Are you a young entrepreneur...
Having already started or in the process of starting your business?
1
Holding the South African nationality or having resided in South Africa for the last five years?
2
Driven by excellence and societal impact looking for help to kick-start and boost your project?
3
Join our mentorship program
Get advice and gain access to resources to further boost your project and make a positive impact in South Africa's local communities
1. Mentorship
Once onboarded in the mentorship program, you will be assigned a mentor who will advice you in the development of your project and help you access additional tools and network
2. Yearly summit
Every year you will get the opportunity to join Izimanga ze Africa's yearly summit. This may include a company visit, inspiring speeches and networking opportunities with all other mentees and mentors
3. Camping adventure
As the organization expands in the next years, we intend to give all mentees a unique camping adventure across South Africa, which will include sports, business and cultural activities
4. Financial incentive
As a mentee, you will receive the opportunity to apply for a financial incentive to kickstart or boost your project. The access to the incentive is subject to specific terms and conditions
We aim to support entrepreneurship in all its shapes
Izimanga ze Africa supports 4 main categories of projects.
Your project doesn't fit in these 4 categories?
No worries! You can still apply if meeting the eligibility criteria.
Social Impact projects
•Education
•Health
•Housing
•Safety
•Community building
Environmental impact projects
•Waste & Recycling
•Food waste
•Energy
•Water
•Nature conservation
Arts
•Music
•Film-making
•Dancing
•Painting
•Sports
Craftmanship
•Food & Small-scale farming
•Clothing
•Jewelry
•Pottery & woodworking
•Repair shops
The format of your application
We expect a written report between 300 and 600 words long or video between 90 and 120 seconds long describing your motivation and your project.
On top, we will also look at the structure of your letter or video, the grammatical cleanliness of the report and the articulation of your speech.
The content of your application
We expect that your letter or video touches upon the following elements, even if briefly:
1.The story behind the project
2.The relevance of the project’s mission and its intended impact
3.Its financial sustainability
4.How Izimanga ze Africa would help them achieve their objective
5.The expectations of the mentorship program
Your eligibility
Although no documents will be asked during the first step of the application process, we expect you to confirm that you meet the eligibility criteria listed on top of this page and on top of the application link.
Documents to prove your eligbility will be requested as part of the second phase of the application process.
Which criteria will we be looking at in the written or video application?
The content of your pitch
We expect to hear more about your project. This includes:
1. What need/problem/opportunity it addresses
2. The solution you offer
3. The market for the solution you offer
4. The sustainability of your business model
5. The execution plan and milestones
6. The impact you expect to have on South African society
7. The potential for scalability
8. The skills/eagerness of your team to succeed
The format of your pitch
On top of the content, a clear and structured speech is key to success. We will amongst others be assessing:
1. The effectiveness of your communication
2. The clarity of your structure
3. If the storyline is clear (problem - solution - market - business model - impact - team)
4. Your professionalism
5. The quality of your responses to the jury's questions
Which criteria will we be looking at during the pitch?
The selection process includes 2 phases
Phase 1: Application
Send us via the application button a written or video application, describing the project you started or wish to start, its intended impact, the tools and incentives you need to further roll-out your project and how Izimanga ze Africa could help you.
Once the application deadline has been met, the management team of Izimanga will be taking care of the first screening where 20 applications will be selected.
Phase 2: Pitch
The successful applicants will be invited to join a forum, open to the public, to pitch their project in front of a jury.
12 applications out of the 20 will be selected to join the mentorship program.
The remaining applicants will receive a personalized feedback on the reasons of why they were not selected and a list of tools to improve their application for the next year.