Deadline: June 3, 2020.

The Caravan Entrepreneurship Program (CEP), the flagship program of Caravan Africa Project, is an initiative that provides a comprehensive framework to accelerate industrialization and create mass employment for young people on the African continent by interlinking local value chains to create cross-border ecosystems of STEM capacities and micro-entrepreneurial skills which through synergies can CREATE JOBS, DRIVE TRADE & BOOST INTEGRATION for GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS.

ELIGIBILITY

The program is open to the following selected categories of applicants;

• Entrepreneurs
• Aspiring Entrepreneurs
• Consultants: Ghanaian consultants with expertise in market access, design, public sector engagement, product design, auditing, logistics, accounting and business development.
• Freelancers: Self-employed individuals with expertise in marketing, PR, Graphic design, technical writing and coding.
• STEM Researchers: Local Researchers with expertise in low-toxicity preservation, natural emulsification, processed food formulation, skincare formulation, organic and inorganic chemistry, polymer research and the plastics space in general.
• Wildcards – teams or companies outside of the selected value chains.

CRITERIA

Entrepreneurs and Aspiring Entrepreneurs

• Applicants must be Ghanaian and be older than 18years of age.
• Business ideas proposed in the application must be feasible.
• Applicants must have knowledge and understanding of the proposed value chain product, the market, customers and competitors for their idea/business.
• Applicants must understand the basic financial requirements of operating a business, costs and revenues.
• Applicants must demonstrate potential for replication and growth of their value chain product or service to create jobs and wealth.
• Applicants must demonstrate leadership potential, capable of attracting people, customers and resources.
• Business ideas must be for profit and must be the original work of the entrepreneur making the submission.
• Ability to allocate time and resources to participate in the program, including attending periodic meetings, and implementation of field testing/pilot project in Ghana and other African countries.

Consultants

• Applicant must be a Ghanaian citizen and not under the age of 18years.
• Applicant must have a minimum of 5years consultancy experience with work experience in Ghana or any sub-Saharan African country.
• Applicant with consultancy experience in the stated value chain an asset.
• Applicant must have with expertise in market access, design, public sector engagement, project management, product design, auditing, logistics, accounting and business development.
• Applicant must know how to work effectively with a team and be ambitious.

Researchers

• Applicant must be a Ghanaian citizen and not under the age of 18years.
• Applicant must have a minimum of 5years research experience with special focus on Ghana or any sub-Saharan African country.
• Applicant with market research experience in the stated value chain or STEM is an asset.
• Applicant must have expertise in low-toxicity preservation, natural emulsification, processed food formulation, skincare formulation, organic and inorganic chemistry, polymer research and the plastics space in general.
• Applicant must have the skills to utilize research to assist interested stakeholders to make evidenced-based decisions.
• Applicant must know how to work effectively with a team and be ambitious.

Freelancers

• Applicant must be a Ghanaian citizen and not under the age of 18years.
• Applicant must have a minimum of 5years self-employed experience.
• Applicant must be an expert in one these – marketing, PR, Graphic design, technical writing or coding
• Applicant must know how to work effectively with a team and be ambitious.

BENEFITS

• Selected applicants will form clusters to work on an industry base value chain product
• Selected applicants will work with research institutes and other experts to refine their products and business models.
• Selected applicants will obtain market access and branding support.
• Selected applicants will ride on the “Caravan” meta-brand to tap positive consumer sentiment.
• Selected applicants will have access to high-level support network in private & public sectors
• Selected applicants will have access to funding and mentoring support to pilot and scale value chain products.
• All costs related to this program will be covered by Afrochampions Initiative and its partners.

OFFICIAL LINK: https://caravanafrica.com/2020/application/ghana/