The SAIS Investment Readiness Programme (including its Livestock Track) is a free, year-long, equity-free programme run by GIZ on behalf of Germany's BMZ and co-funded by the Gates Foundation, helping African agri/livestock tech start-ups become investor-ready through tailored advisory, up to €20,000 in technical assistance, and access to working-capital loans of up to €50,000. It targets for-profit, Africa-registered start-ups (excluding South Africa-only registrations) at pre-seed to Series A stage with a live product and early revenue; the most recent confirmed application deadline (28 September 2025 for the 2026 cohort) has passed, so founders should monitor the official site for the next call.
Submissions are reviewed on a rolling basis against the criteria below. SAIGE captures your intent to apply — linking this opportunity to your business profile — before handing you off to Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH’s official application. This keeps your activity in one place and helps us surface better matches over time.
