From strengthening ESOs to preparing African green businesses for regional expansion
Across Africa, green startups and SMEs are developing innovative solutions in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, waste management, water, clean technologies and other emerging green sectors. Yet scaling regionally remains a major challenge for many.
This is the challenge that the IYBA-SEED Regional Programme on the Expansion of SEED Enterprises in Green Industries set out to address in 2025. Implemented in Benin, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa and Togo, in partnership with BOND'INNOV, the programme placed ESOs at its centre, aiming to strengthen, their capacity to support green businesses beyond domestic markets.
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Green Industry benchmark
Regional Expansion success stories
Now, as the programme enters a key milestone in 2026, the National Demo Days and the Regional Demo Day will bring this journey to the stage. Beyond pitching, they will assess how far the ESOs have progresses in supporting high-potential green businesses.
From ecosystem strengthening to enterprise growth: a capacity building journey
The programme was launched in 2025 with the selection of 12 Business Development Services (BDS) Providers across the five countries. The approach combined several complementary components:
- The ESOs were equipped with a common methodology and practical tools through the SEED Expansion Box (SEB). The tool helps ESOs and entrepreneurs address key questions: market readiness, financing, and market entry.
- The programme invested in strengthening the ESOs' understanding of the green industries landscape. The 2026 Green Industry benchmark Study provided an evidence base for identifying promising sectors.
- The ESOs developed country-specific investor and business networks, helping them move beyond traditional business support towards more market- and investment-oriented services.
- Finally, the ESOs applied these new capacities directly with entrepreneurs.
This is where the programme's capacity-building approach becomes particularly important: the ultimate measure of an ESO's capacity is not simply what it has learned, but what its entrepreneurs are able to achieve as a result.
From selecting businesses to preparing them for regional expansion
During the programme, the participating ESOs were responsible for identifying promising green businesses within their ecosystems.
Selection combined application review, technical assessment and pitch battles, supported by the SEED Expansion Box. Selected entrepreneurs then entered a dedicated support journey from 2026 onwards.
Since March, the selected green businesses have been working with their respective ESOs and experts to strengthen their readiness for regional expansion. This covers value proposition, market strategy, financial readiness and partnerships. The objective is therefore not simply to make entrepreneurs better at pitching. It is to make them more ready to grow.
The National Demo Days: showcasing progress at country level
The next milestones are the national Demo Days, taking place across the five participating countries during September 2026. The events will gather the selected enterprises, their ESOs, investors and ecosystem stakeholders.
- Demo Days South Africa : Sept. 18th 2026
- Demo Days Togo : Sept. 18th 2026
- Demo Days Kenya : Sept. 29th 2026
- Demo Days Benin : Oct. 21st 2026
- Demo Days Senegal : Oct. 21st 2026
Each participating enterprise will have the opportunity to pitch its business and its regional growth ambitions before a jury using a common evaluation framework.The National Demo Days therefore serve two purposes:
- For the entrepreneurs, they are a moment to demonstrate their business maturity, market potential and readiness for regional expansion.
- For the ESOs, they provide an opportunity to demonstrate the quality and relevance of the support they have provided.
The strongest enterprises will progress to the next stage of the programme, creating a pipeline of businesses with demonstrated potential to pursue regional opportunities.
From five national stages to one regional stage
12 strongest businesses supported by the participating ESOs across Benin, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa and Togo, will participate to Regional Demo Day on 29 October 2026.
At the end of the national Demo Days, one enterprise per participating ESO will be selected to represent its ESO at the Regional Demo Day. This gives the enterprise visibility to a wider pan-African audience of investors and partners.
The Regional Demo Day will also go beyond recognition of the enterprises themselves. Four awards will be granted to the ESOs whose supported enterprises achieve the highest scores, with different levels of financial endowment for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th prizes. Importantly, the financial endowments will be awarded to the ESOs, not directly to the pitching enterprises. This reflects the programme's approach: the award strengthens the ESO's ability to keep supporting the enterprise.
The endowment lets the winning ESO tailor further support and facilitate concrete opportunities such as economic missions or pan-African events.
The regional stage therefore closes one part of the programme while opening another: the enterprise gains visibility and momentum for its expansion journey, while the ESO receives additional resources to continue supporting that journey.
Measuring the capacity of ESOs through the businesses they support
One of the distinctive features of the IYBA-SEED Green Industries regional programme is that capacity building is not treated as an end in itself.
The programme aims to strengthen ESOs as long-term providers of quality Business Development Services, linking their capacity building directly to a cohort of green businesses and their regional expansion. The Demo Days put this principle into practice.
The question is not only: what did the ESOs learn and improve? It is also: what changed for the entrepreneurs because the ESOs became better at what they do? The Demo Days will provide an important opportunity to answer that question.
