Regulation
1. Background to the launch of the competition
The proposed competition is part of the second phase of the MEET Africa project.
The MEET Africa 2 programme was born of an observation and a desire shared by two continents. Africa is a continent bubbling with potential and innovation and its European diaspora is a dynamic and legitimate relay.
This programme is part of the continuity of actions carried out for years by the European Union and the Member States, in particular France and Germany, to promote the dynamics of wealth and job creation in Africa. Thus, we believe in the animation of an entrepreneurial ecosystem between this diaspora and the European and African support actors.
We choose to support them with a dedicated scheme. They have plenty of dreams and ideas. What they need is interconnected guidance and support networks, to move from desires to reality.
MEET Africa exists to empower entrepreneurs to contribute to economic development and job creation in their home countries.
From the provision of targeted information, through the connection with support actors and accompaniment to financing, MEET Africa wants to become THE organic and organised network of entrepreneurs from the African diaspora.
This programme is planned to last 36 months from October 2020.
2. Purpose of the competition
The aim of the Meet Africa programme is to support 140 winners over the duration of the programme whose business creation project is deemed to be sufficiently solid and conducive to economic development and employment for the country of establishment.
This is the second edition of the competition and will select 64 winners who will be supported over the remaining duration of the programme until October 2023
All applicants will be given support tailored to their situation.
3. Eligible candidates and categories
3.1 Applicants from MEET Africa partner countries
Applicants must belong to the diaspora of one of the following six countries and set up their project there: Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Mali, or Cameroon.
3.2 Applicants from other countries.
Pre-registered candidates from other African countries can also submit their project. (Only one project per candidate).
They will benefit from an orientation that will allow them to identify the weak points of their project, to deepen their entrepreneurial ideas, to be informed about the different stages of business creation, or to be oriented towards the existing tools to support the emergence of projects.
3.3 Eligible candidates
This competition is open to :
- Applicants from the diaspora of the project partner countries residing in one of the European Union member states.
- Diaspora entrepreneurs from these countries who have been resettled in one of the partner countries for less than three years at the time of application.
3.3 Categories
The aim of the competition is to award prizes to two categories of candidates:
- 2/3 of candidates with business creation projects, still at the stage of the project idea, proof of concept or first start-up (creation less than one year).
- 1/3 of entrepreneurs whose business is in the start-up phase and whose existence is less than three years and more than one year.
4. Criteria for the admissibility of projects
Eligible projects are :
- Projects for the creation of companies in one of the project's partner countries or whose planned activity concerns both continents.
- Companies already established by eligible applicants for less than three years at the time of the competition.
- Projects from entrepreneurs or project leaders from the African diaspora living in Africa in one of the partner countries and who create in one of the other partner countries in Africa ("South-South" dimension of the scheme).
5. Selection criteria
The selection criteria for projects are organised around a common core for both categories of projects consisting of the following elements
- Quality, motivation, experience and skills of project leaders or managers
- Analysis of the need, quality and relevance of the proposed response, knowledge and size of the market
- Suitability of the skills and qualifications of the promoter(s) and the activity planned or carried out
- Product or service offering and growth potential in the country concerned
- Potential for job creation in the country concerned.
For companies that have already been in existence for more than one year, the figures for past activity will also be scored on the basis of the criteria of economic viability (profit and loss account) and project solvency (balance sheet) with a summary analysis of the profit and loss account and the balance sheet.
6. Accompaniment proposed
The selected candidates will benefit from support for the creation or development of their business project. The maximum total value of this support (€7,000 per candidate) will be directly allocated to the project's partner support structures, in France and in the countries where the projects are located, in order to finance the costs of expertise and technical support deemed necessary for the development or implementation of the projects by mutual agreement between the winners and their support.
These support needs may also be identified by the members of the jury during the examination of the application files.
7. Project selection procedure and steps
7.1 Withdrawal and constitution of the application file
All applications must be submitted exclusively on our website www.meetafrica.fr from 09/05/2022
Only the file format proposed by the organiser is valid for the application. No other type of file or format will be accepted. Only one entry per project will be considered.
Only complete applications that meet the stated eligibility criteria will be considered. Participants agree that all information sent may be communicated to the members of the selection committees and, where applicable, to the partners with whom the programme is carried out.
Participation in this competition implies full and unreserved acceptance of these rules and the waiver of all rights of recourse concerning the conditions of organisation and running of the competition, its results and the designation of the winners (except in the event of a dispute, as set out in section 12.8 of the rules).
Only the file format proposed by the organiser is valid for the application. No other type of file or format will be accepted. Only one entry per project will be considered.
7.2 Deadline for submission
Applicants must submit their application on our website before the closing date indicated on our website www.meetafrica.fr
7.3 Pre-selection and selection of applications by the jury members
Applications will be subject to pre-selection and scoring by the operators.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to defend their project during a pitch organised by videoconference for an oral presentation and a question/answer/exchange session with the jury members.
This phase is scored to complement the pre-selection score.
Each candidate will receive an individual invitation by e-mail specifying the date, time, organisational arrangements and a link to log in for their presentation.
7.4 Announcement of results.
Candidates will be notified of the results no later than 72 hours after the oral presentation session by individual email.
7.5 Signature of the commitment charter.
At the same time, candidates will be invited to read and sign the Charter of Commitment, which describes the rights and duties of the laureate during the support phase.
