SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP HACKATHON & ACCELERATOR – REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS!

Following on from the launch of Asfari Foundation’s Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship Programme (Tabadol), we are now requesting proposals from interested organisations to deliver a 2 week online (no code) Hackathon and four month Accelerator programme.

Register for the Q&A webinar on 17 March 2022 to find out more and get your application queries resolved!

INTERESTED IN SUBMITTING A BID TO DELIVER THE HACKATHON & ACCELERATOR? FULL DETAILS ON HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL AND ALL THE RELEVANT RFP DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE HERE!

The Purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP)

It is the intent of this RFP to secure competitive proposals to select bidder(s) to provide an online no code hackathon, and a 4-month accelerator.

This initiative will invite innovators to develop sustainable solutions responding to challenges within the thematic areas mentioned above. Innovation in sustainability will be the main theme of the hackathon. The hackathon will encourage social entrepreneurs and civil society organisations (CSOs) to develop solutions that will sustain both their operations – utilising innovative methods of resource mobilisation (i.e., grant making, income generation, resource sharing, co-investment) – and their impact (i.e., though collaborations and the use of technology).

The hackathon and accelerators will follow on from the Fellowship Programme (AF-FELLOW012022), inviting all participants to take part (see Annex E for details of the Fellowship Programme).

Bidders delivering the Hackathon and Accelerator should ensure it provides the following key elements:

Hackathon

• The hackathon will offer regular sessions inviting partners, experts, and diverse stakeholders to support participants to focus their efforts and build new ideas/continue developing existing ideas.

• All participants of the Fellowship Programme, referenced above, will be eligible to enter the hackathon.

• Individual entrepreneurs and other CSOs who have not been part of the Fellowship Programme are also welcome to apply to join the hackathon.

• At the end of the hackathon the solutions developed by the participants will be assessed, and five grant ‘prizes’ of £7,000 awarded.

• Due to the Asfari Foundation’s charitable legal status (regulated by the UK Charities Commission), the grants ‘prizes’ can only be awarded to registered entities.

• The winning solutions must be produced by Jordanian, Lebanese, Palestinian, or Syrian participants responding to challenges in the Levant.

• The winning solutions must tackle a social problem within the Foundation’s thematic areas (referenced above) and enable CSOs to become more sustainable.

• Grant recipients must submit a short proposal, and report on grant spending and impact.

• Grant recipients are expected to document and share their learnings from their journey to benefit others as well.

• All participants will get the chance to join a four-month accelerator.

Accelerator

• The four-month accelerator will give the opportunity to selected participants from the Fellowship Programme and hackathon to continue to work on their ideas while being supported by experts and mentors. CSOs who have not gone through the Fellowship or hackathon are also welcome to apply.

• At the end of the accelerator CSOs will get the opportunity to apply to join the Asfari Foundation’s partner network and receive a grant of up to £75,000 per year for up to three years to continue to grow their organisations and solutions.

CSOs must be:

• Registered organisations working in the youth and civil society sectors on the following themes: Governance, Independent Media, Active Citizenship, Lifelong learning (EdTech/TechEd), Entrepreneurship, and Innovation.

• Non-profits and/or social enterprises. We will prioritise small and medium-sized organisations, but all organisations are welcome to apply, regardless of their annual budget.

• Have a Levantine founder and responding to challenges in the Levant.

• Willing to develop learning content at the end of the programme summarising their learning from it to benefit others.

Bidder Eligibility

Essential:

• Be registered with the relevant government authority in their locality (proof required).

• Have previous experience managing hackathons/accelerator programmes.

• Have access to networks of mentors and advisors with an interest in the theme of “innovation in sustainability.”

Preferable:

• Bidder based in Jordan, Lebanon, or Palestine.

• Able to operate in English and Arabic.

The winning Bidder(s) will enter into a Master service agreement with AF for 12 months.