Catalyzing Investment Pipelines between Africa and Japan
Meet the Tôshikas.
Where African Startups and Innovators Unite with Japanese Investors for Sustainable Development!
About
The word “Tôshika” (投資家) means “Investor” in Japanese.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been actively engaged in unleashing the potential of young entrepreneurs across Africa, providing critical policy advisory support, technical cooperation, and facilitating financial contributions.
UNDP recognizes the dearth of publicly available information about the vibrant startup ecosystem in many African regions that add to investor hesitancy. We also recognize the critical gaps in terms of investment readiness of startups, which is caused by lack of pre-investment exposure to and communication with prospective investors.
In a strategic move, UNDP is initiating a groundbreaking project named “Meet the Tôshikas,” supported by catalytic funding from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry of Japan (METI). This project seeks to delve deeply into the African startup ecosystems, identifying and addressing fundamental elements hindering their growth and investment.
Japanese investors are always pivotal to this kind of endeavour. As a co-organizer of TICAD (The Tokyo International Conference of African Development), UNDP supports their increased contribution to Africa, including startups with great impact and growth potential. Their participation brings not only financial support for African startups but also valuable expertise and networks to take the startup ecosystems to the next level.
Through "Meet the Tôshikas," UNDP aims to bring about transformation of how investors find, capacitate and invest in African startups. This year 2024, the project is implemented in Angola, South Africa, and Zambia.
The objectives of this programme are to:
- Mobilize finance and promote financial services to tech-enabled startups that have the most potential and align with SDGs;
- Enhance the productive capacity and improve the competitiveness and investment readiness of young African entrepreneurs;
- Encourage more Japanese venture capital investment towards African startups.
Programme Overview
For this edition, the UNDP “Meet the Tôshikas” programme consists in:
- Selecting 6 African startups (2 from Angola, 2 from South Africa, and 2 from Zambia)
- Running these startups through a local Investment Readiness Support Program (IRSP) in their respective countries.
- Offering a $20,000 grant from the UNDP Startup Challenge Fund upon completion of the programme.
- Taking part in a 1-week roadshow to Tokyo to meet potential partners and investors.
Having the startups pitch in front of 3 Japanese investors bullish on Africa to secure investment.
Programme Timeline
Dates are subject to change.
1 | Call for Applications | January 29, 2024 |
2 | Application Period | Starts January 29, 2024 |
Application Deadline -Zambia | March 3, 2024 11:59pm (Zambia time) | |
Application Deadline –South Africa | March 10, 2024 11:59pm (South Africa time) | |
Application Deadline –Angola | March 17, 2024 11:59pm (South Africa time) | |
3 | Selection Process | Starts March 4, 2024 |
4 | Top 10 Bootcamp (Zambia, South Africa, Angola) | Weeks of April 22 to May 17, 2024 |
5 | Top 2 Selection (Zambia, South Africa, Angola) | Week of June 10, 2024 |
6 | Announcement of the Top 6 Startups | Week of June 19, 2024 |
7 | Investor Readiness Support Programme | Week of July 8 to Sept 16, 2024 |
8 | Roadshow to Tokyo | August 24 to 29, 2024 |
9 | Meet the Tôshikas! | August 30, 2024 |