7.6 Signature of the commitment charter.
At the end of the selection process, the organisers will provide all applicants with the details of the organisation that will provide support.
7.7 Start of support for the winners by the project's partner organisations
Applicants who are not selected will benefit from a light support by a partner support structure in Europe or in their country of origin. This support will enable the applicant to identify the weak points of their project, to develop their entrepreneurial ideas, to be informed about the different stages of business creation, to be assisted in writing their application, or to be directed towards existing support tools for the emergence of projects. This light support will also be offered to applicants from other African countries that are not partners in the project.
8. Composition and organisation of the selection panel.
The evaluation of the applications is carried out in two stages. The first phase is carried out by the support structures, which must score the technical content of the projects and pre-select 20 to 30 applications per country. This first phase represents 85% of the score.
In a second phase, a selection panel is organised in each partner country. The composition of the jury is the sole responsibility of Expertise France and cannot be questioned.
The jury will be composed of :
- Representatives of Expertise France,
- Qualified personalities from the world of business, finance and banking
- Members who make up the ecosystem of business creation support structures in the project member countries.
- A representative of each donor.
In the final phase, each jury will select a maximum of 10 to 15 projects during an oral presentation (pitch) which represents 15% of the score.
9. Commitments of applicants
Participation in the Competition implies full and unreserved acceptance of these rules by the candidate. It also constitutes an undertaking on honour as to the truthfulness of the information provided.
Applicants also undertake to :
- participate in public and press relations operations relating to the Competition,
- participate in the mandatory oral presentation at the appointed time and date.
- treat with respect and professionalism all persons involved in the organisation and financing of the Competition, especially jury members and partners, candidates and various potential stakeholders,
- sign the form authorising Expertise France and the partners of the MEET AFRICA programme to use their image in the various media and external communication supports.
Expertise France is committed to :
- Respect the competition rules
- Respect its personal data protection policy, which can be consulted on the website www.meetafrica.fr
10. Commitment of laureates
The winners undertake to approve, sign and comply with the charter of commitment, which sets out the support arrangements that are an integral part of the project.
11. Privacy
In the context of the Competition and the submission of applications, candidates may be required to disclose personal information.
Expertise France and the members of the juries undertake to treat this information with the utmost care and discretion, in compliance with the RGPD, and not to divulge it without the participant's prior authorisation, provided that it has been previously identified as personal or confidential by the participant.
Nevertheless, as part of the communication associated with the competition, Expertise France is
authorized :
Nevertheless, in the context of the communication associated with the Competition, Expertise France is authorised:
- To communicate to the press, on the various media supports and to publish on the website https://www.meetafrica.frThe name of the project and the names of the project leaders.
- To make public the essential and non-confidential characteristics of the projects presented, without any compensation whatsoever.
12. Legal framework of the competition.
12.1 Data Protection Act
According to to EU Regulation 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (RGPD), the personal data of personal data of the participants may be processed electronically.
This information is exclusively intended for Expertise France in the framework of the MEET AFRICA II programme. In accordance with the same rules, participants have the right to access, rectify and delete data concerning them by sending a written request to the following address meetafrica@expertisefrance.fr
Subject to their explicit consent, the information collected on participants may be used by Expere'tise France and/or the programme partners (Supporting organisations, Investors...) in order to better serve them and to inform them of new projects that may be of interest to them. Applicants will find more information on the privacy policy at the following address https://www.meetafrica.fr/protection-des-donnees/
12.2 Applicable law, jurisdiction, disputes.
These rules are subject to French law and the regulations and directives in force within the European Union. Any dispute relating to its interpretation and application shall fall within the sole jurisdiction of the French courts.
No telephone enquiries or complaints regarding the application or interpretation of these rules will be answered. Any dispute or claim must be made in writing to the following e-mail address meetafrica@expertisefrance.fr with the subject line: Complaint.
12.3 Amendments to the Regulation
These rules may be amended or supplemented for any legal reason by the Competition Organisers without prior notice. Candidates will be notified of any changes to these rules. These rules are always up to date and can be found on the MEET Africa website: https://www.meetafrica.fr/
12.4 Collection and use of personal data
The data is compulsory for participation in the competition. Consequently, persons who exercise their right to withdraw their data before the end of the competition are deemed to have withdrawn their participation.
12.5 Responsibilities
By participating in the competition, the candidate implicitly acknowledges and accepts that Expertise France's sole obligation under the competition is to submit the choice of winners to the Jury, provided that his/her participation complies with the terms and conditions of the Regulations, and to implement the support provided for the winners, in accordance with the criteria and procedures defined in these Regulations.
Expertise France cannot be held responsible for any technical, hardware or software failure of any kind, the risk of contamination by viruses circulating on the network and the lack of protection of certain data against possible misuse.
Participation in the Competition implies knowledge and acceptance of the characteristics and limits of the Internet as regards technical performance, response times for consulting, querying, transferring information or taking part in a videoconference.
12.6 In case of force majeure
Expertise France cannot be held responsible if, due to force majeure or beyond its control, the competition is modified, shortened or cancelled.
The organiser reserves the right to carry out any verification it deems useful, relating to compliance with the rules, in particular to disqualify any participant who has made an inaccurate or fraudulent statement.