1. PURPOSE

VivaTech, with support from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as co-host, (VivaTech and IFC being together referred to herein as the “Co-hosts”) launched the first edition of the AfricaTech Awards, a pan-African initiative developed to recognize and support emerging start-ups with great impact potential in Africa across three key sectors - Climate Tech, Health Tech, and FinTech (“the Categories''). 

The final ceremony rewarding the winners of the AfricaTech Awards will take place at the Viva Technology Paris event (the "Event"), which will be held from June 15 to June 18, 2022 physically in Paris, if the health context relating to Covid-19 allows it. 

Applications for the AfricaTech Awards will be reviewed and assessed by a panel of experts on the basis of qualitative criteria as set out in the present document.

No registration fees are required to participate, nor are Candidates (as such term is defined hereafter) supposed to acquire or use any item whatsoever. However, the cost of the internet connection required to register for the Challenge remains the responsibility of the Candidates.

2. ORGANIZER AND OBJECT

MSL France, a joint-stock company with capital of 182,400 Euros, having its registered office at 30-34 rue du Chemin Vert, 75011 Paris registered in Paris Trade and Companies Register with number 347 895 096 RCS Paris, acting as manager of the partnership formed between MSL France and Les Echos Solutions, a company having its registered office at 10, boulevard de Grenelle 75015 PARIS registered in Paris Trade and companies Register with number 408 165 157, (“Viva Technology”), is organizing a Challenge taking place between  23/02/22 and 18/06/22 entitled “AfricaTech Awards” (“Challenge”).

This Challenge is co-hosted by IFC, the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. 

Participation in the Challenge implies the express and unreserved acceptance of these Challenge rules.

To launch this first edition of the AfricaTech Awards, Viva Tech will rely on Deloitte, one of the world's largest audit and consulting firms, as a knowledge partner.

3. PARTICIPANTS

The AfricaTech Awards is open to all African start-ups (defined as based or with the majority of their operations in Africa) focused on one of the following categories: Climate Tech, Health Tech, or FinTech. 

An application to the AfricaTech Awards must be written in English according to the process described in article 4. It requires the candidate to provide proof of residence or nationality from an African country. Any African startèup meeting the above criteria (the “Candidate”), can participate in the Challenge as long as it provides all of the necessary information so that the jury may correctly evaluate the application (see selection criteria and participation form).

By participating in the Challenge, the Candidate will be expected to attend the AfricaTech Labs during the Event, the AfricaTech Dinner, the Pitch contest and the Awards ceremony (which will take place during the Event at VivaTech, Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, 1 Place de la Porte de Versailles, F-75015 Paris, France, exact dates will be communicated later) if selected amongst the 3 finalists per Category (total of 9 start-ups selected). VivaTech will provide an official invitation letter for the Event to finalists.  If a Candidate is unable to attend one of the meetings for unforeseen reasons or any other type of reason, they must inform VivaTech as soon as possible, and before May 16 at the very latest.

By registering and taking part in the Challenge, the Candidate accepts the terms and conditions of its participation listed above and is agreeing to respect them. VivaTech reserves the right to declare incomplete, false, or non-compliant entries invalid.

4. PARTICIPATION IN THE CHALLENGE

The legal representative or the Candidate of the start-up shall:

• Connect to the platform Agorize (https://challenges.vivatechnology.com/en/challenges/africatech-awards?lang=en ) between March 7, 2022 at 9:30 Hour CET and March 25, 2022 at 23:59 Hour CET;
• Register the Start-up by following the instructions;
• Fill in the required information;
• Upload any other relevant document to enhance the application.

The key dates of the challenge:

• March 7, 2022 (9:30am CET): Opening of the Challenge
• March 25, 2022 (12pm CET): Closing of the Challenge*
• May 2th, 2022: Official Announcement of the Top 45 (15 per Category)
• May 16th, 2022: Announcement of the 9 finalists (3 per Category) during the VivaTech press conference
• June 15 - 18, 2022: VivaTech Event :
•  Start-up exposition in the AfricaTech Lab
• AfricaTech Dinner
• AfricaTech Award Ceremony rewarding the winner in each Category

*We will allow a delay of one week after this date for start-ups that have not completed their applications.

The 9 selected start-ups are asked to come and exhibit their start-up during 4 days, from June 15 to June 18, 2022, at the AfricaTech Lab at Viva Technology in Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, 75015 Paris. They will also have to present their project during the Viva Technology's final ceremony. The exact date and time will be communicated to the selected Start-ups at a later date.

There will be one winner per Category.

All the finalists will be invited to pitch their start-up on the AfricaTech Lab stage. All detailed information regarding the format, time and dedicated space will be sent by VivaTech to the 9 finalists.

 5. DETERMINATION OF THE WINNERS

5.1 Jury Members

The jury will be composed of 10 to 20 people, including representatives from IFC, VivaTech, sponsors and ecosystem key players, VivaTech ambassadors, partners, etc. The composition of the jury will be displayed on the Challenge page once finalized. 

