£15,000 + All Expenses Paid ACCEL Awards for Early-stage African Startups – London, UK 2019

The ACCEL Awards is an annual business start-up contest organised by the London Business School’s Africa Club in collaboration with the Club Alumni and Corporate Partners including FTSE 100 companies, venture capital firms, entrepreneurship incubators and media companies.

Course Level: Entrepreneurship

Eligible Countries: African countries

To be taken at (country): UK

Eligibility Criteria: You need to be an African entrepreneur with a business proposal that has proof of concept. The business needs to be Africa focused or caters primarily to the African market.

Selection Criteria:Each entry will be assessed by a minimum of two judges based on the below 5 criteria.

1. Originality of idea

• Is the start-up a new or novel application of existing knowledge/technology/business model to the Africa region in focus ?
  • High scores should be given to start-ups that are not clones of well known business models already existing within the African region

1. Strength of business case

• Is the founder able to articulate a strong business case including target market, pain points and how the start-up is differentiated?
  • Does the start-up have clear revenue models and path way to profitability?
  • High scores should be given to those applications that demonstrate clear business plan to achieving a profitable business

1. Level of product development

• Is the product or idea well developed and ready for investment opportunities?
  • Do they have technology patents, rights, brand ownerships or partnerships already in place?
  • Is the product already in the market?
  • High scores should be given to those applications that demonstrate well developed products or services that are already on sale

1. Level of business opportunity or impact

• What is the level of potential social impact of the idea in Africa?
  • What is the potential size of the market share and profitability
  • High scores should be given to those applications that demonstrate scalable social impact

1. Team’s ability to execute the idea and other Intangibles

• Does the team have the right combination of passion? insight? experience? qualifications?
  • Do secondary aspects of the application strengthen the likelihood of success e.g. founder’s story?
  • High scores should be given to those applications that demonstrate passionate teams with significant expertise in the relevant business sector

Number of Awards: 3 Finalists, 1 Winner

Value of Award:

• Get Unparalleled International Exposure
• Prestigious Brand Partnership
• Global Business Mentoring&Network
• Fully Sponsored Trip to London for the Top 3 Start-ups
• £15,000 in Award Prizes

Presentation of Award:  27th April, 2019.

Method of Application: 

• Login
• It is important to go through all application requirements on the Programme Webpage see link below) before applying

Visit Programme Webpage for Details

Scholarship Application Deadline: 31st January 2019