NINJA Business Plan Competition 2020 in Response to COVID-19

The NINJA Business Plan Competition will target startups and organizations from 19 African countries. The application is open for startups/organizations in all sectors with a specific focus on emerging businesses in COVID-19-related fields including, but not limited to:

• Health: Online healthcare support; disease-testing solutions; medical data sharing and privacy protection solutions; distribution of drugs and medical equipment; IoT, including 3D printers, in the medical field
• Disaster management: Geo-tracking during disasters; emergency information dissemination
• Business services: Support for remote workers; efficient management/operation of online events
• Education sector: Remote learning support
• Food and agriculture: Efficient food/commodity distribution technology
• Finance: Contactless transactions/payment; lending/insurance services to SMEs and individuals
• Logistics: delivery service, urban mobility management
• Other: Substituting imported goods with local innovative technology

NINJA Business Plan Competition Eligibility.

• Open to organisations with their head office or a branch in one of the target countries.　
• Profit/non-profit organisations registered as an independent legal entity. Proposals from individuals will not be considered.
• Companies with a very strong management team of at least 2 people.
• Businesses that have an innovative product(s) or service(s) in response or adaptable to the pandemic and post-pandemic society OR have a feasible business plan to create prototypes (MVP).

Eligible Countries: Angola, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia.

NINJA Business Plan Competition Prizes.

• Winners from each country will be given a chance to sign a work contract with JICA for their innovation(s).
• Winners will be eligible for equity/debt-free sum of up to USD $30,000 by JICA for covering costs associated with the proposed activities including remuneration of staffs, other expenses, and indirect local tax.
• Winners may also get the opportunity to travel to Japan for further investments and business partnerships sponsored by JICA.

NINJA Business Plan Competition Selection Criteria.

• The proposal should introduce some level of innovation in terms of a business model, a new product or service that can be more actively used, and/or profitability in the current and post COVID-19 era.
• Proposals should be as commercially-oriented as possible.
• JICA may establish an evaluation board with outside evaluators experts under strict confidentiality to evaluate proposals.
• Each country will have 8 to 10 finalists out of which up to 5 winners will be selected.
• Winners from each country will participate in the grand finale

How to Apply for NINJA Business Plan Competition.

When applying, each company is to submit a business plan with the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that can be achieved within about 6 months.

Apply Here Official Link

For any queries about the competition, please get in touch with us at the following email address: edgps@jica.go.jp.