5.2 Winners

• Top 45 Selection: 

Once the Challenge is closed, the knowledge partner will be in charge of screening all the applications and select 15 start-ups per Category (45 start-ups in total) following the selection criteria below: 

• Eligibility of the start-up: All African start-ups (defined as based or with the majority of their operations in Africa) focused on one of the following categories : Climate Tech, Health Tech or FinTech, having a scalable product/solution and must have raised a minimum of $150K in capital but not more than $6M.
• Impact of the start-up: Product/solution with proven results in addressing pressing issues affecting society and/or the environment.
• Innovation of the solution: Originality and innovation level of the tech solution compared to existing alternatives (problem-solving approach, characteristics of the technology used, patented processes or components, etc.)
  
• Scalability of the start-up: Market size and scalability potential of the start-up (total addressable market, potential to expand to other markets, etc.)
  
• Team profile: Level of experience and size of the team (number of employees, level and diversity of expertise, entrepreneurship and/or academic background, etc.)
• Business model of the start-up: Demonstrated traction and product-market fit (maturity of the start-up, commercial traction, number of clients, annual global turnover growth, etc.)

• Top 9 Selection:

Once the 15 start-ups per Category are selected, a jury composed of representatives from VivaTech, IFC, sponsors, ambassadors and other key ecosystem players, will be in charge of selecting  the Top 3 start-ups per Category (9 start-ups in total).

The selection criteria will be the same as the Top 45 selection criteria, with a higher level of expectation. 

• Top 3 Selection:

The jury composed of VivaTech, IFC representatives, sponsors representatives, ambassadors representatives, and other key ecosystem players will be in charge of nominating the winning start-up of each Category. The winner of each Category will be announced during the Awards Ceremony at Viva Technology.

6. PRIZES

For the 9 finalists: 

1) Take part in VivaTech

• 1 Invitation to the Event (including flight, booth and passes*)
• Pitch on stage on the AfricaTech Lab
• Take part in the official AfricaTech Awards ceremony

*A finalist start-up wins 2 plane tickets from its country of origin to Paris, hotel accommodation for the duration of the Event, 2 passes for the 4 days at Viva Technology Event and a booth at the AfricaTech Lab. The reservations will be made through the Viva Technology organization. 

2) Meet key players to scale your business

• Network with top corporate partners
• Pitch your start-up to top VC funds
• Refine your ideas with fellow entrepreneurs

3) Benefit from a strong visibility

• Get highlighted in the VivaTech program
• Get featured on social media and different media outlets

Each of the three category winners will benefit from increased visibility and access to the networks provided by Viva Tech and IFC, including select one-on-one meetings with leaders and top executives in the tech industry. 

Not included in the prizes are:

• Personal expenses of the start-up
• Insurance
• And more generally, any service not specifically described above.

The Co-hosts do not guarantee any opportunities or contracts with any partner or sponsor to Candidates.

The Pitch Session is planned to take place in person; in case any Pre-Selected Start-up decides in its sole discretion and under its own responsibility to physically participate in the Pitch Session in Paris, the Candidates are responsible for taking care of all administrative and health procedures required for a stay in France in view of their personal status, in particular of customs formalities.

The Prizes will be awarded to the winner(s) at the end of the Challenge during the Official Awards Ceremony, on one of the three stages of Viva Tech.

If the health context relating to Covid-19 allows it, the presence of the winning team of the start-up is mandatory when each prize is delivered, except in the case of force majeure. In case of absence of the winner for said prize, the runner-up Candidate will be declared a winner and the original winner shall be disqualified from the Challenge.

Viva Tech reserves the right to replace the prizes with prizes of similar content and equivalent or higher value if circumstances so require.

Finalists participating in Viva Technology accept the terms and conditions of the event mentioned on the Viva Technology website.  

7. RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CO-HOSTS 

The Co-hosts cannot be held responsible for a problem of communication, network connection, computers or faulty connection. The Co-hosts cannot be held responsible for the malfunction of the platform Agorize for a given browser.

The Co-hosts are not responsible for any malfunction of the platform Agorize or any late, lost, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, illegible, undeliverable, or destroyed applications due to system errors, failed, incomplete or garbled computer or other telecommunication transmission malfunctions, hardware or software failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections or technical malfunction(s), which may limit a Candidate's ability to participate.

The Co-hosts do not warrant that the platform Agorize will operate without interruption or that it does not contain any computer errors, or that any defects found shall be corrected. The Co-hosts do not warrant that the platform Agorize, the servers giving access to it and/or the third party sites with which it has links do not contain viruses or other components which may cause damage to property.

In no event will the Co-hosts be held responsible for a loss of data or a deterioration of this data. The Co-hosts cannot be held responsible if the data relating to the registration of a Candidate for a project did not reach it for any reason or it could be illegible or impossible to process (for example, if the participant has computer hardware or an inadequate software environment for registration or an Internet connection problem).

The Co-hosts shall not be held responsible if, for any reason (including computer fraud, virus, fire, flood, strike, force majeure, pandemic such as COVID-19 or any other reason) this Challenge has to be shortened, modified, postponed or cancelled. In fact, the Co-hosts reserve the right to shorten, modify or cancel the Challenge if the circumstances so require, without any obligation to reimburse a participant for any damage, loss, cost or expense it may incur. Any amendment to these rules may be the subject of information to the participants.

