Hive Accelerator

About the program

The Hive Accelerator is a Business Accelerator initiated and built by Hive Colab in partnership with the Argidius Foundation, with the goal to Increase the percentage of successful high growth and investment ready locally led startups in Uganda.

To achieve this goal, Hive Colab will accelerate 80 high growth and locally led startups in Uganda, over a period of 3 years from 2023 to 2026, through 4 cohorts of 20 startups each to enable them grow and scale their businesses.

Target sectors

The program is sector agnostic however strong preference will be given to the following:

Tech and Tech enabled startups particularly in the five thematic areas of Agtech, Medtech, Edtech, Fintech and Govtech.
Female founded and led startups.

What we are looking for in applicants

We are looking for a diverse cohort of startups with innovations and business models that have the potential to:

Grow and scale
Generate revenue growth
Create new jobs
Attract venture capital investment into their businesses

Requirements for application

We are looking for startups that meet the following minimum requirements:

Legally incorporated in Uganda with the founding team being Ugandan.
Early-stage business that intends to grow and scale significantly over time.
Founding team of at least 2 members with diverse skill sets and at least one founding member working full time on the business.
Have minimum annual revenue of at least USD 10,000.
Must have management accounts or audited books of accounts.

What we have to offer to the selected participants

What the selected participants should expect:

Practical approach and simulation of an investment fundraising environment through 3 weeks of intensive workshops spread across 3 months comprising among others VIRAL (venture investment readiness and awareness levels) self-assessment, peer due diligence, pitching, financial narrative, milestone planning, pre-mortem, hot seat etc.
Competitive peer selection investment funding of USD 15,000 each for 4 startups in each cohort in form of equity or debt.
Help to raise further Investment funding for at least 50% of the businesses from each cohort within 1-3 years after program completion.
Mentorship– Personalized and group mentoring to provide expert guidance to strengthen business fundamentals and areas of risks that will be ongoing for 6 months after program completion.
Peer learning, business linkages and access to other founders to strengthen innovations and build best practices.