (USAfBC) in conjunction with AmChams across Africa, is hosting its annual Digital Entrepreneurship Competition for African Startups.
The competition is targeted towards Digital SMEs and startups that are looking to facilitate the delivery of digital, cross-border, interoperable, and cross- domain services and solutions, while also accelerating their digitally enabled growth
Requirements:
To be considered for the competition, you must:
- Be a startup or innovator with at least 51% African ownership
- Must be incorporated /registered with the appropriate country-based body, e.g., Nigerian Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)
- Not be a government agency, public administration, political organization, or non-profit of any type Africa Digital Entrepreneurship Competition 2022
- Startup must be head quartered in one of the African Countries.
- Startup must Not be older than five (5) years and not be part of a franchise brand or licensing agreements for distribution in a different country
- Not be a Business engaged in any illegal activity and not listed on the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Sanctions List
Duration and Reward
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1st Prize: The total Grand Prize package is worth $25,000. This includes $15,000 in prize money, a 6-month mentorship with a Fortune 500 Tech Company and a 1-year subscription to digital tools/platforms.
- 2nd Prize: The total Grand Prize package is worth $15,000. This includes $10,000 in prize money, a 6-month mentorship with a Fortune 500 Tech Company and a 6-month subscription to digital tools/platforms.
- 3rd Prize: The total Grand Prize package is worth $10,000. This includes $5,000 in prize money, a 3-month mentorship with a Fortune 500 Tech Company and a 3-month subscription to digital tools/platforms.
- Five regional champions will be named and collect $5,000 cash prize, plaques of recognition, and a 3-month mentorship with companies withtin their thematic areas.
- The Digital Innovation Competition will award cash prizes and in-kind services to be provided to the top three winners.
- The in-kind services may include laptops, annual subscriptions to digital platforms, mentoring and digital marketing/advertising services for the top three winners of the competition. The top three winners will also be offered a virtual platform to engage with mentors and participants during the Digital Economy Summit on December 07, 2022.
Method of Application
Each applicant will be evaluated by a panel of judges based on the pertinence of the idea being resolved, the quality of the innovation/service response, the business model, its scalability, the size of the market, and the clarity and persuasiveness of the two-minute video pitch. The selection and evaluation process of submissions shall be reviewed and accredited by an external certified reviewer. The winners of the competition will be determined by the judges’ ranking of the applicants based on a set of pre-determined criteria.
Click on the button below to commence your application.
