Seven Ugandan small businesses on track for $20,000 seed funding

September 5, 2024 in Business, Finance by Editor

Hi-Innovator is a program jointly run by the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) together with the Mastercard Foundation, focusing on raising the visibility of enterprises that are not considered attractive to traditional investors and would otherwise struggle to attract the financing and technical support they need to grow. The Stanbic Business Incubator provides training support.

Seven small businesses will receive seed funding of about $20,000 each from Hi-Innovator, a program jointly run by the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) together with the Mastercard Foundation.

However, the businesses have to undergo a detailed due diligence which will determine the unlocking of this financing. The seven companies are Marjoz Farm Stores Limited, Ebenezer Energy Saving Stoves Limited, Kaps Circle Company Limited, Dreck Ventures Limited, Classic Baking and Catering Limited, Crested Resources Limited and Afro Lube Limited.

Launched in August 2020, Hi-Innovator is a five-year initiative that focuses on raising the visibility of enterprises that are not considered attractive to traditional investors and would otherwise struggle to attract the financing and technical support they need to grow.  Women and youth-owned businesses have been given some preference.

Hi-Innovator is being implemented by Outbox and supported by several Entrepreneurship Support Organisations (ESO’s), including the Stanbic Business Incubator Limited (SBIL), a subsidiary of Stanbic Uganda Holdings Limited.

Patricia Ainembabazi, the Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist at NSSF said, “We want to remind you that this will be the start of a new journey. More hard work, focus and commitment, are needed. For those who have not gone through today, do not give up. Use the skills, knowledge and networks you have attained during this period to refine your business ideas and become better while positioning yourselves for other opportunities.”

Dubbed the ‘Ignite cohort’, the seven winners will now join the SBIL Accelerator Program. This is a rigorous six-month process involving work planning, mentorship sessions, and access to Business Development Services (BDS) providers. The program aims at addressing barriers to scale and enabling them to unlock additional follow-on funding beyond the initial $20,000.

Stanbic Incubator’s Chief Executive, Catherine Poran said, “Entrepreneurship is lonely. You need partners and that is one of the reasons why we exist as the Incubator. Everything that we are doing here, is about the transformation of Uganda. As the Stanbic Incubator, we are driven by our mandate that runs on three key pillars of access to finance, access to markets, and business operational skilling. Therefore, do not limit yourself but show ambition.”

The seven emerged as the best after a day of robust pitching involving a total of 13 business owners facing a panel of three Investment Committee members at the SBIL offices in Kampala.

During the pitching, the business owners were assessed on problem-solving; business models and sustainability; market potential and scalability; impact- especially on women and youth, and finally the composition of their team.

As of April 2024, the Hi-Innovator initiative has trained 29,000 entrepreneurs, availed seed-funding and technical assistance to 330 businesses, built the capacity of 13 ESO partners, and reached out to over 150,000 youth and women.