BOOST AFRICA

Creating a thematic facility for the promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation under the ACP Impact Financing Envelope in order to extend its investment scope to funds covering all the stages of the venture capital cycle (from seed and early stage to growth capital). The idea is for the EIB to co-invest with AfDB in order to support the earliest and riskiest stages of the entrepreneurial value chain in a sustainable way through a blending mechanism with the European Commission. Among other things, the operation directly addresses some of the causes of the current migration crisis (creation of quality jobs for youth) in a medium to long-term perspective.

Boost Africa stems from the belief that entrepreneurship and innovation can play a significant role in accelerating living standards and social progress in Africa, not only by developing solutions to fundamental livelihood, education, energy, and social needs, but also by creating quality jobs for young people. The initiative will thus, in the medium to long term, contribute to addressing the root causes of the current migration crisis. Supporting startups also means sustaining the democratisation of the economy, in a context characterised by an unequal distribution of wealth and high barriers for newcomers to start a business.

The fund targets information and communication technology (ICT) startups and early-stage small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which typically have a limited environmental impact.

Final beneficiaries will be requested to comply with applicable national and EU legislation, as appropriate.