M:lab East Africa and the World Bank Group have launched ‘Traction Camp,’ to support emerging digital and mobile entrepreneurs across the region.
Targeted at incubating 25 startups for it first session, ‘Traction Camp’ will allow m:lab East Africa to extend its knowledge, learning and experience working with startups across the years to nurture innovative digital products can be developed and scaled into sustainable and profitable businesses.
There will be no money from m:lab East Africa to participating startups but they will get support from m;lab partners to ensure they are investor or market-ready product.
“Entrepreneurial skills, business acumen, access to networks, and good knowledge of financing mechanisms are critical to scale startups,” said Ganesh Rasagam, manager for Innovation & Entrepreneurship in the World Bank Group’s Trade & Competitiveness Global Practice. “Now is the time to seize the moment and help entrepreneurs bridge the gap through increased training and technical support in those areas.”
The first call for applications will be published in the coming days and will stay open until the end of January 2017. The program will consists of two weeks of intensive training followed by up to six months of personalized coaching, tailored to each entrepreneur’s needs.
Participating companies will receive technical assistance to improve their marketability to early-stage financiers. The curriculum will cover key topics, such as investment readiness and investor engagement, along with negotiations, regulatory environments, and internationalizations.
Traction Camp is supported by the World Bank Group’s infoDev program and the governments of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Kenya.
Related posts
