Apply Now: Jasiri Talent Investor Cohort 9 — Up to $28,000 Grant
Ambitious professionals and aspiring entrepreneurs from Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia can now apply for the Jasiri Talent Investor Cohort 9.
This opportunity is a 13-month venture-building programme designed to help experienced talent create high-impact businesses in Africa’s food systems sector.
The programme is looking for people with strong professional expertise and a proven record of building, solving problems and creating value, even if they do not yet have a business idea. Jasiri says selected participants will be supported to identify real problems, form founding teams and develop new ventures from the ground up.
Up to $28,000 in venture funding
Successful participants can receive a venture creation grant of up to $28,000 per venture, provided through milestone-based funding as their businesses develop.
The programme also provides up to $3,000 per team for market validation, helping participants conduct customer discovery, research, prototyping and testing before taking their ventures further.
Jasiri’s support package also includes:
- Three-month residential intensive in Kigali, Rwanda
- Travel to and from Rwanda
- Accommodation, meals and local transportation
- Health insurance during the residential period
- $250 monthly living support during the three-month intensive
- Venture-building support from experienced coaches and experts
- Access to partner benefits, shared workspaces and an entrepreneurial network
The programme is grant-based and does not take equity in ventures created by participants.
Who can apply?
Cohort 9 is open to citizens of Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia, including eligible citizens living in the diaspora.
Applicants should demonstrate:
- Strong professional or technical expertise in their field
- Evidence of having built a business, project, side venture or other initiative
- A record of achievement and problem-solving
- A strong commercial or technical advantage
- Readiness to pursue entrepreneurship full-time
- Willingness to relocate to Kigali for the mandatory residential intensive
- Commitment to building a new venture focused on food systems
- Willingness to co-found a venture with other selected participants
Importantly, applicants do not need an existing business idea or previous professional experience in agriculture or food systems. What matters is demonstrated ability, entrepreneurial drive and the willingness to build around real challenges.
Focus on Africa’s food systems
Cohort 9 is specifically focused on opportunities across the food systems value chain, including areas such as production, processing, logistics, finance, data and distribution.
Jasiri is seeking innovators capable of developing market-creating solutions that can address structural challenges while unlocking new opportunities across the sector.
The programme begins with an online Jasiri Jumpstart, followed by the three-month residential intensive in Kigali and subsequent venture-creation support.
How to apply
Interested candidates from Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia are encouraged to apply through the official Jasiri application platform.
This is an opportunity for experienced professionals to move from expertise to entrepreneurship, build with a co-founder and access funding and hands-on support to launch a new food-systems venture.
Apply for Jasiri Talent Investor Cohort 9
