Second African Diaspora Marketplace Grants

Small Enterprise Assistance Funds (SEAF) is currently inviting applications for the Second African Diaspora Marketplace (ADM) grants. The second ADM has been launched as an initiative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Western Union Company. 

The main aim of ADM is to encourage sustainable economic growth and employment by offering support to U.S.-based African Diaspora entrepreneurs with innovative ideas for start-up and established businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa.

It is expected that ADM will award 15-30 winning businesses with matching partnership grants approximately $50,000. The exact number of businesses supported will be determined by the availability of total funds. In addition, the ADM will facilitate access to technical assistance, capacity building and information on a range of follow-on financing options for all finalists. These opportunities will be afforded through linkages with existing USAID and other United States Government (USG) programs in Africa as well as ADM partnerships with the private and public sector.

Find out more by visiting http://www.yipekenya.org/Diaspora.htm

Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund

The Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund provides grants and interest free loans to businesses that wish to implement innovative, commercially viable, high impact projects in Africa.
The AECF supports businesses working in:

• Agriculture
• Financial services
• Renewable energy, and
• Technologies for adapting to climate change.

AECF also supports media initiatives and information services that relate to the above sectors.

Read more http://www.yipekenya.org/AECF.htm

ISOC Community Grants

The Internet Society is a nonprofit organization founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet related standards, education, and policy. It is dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of people throughout the world.

The Internet Society will be accepting applications for the November 2011 round of the Community Grants Programme from 15th August to 16th September 2011. Award decisions will be made in mid-November.

The Community Grants Programme has been established to assist Internet Society chapters and members specifically in projects that will:

• Advance Internet Society's mission and goals specifically those aligned with ISOC Major Strategic Initiatives

• Serve the Chapters’ communities

• Nurture collaborative work among Chapters/Individual Members

• Enhance and utilize knowledge sharing in the global internet community and

• Encourage Chapters’ sustainability and relevance.

For more information, visit http://bit.ly/pkX0iH

The Arthur B. Schultz Foundation grants

The Arthur B. Schultz Foundation (ABSF) makes international grants in two core areas: women’s empowerment and disabled mobility solutions. These grants are awarded exclusively to U.S. 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations or equivalent government-recognized nonprofit status for foreign grantees.

For further information on introducing your organisation visit http://bit.ly/rnnuYD

African Women Development Fund Grants

African Women Development Fund (AWDF) is an institutional capacity-building and programme development fund, which aims to help build a culture of learning and partnerships within the African women's movement.

The AWDF funds local, national, sub-regional and regional organisations in Africa working towards women's empowerment.

In addition to awarding grants, the AWDF attempts to strengthen the organisational capacities of its grantees.

For further information, visit http://www.yipekenya.org/African Women Development Fund.htm

Global Development Awards and Medals Competition

Are you looking for an opportunity to scale up your innovative project? Here is your chance to receive US$ 30,000.

The Global Development Network (GDN) is inviting development organisations working in developing countries and transition economies to enter the Global Development Awards and Medals Competition and receive grants through the Japanese Award for Most Innovative Development Project (MIDP). A second prize of US$5,000 will be awarded to the runner-up.

For more information, visit http://www.yipekenya.org/Global Development Awards and Medals Competition.htm

Disclosing Non-Disclosure

Yesterday a workshop was held by the ICT Board at the University of Nairobi’s Chiromo campus to discuss their Digital Content and Software Applications Grants. The grants have two categories that Kenyan participants can enter:

• Government information portal: to develop solutions and products that exploit mobile and web technology in the delivery of government information or services, and 
• Private sector content and applications: to develop innovative solutions and products that exploit mobile and web technology in the delivery of information, entertainment or services 

The venue was packed to capacity with entrepreneurs seeking to find out how their projects could benefit from this Kshs. 300 Million grant facility that is aimed at promoting the development of local digital content and software applications.

After discussing modalities regarding applications and eligibility amongst other grant criteria, one of the contentious issues that emerged was the intellectual property protection for the grant applicant’s projects.

Some participants expressed concern that even if they are not selected, their software could be used by unscrupulous people. However, one way that emerged to mitigate this was a suggestion that non-disclosure agreements could be included in the application supporting documents, if not on the online template.

Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), also known as confidentiality agreements, or proprietary information agreements are legal contracts between at least two parties to protect non-public business information.

With the ICT Board grant form not providing for NDAs, another suggested way of intellectual  property protection was through the use of patents, copyrights and trademarks. Some participants nevertheless raised the point that the triumvirate of IP protection tools were expensive and beyond the reach of small entrepreneurs. However, a lawyer who gave a short presentation advised that in fact the cost of registering copyrights was Kshs. 600 (US$ 7.40) - not as punitive as earlier thought.

Copyrights, patents and trademarks provide innovators with exclusive rights, including the right to copy, distribute and adapt their work. These intellectual property rights also give the owners the right to commence legal proceedings to prevent unauthorized use of their innovation.

The discussion then veered onto how an entrepreneur engaging a large corporation could protect their idea from being exploited. However the unequal relationship power balance means that even though an entrepreneur may ask a corporate to sign an NDA, they do have the option of refusal. Many entrepreneurs have done away with their NDAs only to see their projects being used by the same companies they approached. In Kenya, there is also the problem of the time and expense it takes to pursue court cases which also act as a deterrence when seeking out the IP rights and protection.

The ICT Board could take up this issue to sensitise the private sector on the ethical sense of respecting the hard work of entrepreneurs. In the meantime, we will protect our innovations the best we can.