On 25th January 2019, HEVA Fund officially launched and opened call for application for two funds namely: Cultural Heritage Fund and The Young Women in Creative Enterprise Fund.
The Cultural Heritage Seed Fund is a two-year seed financing facility looking to support individuals, groups, communities and organisations working in the creative enterprises in Kenya, in the fields of music, film, fashion, crafts, gaming, performing arts, and tangible heritage. HEVA is looking to invest between KES 500,000 and KES 3 million in each successful venture.
The Cultural Heritage Seed Fund will act as a financing facility for cultural heritage businesses. This will support creative economy startups who are directly involved in sustainable exploration and inclusive development of cultural heritage with a focus on increasing revenues from the local and international tourism sectors.
The Young Women in Creative Enterprise Fund, established in collaboration with the Goethe Institut as part of the Jenga CCI creative economy intervention, focuses on supporting Kenyan women in creative enterprise in order to build the competitiveness of creative industry products in Kenya and in the East Africa market.
This fund will provide tailored direct investment, targeted business support and market intelligence to women-owned and women-led early-stage ventures in fashion and apparel manufacturing, digital media, television and film; live music, festivals, fairs and markets; hair, beauty and cosmetic products, and creative arts educational enterprises operating in Kenya.
The Young Women in Creative Enterprise Fund is a loan facility. HEVA will invest up to KES 1,000,000 in each successful business, to be paid back over a maximum period of 18 months.
In February 2019, HEVA will open a call for a third fund, Growth Fund, in collaboration with Agence Française de Développement (AFD). This facility will target mature business that have been in operation for at least 5 years with annual revenues exceeding KES 10 million and invest a minimum of KES 5 million and a maximum of KES 10 million in each successful enterprise. In total, the three funds will invest a total of over KES 106 million in the Kenyan creative and cultural enterprise sector.
