Orange Corners Innovation Fund

OCIF_Header_S-Media_March2025_FbHeader-Deadline

Apply for up to R1m in funding

Are you an ambitious entrepreneur building something innovative and extraordinary?

Do you have a disruptive product, a revolutionary service, or a bold new business model with proven market traction and the potential to scale with the injection of catalytic funding?

Aged 18-35 and working anywhere in South Africa?

Yes? Then the Orange Corners Innovation Fund (OCIF) GROW programme is looking for YOU!

What’s in it for you?

Funding between R200,000 – R1,000,000 to fuel your business growth
Support your innovative products, processes, business models, or marketing strategies
A chance to scale up and grow your workforce
The opportunity to drive positive change through alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Don’t miss out – applications are now open below!

More about OCIF GROW:

OCIF GROW, the newly launched fund of the Orange Corners Innovation Fund (OCIF) in South Africa, is an extension of the Orange Corners incubation and acceleration programmes internationally, designed to address the financing needs of young entrepreneurs in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. OCIF supports young entrepreneurs to scale their businesses, create jobs and address local social challenges.

OCIF GROW is open to all eligible businesses in South Africa.
Applications for GROW are open now and the deadline is 31 March 2025. Please see more below.

OCIF is proudly managed by CDI Capital in South Africa.

CDI Capital also manages the OCIF IGNITE fund which is offered in collaboration with the Orange Corners Designs programme, operated by the Craft + Design Institute (CDI) non-profit company (IGNITE is only open to Orange Corners Designs programme participants).

THE OCIF GROW FUND

(Open to all eligible applicants in South Africa)
R200,000 – R1m Hybrid Grant + Loan

The OCIF GROW financial product aims to help you catalyse your youth-owned, impactful, innovative business by investing in growth. You can apply for the hybrid financial product (50% grant and 50% interest-free loan) for between R200,000 and R1m. The loan must be repaid over 18 months. Along with the financial support you will also receive specialised financing and investment-readiness training.

Please feel free to download the PDF here which covers all the info you will need for the application before applying.

All business owners are also encouraged to sign up (free) as a business member of the Craft and Design Institute (CDI) to receive updates on future opportunities: sign up here

What GROW includes:

Training and support (June to September 2025)

Selected businesses will participate in an 8-week Raise Ready programme, focused on fundraising for debt and grants. During the 8 weeks, you will gain the knowledge and confidence to shape your business’ growth plan and fundraising strategy, and submit a strong application to the fund. See below for what will be covered during the 8-week Raise Ready programme:

The local and regional funding landscape
Strategic grants for growth
Due diligence by grant makers and debt providers
Impact models and measurement
Term sheets and negotiations
Governance and ethics
Overview of early-stage equity for growth

Each business will also receive one-on-one support to help outline their growth plan and fundraising strategy, as well as pitch coaching.

Funding Application (November 2025 – July 2026)

After the training and support, businesses will all have the opportunity to apply for the OCIF Fund and only the best applications will be selected to receive funding. You can apply for the hybrid financial product (50% grant and 50% interest-free loan) for between R200,000 and R1m. The loan must be repaid over 18 months.

In addition, you’ll receive:

Five peer mentorship sessions
Technical assistance consultations
1:1 consultations (up to 7) with a pool of experts to support growth and key business challenges
Regular facilitator check-ins
Technical assistance (R35,000)
Quarterly Investee Meet-ups

Criteria – this fund is open to:

All youth (18-35) graduates of the Orange Corners Designs programme and Orange Corners Trust programmes in South Africa, as well as any youth-owned innovative business based in South Africa
South African citizens with valid South African Identity Documents or legal entities controlled by South African citizens with valid South African Identity Documents or permanent residents who hold a valid RSA ID document

Must be youth-owned (majority shareholders and/or CEO must be 35 years or younger when applying for funding). We strongly encourage female owned businesses to apply
Business must be in first 7 years of operation
Post revenue – minimum 6 months trading history
ZAR 250,000 to ZAR10 million annual turnover or sales
Clear, well defined innovation addressing a local challenge with proven market traction
Must address the Sustainable Development Goals
Must be able to demonstrate how you will be able to repay the loan portion of the funding support provided
Must be able to demonstrate how additional funding will enable you to grow your business, sales and create impact (including job creation)
Must be willing to provide the Fund with ongoing reports to measure the impact during the life of the project
Businesses must be located in South Africa

In addition:

Only fully completed applications will be considered
No company can access more than R1,000,000 of the Fund
Fund allocations will be made on an activity/intervention basis linked to co-developed delivery milestones
No staff member or associate of the CDI NPC, CDI Capital or Viridian may apply
Funding decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entered into
The project aims to select businesses that represent the demographics of the South African population

What type of business activities will not be considered?

The following business activities will not be considered by the CDI Capital OCIF-funded Ignite and Grow products:

Any businesses involved in the following: illegal trade, armaments or speculative real estate.
Businesses/ business owners under debt review and/or technically insolvent businesses and individuals and/or directors (or equivalent) who are un-rehabilitated insolvent individuals
Any political organisation
Ventures inconsistent with the mandate of CDI Capital, or any business whose trade or operations may prejudice the reputation and good standing of CDI Capital

How do I apply?

Step 1: complete this application (click on the buttons below on this webpage)

Step 2: present a pitch to the Investment Committee (if you are selected)

Step 3: contract for training and support phase (if you are selected)

Step 4: attend all training, consultations and demo day

Step 5: complete intervention plan and pitch deck

Step 6: present a pitch to the Investment Committee

Step 7: contract for funding phase (if you are selected)

What does innovation mean?

Innovation pushes our collective knowledge frontier and accelerates progress towards tackling shared global challenges such as poverty, economic exclusion, conflict, climate change and biodiversity loss. Responsible innovation and technological advances help build resilient and inclusive societies and protect our planet and natural resources.

In this context, an innovative idea can have the following 4 elements:

Product innovation (a product or service that is new or significantly improved);
Process innovation (new or significantly improved material, production or delivery method);
Marketing innovation (new marketing method involving significant changes in product design or packaging, product placement, product promotion or pricing and distribution and logistics);
Organisational innovation (new organisational method in business practices, workplace organisation or external relations).

For queries please contact: Ryan Rode – ryan.rode@thecdi.org.za