The business has to be legally registered in Mexico, Jordan, Kenya or Indonesia.

Yes. All businesses participating in the programme need to be legally registered in Mexico, Jordan, Kenya or Indonesia between the beginning of 2010 and the end of 2019.

The business must have been legally registered between January 2010 and December 2019.

The business must be impacted severely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That can be either reduced team size, canceled sales, halted operations, etc.

The programme supports young, innovative businesses in the eligible countries. The business needs to be legally registered and have proof of previous revenue reflected on the company’s bank account, along with proof of paying clients and customers in 2019 or earlier.

Unfortunately, no. This programme is aimed at businesses that are already legally registered, have been previously operational and have proof of previous revenue or paying clients and customers.

1-3 team members are eligible for financial support per business. At least one must be a founder or co-founder of the business. Other applicants can be part of the executive management team.

The application has to be completed by a founder or legally authorized representative (e.g. Managing Director). The other members that can receive financial support can be part of the Executive Management team.

We don’t have an age limit for participating team members. However, there is a minimum age for eligibility for team members of 18 years.

We have a minimum team size of 3 employees per business, including the founder(s).

The business that can apply should be fully independent, neither a partner company nor an associated company.

You can apply if your business has investors as shareholders (this also applies if investors are majority shareholders). But your business has to be independent (it is neither a partner company nor an associated company, i.e. it is not majority-owned of another company).

Throughout the selection process, the entrepreneur will be requested to submit a previous financial statement for his business to prove that he had a working profitable business model before the COVID-19 pandemic and that his/her business was not facing liquidity problems prior March 2020.

You don’t have to pay anything to participate in the programme. We provide you with financial support of up to 9,000 EUR per company for the duration of the programme to ensure your business survives and thrives in the face of uncertainty faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

No. The Empowering Entrepreneurs Initiative was created to provide direct support for entrepreneurs in emerging markets. We do not take any equity or options of the participating companies. No strings attached.

No, the financial support will be transferred to a maximum of three bank accounts belonging to founders or managing partners of the company (including you, the applicant). Up to three founders/managers will receive up to €500 per month. In order to receive the financial support each of the three founders/managers must have bank accounts in their own name.

Yes you can, as long as your company is registered between January 2010 and December 2019 in one of the following countries: Mexico, Indonesia, Jordan or Kenya.

Please visit the application page by clicking on the button at the end of this page. The deadline for the first application phase for the COVID-19 Relief Programme is September 23rd, 2020 at 23:59 Berlin time.

The selection process consists of several rounds. In the first round, you submit basic data about yourself and your business. In the second round, you will have to submit more detailed information about your motivation, competitors, finances, etc. Only shortlisted candidates will proceed to the third round, where they will be interviewed by different staff of enpact’s headquarters and local offices.

The selection process will be finalized by the end of October. The actual programme will start officially with its activities in November, 2020.

The application and selection process does not include any information that is considered part of your proprietary technology. We only ask questions about your team, business model, motivation, financial situation, competitors, etc.

Due to the global and wide impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses, we are anticipating a large volume of applications. This will  limit our ability to provide individualized feedback in case of rejection. The actual scoring cards for the selection criteria will be made transparent in a separate document.

By getting accepted in this programme, your business will receive direct financial support (Up to €9,000 per business) over 6 months. 

Your business will receive technical support in the form of business development workshops that help your business cope with the current market changes due to COVID-19 pandemic and individual mentoring sessions, adapted to your business’ needs.

In addition, you will be granted access to TUI Care Foundation's mentors and experts as well as enpact’s global network of +1000 startups, +300 mentors, experts and investors across five different continents.

TUI Care Foundation mentors will be providing you and your business with a holistic approach towards your overall business development. You will be paired with a TUI Care Foundation mentor with relevant experience to the sector in which your business operates. Your relationship with your assigned mentor is long-term and can continue even after the programme ends.

TUI Care Foundation and enpact experts will be providing you and the other participants with deep-dive workshops that focus on specific business verticals during the programme duration.

The COVID-19 Relief Programme for Tourism’s duration is six months. During these six months, your business will receive direct financial support, technical support in the form of business development workshops that help your business cope with the current market changes due to COVID-19 pandemic and individual mentoring sessions, adapted to your business’ needs.

For your business to best benefit from the COVID-19 Relief Programme for Tourism, we advise you to commit to attending the deep-dive workshops that will help your business thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and to get the most out of your 1-on-1 mentoring experience with your assigned enpact mentor. During the programme, with the support of the local enpact teams, you will be setting milestones for your business that you will need to meet and track in the programme’s duration and for the six months thereafter.

The Empowering Entrepreneurship Initiative was developed by the not-for-profit organization enpact e.V. The COVID-19 Relief Programmes are funded by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). TUI Care Foundation and enpact implement the programmes and coordinates the implementation with the Strategic Partnership Technology in Africa (SPTA). 

The initiative was created to provide direct support for entrepreneurs in emerging markets, and is launching with two programmes in 2020 that are designed to help young businesses cope with the economic challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.