The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has announced the launch of the NINJA (Next Innovation with Japan) Business Plan Competition for businesses emerging during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The NINJA Business Plan Competition will target startups and organizations from 19 African countries.
The winners can get up to a maximum of $30,000 for 6 months of empirical surveys to verify whether the proposed business contributes to social issues.
The application is open for startups/organizations in all sectors with a specific focus on emerging businesses in COVID-19-related fields including, but not limited to:
-Health: Online healthcare support; disease-testing solutions; medical data sharing and privacy protection solutions; distribution of drugs and medical equipment; IoT, including 3D printers, in the medical field
-Disaster management: Geo-tracking during disasters; emergency information dissemination
-Business services: Support for remote workers; efficient management/operation of online events
-Education sector: Remote learning support
-Food and agriculture: Efficient food/commodity distribution technology
-Finance: Contactless transactions/payment; lending/insurance services to SMEs and individuals
-Logistics: delivery service, urban mobility management
-Other: Substituting imported goods with local innovative technology
Eligibility Criteria
To take part in JICA’s NINJA Business Plan Competition, startups must:
1.) Have their head office or a branch in one of the target countries.
2.) Be a profit/non-profit organization registered as an independent legal entity. Proposals from individuals will not be considered.
3.) Have a very strong management team of at least 2 people.
4.) Have an innovative product(s) or service(s) in response or adaptable to the Pandemic and post-pandemic society OR have a feasible business plan to create prototypes (MVP).
Target Countries
Angola, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia
Tentative Schedule
1.) Application deadline: July 22nd, 2020
2.) Interview of selected startups: Mid-Late August 2020
3.) Final selection: September 2020
4.) Contract with JICA
Click here for more details and to apply.
