The IFC’s Startup Catalyst is a platform designed to invest in incubators, accelerators, and seed funds. The Catalyst targets innovative early stage start-ups in emerging markets and mobilizes essential seed financing.
The EBRD’s Star Venture program mobilizes a range of technical support to high potential start-ups, including world-class business diagnostics, a large pool of global mentors and local and international advisory services.
Both programs focus on innovative, fast-growing companies, mainly operating in the tech sector and/or using tech-enabled business models, and share the objective of supporting innovation, creating jobs and developing the ecosystem for early stage companies. This applies especially to companies trying to solve pressing challenges, like climate change, access to finance, healthcare, and education.
Both programs operate directly with start-ups, as well as with accelerators, incubators and funds, and are both highly-active in the start-up ecosystem of North Africa. There is growing recognition that finance and know-how are two critical components needed to support and promote fast growing early stage companies, and will be made more readily available through this collaboration.
A pilot phase will aim to select one country in north Africa, identify partners and mobilize in a coordinated manner. Once the pilot confirms the benefits of this approach, then other countries will be targeted in the region.
