About GrowUp Incubator for green social businesses
2022 cohort: Sustainable Food Systems
It’s time for your social business to GrowUp! The Yunus Environment Hub’s incubation program is now open for applications and awaiting your solution for sustainable food systems in East Africa.
How can farmers increase their yield while nature simultaneously flourishes? And how can these food systems contribute to solving issues like inequality, poverty, and youth unemployment? If your social business provides an answer to these or other questions regarding sustainable food systems, we encourage you to apply for the 2022 GrowUp cohort until the 21st of November 2021.
The program aims to support and grow skills in early-stage entrepreneurs who have proven their concept and are looking for support on how to scale their social business and become self-sustainable. The cohort will support social business entrepreneurs in Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Burundi.
To apply for the 2022 cohort, social business should:
• Be located in one of our target countries in East Africa
• Solve a challenge within one or more thematic areas related to food systems: food production; food aggregation, distribution, marketing, and sales; food processing and packaging; food preparation and consumption; food disposal and food waste recovery
• Be beyond the experimentation stage
• Have their product/service on the market for 6 months – 3 years
• Be legally registered or planning on doing it during the incubation program
• Be led by a person or by the community (cooperative model)
• Be able to demonstrate substantial environmental and social impact
• Be in pre-seed investment but the post-revenue stage
• Have accumulated sales to date of -10,000 – 25,000 USD (Not necessarily profitable yet)
• Have 2-3 people from the team who will participate in the program
• Have regular access to stable internet to participate in mentoring sessions and cohort events
During the 6-month program the entrepreneurs will receive:
• Bi-weekly tailored mentorship based on their needs
• Interactive capacity building workshops
• Networking events with local partners and international partners
• Peer-to-peer support
We invite entrepreneurs and mentors interested in the incubation program to register for the upcoming info session on the 26th of October 5:30-6:00 pm EAT to clarify any questions they might have. Please register for the info session Here
Call for applications is open until the 21st of November 2021:
To apply as an entrepreneur, apply Here
To apply as a mentor, review the ToR Here and apply Here
Learn more about the program
If you have any questions regarding the program, you can reach out to Anna Khudiiash anna.khudiiash@yunuseh.com About Yunus Environment Hub
Yunus Environment Hub (YEH) is the global social business network that creates solutions for the environmental crisis. Co-founded and led by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus the YEH supports and develops social business solutions addressing environmental issues in a financially self-sustainable way. YEH is a spin-off of the Grameen Creative Lab, leaders of the global social business movement. Building on over 40 years of Grameen’s experience in developing and implementing social business solutions, YEH provides expertise on all aspects related to environmental issues: circular economy, waste management & recycling, carbon neutrality, biodiversity & afforestation, sustainable agriculture, clean energy, assess to water & sanitation.
While engaging in a variety of projects across all continents and regions, YEH’s project activities are based upon four pillars: Incubation & Acceleration, Venture Building, Consulting & Training, Education.
Our Mission: to design and implement social business-based solutions to environmental and social challenges that create opportunities along the value chain.
Our Vision: To create a “World of Three Zeros”: Zero Poverty, Zero Unemployment, and Zero Net Carbon Emissions.
