The Senegal Start-Up Accelerator provides entrepreneurs who have innovative ideas for the agricultural sector with the skills they need to turn their ideas into reality. In partnership with Reach for Change, the KIC is helping fledgling businesses in the country test and iterate their solutions to develop a sustainable business model.

The program starts with a week-long selection process where potential candidates are thoroughly introduced to the program; and the program leaders to their business ideas. With this depth of understanding, ten people are selected to move forward in the process. These ten finalists then undergo an intensive boot camp with business experts and then pitch for their place in the accelerator. Five businesses will go forward to take part in the six-month program. Participants are guided through the early and fragile stages of business growth, learning everything from how to develop customer profiles and how to carry out competitor analysis, to how to make a product roadmap and develop a sustainable revenue model for their business. Six months later, the aim is to launch five new businesses with the potential to transform the agricultural industry in Senegal.