Company · Business Consulting and Services

Lesotho Entrepreneurship Hub And Seed Financing Facility

The Entrepreneurship Hub and Seed Financing Facility will capacitate ESOs and provide integrated support to start-ups and innovative SMEs (ISMEs) based in Lesotho. Start-ups are businesses with high-growth potential and intention, while ISMEs are SMEs with innovative products and services. The ISMEs are typically higher risk, with higher potential products or business models than typical SMEs. These types of entrepreneurial businesses will benefit from the specific types of business and financial support provided by the ESOs. The overall support program for the entrepreneurship ecosystem includes the following activities: Establishment of a sustainable and privately managed Entrepreneurship Hub to support Lesotho’s entrepreneurship ecosystem; Upskilling and certification of 15 existing or newly established ESOs; Facilitation of the design and implementation, through the ESOs, of an incubation support program that includes competitive funding to incubate up to 500 businesses over 6 years; Integration of the Lesotho Start-up Community within a wider regional entrepreneurship ecosystem; Development and management of a program to facilitate Basotho Diaspora engagement with the Lesotho entrepreneurship ecosystem; Provision of initial funding to create a seed financing facility that will invest in 50 start-ups over the period of the project (6 years).