HEVA’s East Africa Creative Business Fund (EACBF) is a patient loan facility being made available from 2021 onwards to successful applicants through debt investments of between USD 20,000 and USD 50,000, over a maximum period of 4 years.
The fund, which is a timely response to the loss of resources and opportunities for creatives during the COVID-19 pandemic, has announced a receipt of 76 eligible applications out of a total of 430 applications from Kenya (248), Uganda (59), Ethiopia (33), Tanzania (30) and Rwanda (60). All the aforementioned applications were submitted between September and October 2020, when the call for EACBF was officially opened.
76 of all the 430 applications are eligible for the fund, having met its specific requirements: a business’s annual revenue of no less than USD 20,000, and a minimum of one employee (part time or full time). All the eligible applicants are registered and operational in the East African countries as follows: Kenya (40), Ethiopia (4), Uganda (11), Tanzania (7) and Rwanda (14). Out of these firms, 28 are female-owned or run, while 43 are owned/run by men.