How can I apply?
Click the START PROCESS button on this website or follow this link.
What are your criteria?
First and foremost, we look to back agile entrepreneurs who are solving problems that we see as being truly fundamental to the advancement of Africa and our continent's people.
Beyond that, here are the criteria we look for in companies we engage:
- The company already has a product in the market with ideally some traction and/or revenue. Exclusive partnerships count.
- There is clear regional or continental growth potential given 1) the model and 2) the relevance of the product to different geographies.
- The product itself is not very capital intensive and can be scaled with investment in personnel, marketing and product dev. along with strategic guidance and application of best practices.
- The specific needs of the company - in terms of where you could use support - aligns with specialties of our firm and/or geography. (We especially like startups based elsewhere in Africa who have strategically identified Morocco as a target next market and/or need digital marketing support!)
Requirement: the founders are either a) based in Africa or b) based elsewhere but their product is expressly focused on the African market and seeks to serve African citizens c) from the African diaspora based anywhere.
Is there a deadline to apply?
No. We accept applications all-year-round. However, we review applications and conduct interview processes in batches every quarter.
How does the process work?
We typically go through 3 phases: 1/ Screening & Interview - 2/ Qualification Phase & Due Diligence - 3/ Investment Phase.
1- Screening & Interview
We are talking to and meeting entrepreneurs on a rolling basis.
If we like what you do, we will follow up with you to schedule interviews and learn more about your team, company and vision.
We also make sure you have the opportunity to ask us questions about how we work and our value when we back companies.
2- Qualification Phase & Due Diligence
For companies at Seed stage, if we are excited about what you are doing, we will engage with you for few months to get to know you better and help you with advice and access to market. This will help us see how you execute and will tell us more than any conventional due diligence process would at this stage. If the test goes well, we take you to the Investment Committee.
For Pre-Series A and Series A companies, we go through a more typical due diligence process.
3- Investment Phase
Once you are ready, we take you to Investment Committee that will make a final decision.
How will Outlierz provide value to my startup?
We invest more than just money. We believe that getting the right advice, mindset, connections and access to market at the seed stage is, most of the time, more valuable than just money and will be more vital to your longterm success. Once you are in, we dedicate ourselves and our resources to help you grow.
Of course, we know you will need capital to fund that growth, so we make an investment decision after working with you, validating our assumptions and goals together, and ensuring you have the chance to get to know us.
How long does it take to get investment?
Our interview process is rather straightforward. Depending on your stage and once you have successfully passed the interview process, we start the Qualification Phase where we deploy our resources and work with you to help you grow your startup before we make an ultimate investment decision. This phase can take a few months to several depending on your execution capacity and speed.
Will you sign an NDA?
No. We think it is a waste of time at this stage and we believe in building a relationship with you on trust from Day One. Here's why.
