About the GIZ KCOA project

This call for Entrepreneurs for Rural Access is part of the Knowledge Centres for Organic Agriculture (KCOA) in Africa project funded by GIZ. It is part of the “One World - No Hunger” initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). KCOA is being implemented in all regions of Africa through knowledge hubs and partners. The first phase started in 2019 and ends in 2023. The overall goal is to create an innovative strategy for promoting organic agriculture throughout Africa.

We are now requesting young people in South Africa (Limpopo and Eastern Cape) to propose innovative ideas to start a business, or expand their existing services, around the dissemination of agricultural videos using a Digisoft Smart Projector.
Click here information on the smart projector.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants: one person or teams of up to 3 young people can submit a proposal
Age: younger than 30 years
Country: Reside in South Africa
Provinces: Limpopo and Eastern Cape
Application submission: you need to be registered and logged in on the Access Agriculture website before you can submit an application form
Submission date: The deadline for submission is end of day on 8th April 2023

Apply Online Now

Proposal Guidelines

Individuals or teams of up to 3 people can submit a proposal
Each person can only be part of one proposal
Submission of proposals is only through our online system
You can save a draft of your proposal and then revisit your application before submitting it
No email or other type of applications will be accepted
You need to present the key ideas of your business proposal as laid out in the submission form
Proposals need to be submitted by end of day on 8th April 2023

For any clarifications, please first check the FAQ here before contacting the ERA coordinator: vinjeru@accessagriculture.org

Steps to follow for submitting an application

Register/create an account or login on the website of Access Agriculture here: https://www.accessagriculture.org/user/register
Account verification: Check for a message from info@accessagriculture.org in your inbox/junk/spam folder of the email address used in creating the account. Click on the link (URL) in the message to activate your account.
Existing account: If you already have an account on the Access Agriculture website, there is no need to create another one.
Read the application guidelines: Once the account is verified, go back to the Access Agriculture website and read carefully the application instructions and FAQ’s (frequently asked questions). Click here for the FAQ’s.
Fill the application form: If you qualify go to the "Call for Proposals", open the application form by clicking on “Apply Online”. Fill in the required information on each page. You can “save” the form and edit or complete it later. All questions must be answered before submitting the application.
Preview the form: Go to the last page and click on “preview”. All the filled in information will be displayed and you can read through it before submitting. If you want to make changes you can click on “previous page” and go back to the form.
Submit the form: Once you have finished filling in the information, go to the last page, click on “preview” and then click on “submit”. The form will be submitted and it can no longer be edited.
- Please note: Incomplete forms will not be considered - and remember to submit your application before the deadline.
Email confirmation: After submitting the form, check for the application receipt confirmation message in your inbox/junk/spam folder of the email address used to create your account on Access Agriculture.

Apply Online Now

Remember you must be registered and logged in to fill in the application form

Questions to be answered on the application

What motivated you to apply for this challenge fund? (100 words maximum)
What problem/s in your community do you think you would be able to solve using a smart projector and showing videos? (100 words maximum)
When using the smart projector, how do you plan to make money in rural communities? (in other words, how you plan to make money with the smart projector) (250 words maximum)
Who is your target audience/anticipated clients (projects, farmer groups, organisations, individuals)? (100 words maximum)
How many farmers in the surrounding rural communities do you expect to reach per month for video screening? (100 words maximum)
What strategy will you use to reach the number of farmers mentioned? How will you mobilise these farmers to view videos? (250 words maximum)
How will you reach youth and women in your target communities? (100 words maximum)
If you already have a business, how will the projector add value to your current business? If it is a new business, what other associated services can you offer to the targeted audience along with the video viewings? (250 words maximum)
How will you share your experiences of using the smart projector with Access Agriculture? (100 words maximum)

Apply Online Now

Remember you must be registered and logged in to fill in the application form

Selection Process

A ccommittee of ERA coaches, communication and development professionals will review and assess the proposals based on the novelty and strength of the business proposal in promoting organic agriculture using Access Agriculture videos.
A shortlist of pre-selected applicants will be developed by the committee.
The pre-selected applicants will be informed via email and/or phone call.
An online interview will be held with shortlisted applicants.
The shortlisted candidates will be informed about the outcome of the interview 2 days afterwards.
Candidates selected from the interviews will be invited to pitch their business idea to the committee.
Four (4) winners will be selected in the country.
The selected winners will have a face-to-face meeting with the regional ERA coach to clarify roles and reporting and hand over the smart projector.

Implementation required for winners

If you are a winner, you will be expected to sign a code of conduct document that stipulates that you will effectively use the smart projector to show Access Agriculture videos unitl the end of the project under which you have been recruited to grow your business or services, to promote organic agriculture and agroecology and report back regularly to Access Agriculture. On successful completion of activities the projector can become your property.
Access Agriculture reserves the right to take back the projector if there is failure to carry out activities regularly.
All winners are obliged to start activities within the FIRST month after receiving the Smart Projector. After one month if there is no work, the ERA will receive a warning and after 2 months the ERA coach will take the projector back.

Apply Online

Remember you must be registered and logged in to fill in the application form

For any clarifications, please first check the FAQ here (this will open in a new page).
If you still have questions, please contact the ERA Team in your region: vinjeru@accessagriculture.org