How to apply for Build a High-Impact Company

About Africa Jobs Fund

The Africa Jobs Fund provides funding and support to ventures in export manufacturing and international labor mobility, aiming to increase incomes for Africans. It recruits founders to build new companies and offers staged investment plus hands-on support. This is for people who want to build from scratch in complex markets.

About the role

You will found and build a company either connecting African workers to jobs in high-income countries or establishing an export manufacturing business in Africa. You will work with the fund from opportunity identification through market understanding and path-to-impact development. The goal is to create formal jobs at higher wages for thousands of Africans.

A typical day

A typical day might involve talking to potential customers or partners, refining your business model, and working with the Africa Jobs Fund team on market understanding and path-to-impact. If you are in manufacturing, you might visit a factory or supplier; if in labor mobility, you might speak with employers or recruitment agencies. Early on, much of your time goes to validating assumptions and preparing for the next funding milestone.

Who Africa Jobs Fund is looking for

• World-class entrepreneurial ability: you have started or scaled something before, ideally in manufacturing, labor mobility, or a related sector.
• Impact-driven: you want to move thousands of people into higher-productivity jobs, not just build a profitable business.
• High agency: you can operate with little structure, identify opportunities, and build from scratch.
• Resilient in complex markets: you can handle regulatory, logistical, and cultural challenges in African countries or destination markets.

Tips for this application

• Specify which track you are applying for: destination-side (based in a high-income country) or origin-side (based in an African country), and for manufacturing, the African country where you will operate.
• Provide concrete evidence of your entrepreneurial ability: revenue generated, teams built, or operations scaled, not just ideas.
• Explain how your venture will create formal jobs at higher wages and advance productivity, with a rough estimate of how many jobs and at what wage level.
• Show that you understand the fund's staged investment model: what you would do with a $0–$100k scoping grant and what milestones you would hit to qualify for $100k–$1m scale-up funding.
• If applying for manufacturing, state your connection to the African country where you will base the company and any export experience you have.

What to cover in your cover letter

['Your specific venture idea and whether it is destination-side or origin-side, and for manufacturing, the country and product.', 'Evidence of your ability to build from scratch: past ventures, projects, or operations you led.', 'How your venture will increase incomes for Africans through formal jobs at higher wages, with numbers if possible.', 'Why you are applying to Africa Jobs Fund specifically: what their hands-on support and staged investment would enable you to do.']

Research before applying

• The Africa Jobs Fund's existing portfolio companies: what sectors, countries, and stages they invest in.
• Their staged investment process: what the bar is for moving from scoping to scale-up funding.
• Export manufacturing sectors in the African country you are targeting: key products, competitors, and export regulations.
• International labor mobility corridors: which countries demand workers, what visa pathways exist, and what recruitment challenges exist.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• Your venture concept: target market, business model, and how it creates jobs at higher wages.
• How you would use a $0–$100k scoping grant to validate assumptions and what you would test first.
• Your experience in export manufacturing or international labor mobility, including any regulatory or logistical challenges you have faced.
• How you handle setbacks in complex markets: give an example of a time you adapted.
• Your plan for reaching scale-up milestones and what you would do with $100k–$1m.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Applying without a clear venture idea or track (destination-side vs origin-side, manufacturing vs labor mobility).
• Focusing only on profit and not on how the venture will create formal jobs at higher wages.
• Claiming entrepreneurial ability without evidence of having built or scaled something before.