Deadline: January 26, 2024
Applications are open for the Création Africa: South Africa, Lesotho and Malawi. Création Africa is a groundbreaking initiative by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs coordinated by the Embassy of France and the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS). Création Africa is part of a continent-wide French investment to bolster the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs).
The programme aims to support and boost emerging creative and cultural entrepreneurs across Lesotho, Malawi, and South Africa. Through a mentorship, incubation and immersion programme, the initiative will strengthen the networks, skills, and capabilities of these entrepreneurs and enterprises.
Benefits
- The 12 incubated businesses will receive financial support (in the form of grants) in order to scale from the Embassy of France in South Africa. Grant size will be determined by the specific needs of the emerging entrepreneurs and will be calculated to support business and project growth.
Eligibility
Emerging entrepreneurs in the Cultural and Creative Industries are eligible to apply. This includes but is not limited to the visual and performing arts; music; design and fashion; publishing; architecture; advertising; gaming; third places; multisectoral projects, and software development.
Applicant must:
- Be over 18 years old.
- Be residents of South Africa, Lesotho or Malawi.
- Be motivated to complete the entire programme minimum 7 months including the immersion programme.
- Have a cultural entrepreneurship business project in the ideation phase or early stage in the CCI sector.
- Have at least a business model and/or a proof of concept ready even in an early phase
- Be willing to actively engage in all stages of the programme and participate in all hosted events (such as Pitch Day, investors pitch, sectorial events, etc.)
- Be prepared to travel to any other designated city or country to participate in an event or workshop. As part of this mission, all necessary travel expenses for events, workshops, or any other related activities will be covered.
Application
- Record a 1 – 3 minute video that presents yourself, your business/project, and what you hope to get from this programme.
- Upload your video to a cloud service such as Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud, or as a private/unlisted video to YouTube. Ensure anyone with the link can view it, and have the link ready for your application.
- Go here and register on the site.
- Complete the Création Africa: Cultural and Creative Entrepreneurship Programme form and submit it. Include as much information as possible – this helps the jury make accurate and informed decisions.
For more information, visit Création Africa.