Any false statement or data in an application or other document automatically results in the disqualification of the start-up. The proven fraud or attempted cheating of a Candidate may be sanctioned by the Co-hosts without notice. 

8. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Start-ups participating in the Challenge allow and license the Co-hosts to:

• Use the logo, brand and other distinctive features of their Company for the duration of the Event (ie Viva technology) and for any promotional campaign organized by the Co-hosts (before the Event) and for three (3) years from the end of the Event. In particular, they allow and license the Co-hosts to reproduce and represent the logo, brand and other distinctive features of their project on all promotional and other advertising for the Challenge, whatever the media (notably print, internet, audio-visual), used to promote the Event. 
• Reproduce and represent their image and other elements of their person (name, voice) and/or words recorded on one or more photographs and/or multimedia or video storage media, within the framework of the Co-hosts and intended to be used for, during the Event and after in order to present and promote the Event. This authorization entitles the Co-hosts  to apply such additions, deletions, modifications or dubbing to the original recording of images and/or words as the Co-hosts deem useful, provided that they are in keeping with the spirit of the camerawork, and,
• Use the above mentioned image or abovementioned audio-video recordings, on a non- exclusive basis, in whole or in part, on any present or future storage media (paper, graphic, video, photographic, digital, electronic, etc.) for purposes of promoting Viva Technology or IFC particularly for publication via any mode of transmission whatsoever in the press or audiovisual media (all channels combined, including terrestrial, satellite, cable, etc.), on television, in press kits, in publishing, in educational or commercial documents (catalogs, brochures, posters, point-of-sale advertising) disseminated at the initiative of the Co-hosts, on the Internet and particularly on the websites published by Viva Technology or IFC,  on the Co-hosts social networks and/or on ECHOS SOLUTIONS and PUBLICIS GROUP social networks and on any interactive websites particularly in trade fairs, conferences and exhibitions.

9. PERSONAL DATA COLLECTION

9.1 Principle

Participation in the challenge requires the submission of personal data relating, in particular, to the identity of the Candidates (including names, mailing and correspondence addresses, phone numbers, photos, CVs, etc.). Personal data will be processed in compliance with the French Act on Data Protection n°78-12, as modified.

The Candidate retains the right, at all times:

• to object to the collection of personal data by Viva Technology;
• to access, review or rectify any personal data collected by Viva Technology in connection with the Challenge by accessing its personal space on www.agorize.com ;
• to receive his personal data from Viva Technology  in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and have the right to transmit those data to another controller, and
• to delete any personal data collected by Viva Technology in connection with the Challenge by sending a request to startups@vivatechnology.com

Unless marked as optional, if the Candidate disagrees to provide or asks for the deletion of the personal data, this may result in the non-registration at the Challenge.

Data relating to unsuccessful Candidates will be deleted by Viva Technology two years after the 2022 Event. Data relating to the Selected Candidates will be retained by Viva Technology for the whole duration of the business relationship between VivaTech and the Participant.

9.2 Purpose and recipients

The Candidates are informed that their data will be transferred by Viva Technology to the Jury, the co-host, the knowledge partner and the sponsors per Category.

The collection and processing of such personal data will be transferred by Viva Technology to our strategic sponsor and to our knowledge partner, and used for the purposes of the Selection and the Challenge including:

• to verify that the Candidate is eligible to be selected to participate in the Challenge he/she applied for and complies with the Challenge Rules; and
• to communicate with the Candidate for the purpose of its participation in the Challenge.

The recipients of the data are specifically designated employees of MSL France, Agorize  being a subcontractor of MSL France for the purpose of the collection of such data in the context of the Selection.

Their personal data will also be transferred to jury members in order to select the Top 45 and the 9 finalists. 

10. APPLICABLE LAWS, SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES AND ILLEGALITY

10.1 Governing law

These Challenge rules shall be governed and interpreted in accordance with French law. 

10.2 Settlement of disputes

In the event of a dispute arising out of or in connection with these User Rules (a "Dispute"), the parties shall first seek settlement of that Dispute by mediation. Either party may commence mediation by sending to the other party a written request for mediation, setting forth the subject of the Dispute and the relief requested (the "Notice").

If within 14 days following the date of the Notice the parties fail to agree on a neutral third person to act as a mediator (the "Mediator") or a Mediator has not been appointed for any other reason, the Mediator shall be appointed by the ICC International Center for ADR in accordance with the Rules for the Appointment of Experts and Neutrals of the International Chamber of Commerce. The place of mediation shall be Paris, France. The language of the mediation shall be English.

If the Dispute has not been settled by mediation within 60 days following the date of the Notice or within such other period as the parties may agree in writing, either party may initiate proceedings before the French courts which shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear the Dispute.

Any Notice or correspondence in relation to a Dispute should be addressed to: startups@vivatechnology.com .

10.3 Contact details

Any correspondence with Agorize  with respect to the functioning of the platform and data collection should be addressed to startups@vivatechnology.com .