The Kenya Agribusiness for Innovation Incubator programme

The 2014 GrowthHub – Agribusiness for Impact incubator and accelerator programme is designed to equip entrepreneurs with the most innovative solutions to some of the most pressing problems faced in agriculture to take their idea and build it into an innovative product or service that creates both financial and social impact. The programme consists of a cohort of 12 for-profit teams that are operating in any stage of the agricultural value chain other than actual farming.

Why the GrowthHub?

The GrowthHub incubates and accelerates East African start-ups to deliver sustainable business growth, create employment and contribute to social progress. The first GrowthHub is situated in the business district of Kilimani, Nairobi and has office facilities for its entrepreneurs who are part of the various incubator and accelerator cohorts it runs, as well as training and meeting facilities. 

The GrowthHub is a part of GrowthAfrica, a group of companies that includes GrowthAfrica Consulting, GrowthAfrica Management, GrowthAfrica Capital and GrowthAfrica Ventures. Their goal is to have 20 hubs throughout Eastern Africa within the next 5 years, focusing on locally relevant technologies, products and services.

The Incubation Programme is developed for those entrepreneurs and their start-ups who have already come up with an innovation to improve food production, processing, technology or distribution, have validated this idea and want to evolve and take the next step towards a successful business.

• The programme invited 12 agribusiness start–ups with mature ideas to work together with facilitators, mentors and like mined entrepreneurs in the same environment for 16 weeks.
• The sessions and workshops are designed to assist the start-up teams analyse the real need for input and feedback from the market, customers and key stakeholders, and design their tests and pilots accordingly. It is a resident experiential programme, filled with working days where specific topics will be discussed every week.
• After 4 weeks the teams present their plans for piloting and testing to a panel of business angles and their fellow peers. This panel decides which 5 start-ups will be receiving the pre-committed funding of 5,000 USD for each team, to commence the testing and piloting.
• The successful teams will then continue the programme for another 10 weeks executing their pilot/test with the guidance of facilitators, advisers and mentors – while continuously sharing their experiences with each other.
• The activities conclude with a presentation to potential investors, key stakeholders and the social enterprise community at large what their tests and pilots revealed, and what the next steps are for their business venture.

Applications closed on 09/01

Selection Process closes on 24/01

Programme Sessions: 17/02-17/03/2014