Sahara Impact Fund Fellowship 2025: $30,000 grant for African entrepreneurs
The Sahara Impact Fund Fellowship 2025, a hybrid accelerator programme that provides coaching, and market access to young African innovators, entrepreneurs, inventors, and changemakers, is currently accepting applications for its fourth cohort.
The Sahara Impact Fund Fellowship programme was launched by the Sahara Group Foundation in 2020 as part of its mission to promote sustainable development throughout Africa. Launched in partnership with the Impact Investment Foundation and LEAP Africa, the programe aims to provide young changemakers with hands-on mentorship, company growth coaching, and access to subject matter experts through a strong network of dedicated stakeholders.
At the end of the six-month accelerator programme, the Sahara Impact Fund awarded $5,000 grants to 10 exceptional Fellows in its third cohort. Participants also had access to additional funding opportunities based on well-defined impact, reach, and sustainability metrics, which helped them in their efforts to scale social enterprises throughout Africa.
Benefits
For selected startups, the Sahara Impact Fund Fellowship 2025 programme offers the following benefits:
- $30,000 grant funding
- Support for the go-to-market
- Legal aid, such as help with patenting and intellectual property
- Services for business advisory
- Assistance with brand management
The goal of the entire support package, which is worth over $100k, is to assist researchers, entrepreneurs, innovators, and inventors in transforming their concepts into profitable, scalable enterprises.
ALSO READ: Pegasus Angel Accelerate 2025 launches $100k investment to empower early-stage startups
Who can apply
To be eligible for the Sahara Impact Fund Fellowship 2025 programme, applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Relevance: applicant must clearly explain the problem their solution addresses, including who is most affected, the urgency of the issue, potential repercussion, and the implication of inaction
- Innovation: Is it a unique concept or a major improvement on an already-existing one
- Impact: Describe the solution’s scope, including the number of individuals it can impact, its depth and the areas it can affect
- Scalable: show that the market is ready and that there is room to grow
- Profitability: Is the solution commercially viable and profitable
Key dates to remember
- Launch of application form: Tuesday, July 1, 2025
- Submission of entries: Tuesday, July 1 to Sunday, August 31, 2025
- Deadline for submission of entries: Sunday, August 31, 2025
- Screening of submissions: Monday, September 1 to September 13, 2025
- Announcement of successful EXTRApreneurs (Fellows): Saturday, September 27, 2025
- Visit of successful EXTRApreneurs (Fellows): Monday, September 29 to Friday, October 10, 2025
- Announcement of the Final EXTRApreneurs (Fellows): Friday, October 24, 2025
- MADAA Advisory Bootcamp (Mentorship & Support): Monday, November 3 to Sunday, November 16, 2025
- Close Out Event: Thursday, November 20, 2025
How to apply
Eligible young African entrepreneurs can apply for the Sahara Impact Fund Fellowship 2025 programme by filling out the application form before Sunday, August 31, 2025.
Do you have an innovative business (small, mid-scale business or startup) that adds value, creates opportunities or solves bold problems? Then you`ve got a story worth telling? Shoot us an email with the subject “Story Worth Telling (+Name of Business)” to [email protected]
