If you run a small or medium-sized enterprise in East Africa and want to raise external investment or improve your financial systems, the MARKUP II Programme offers a six-month support initiative tailored for businesses ready to scale. This is a strong opportunity to build capacity, connect with financiers and prepare your business for growth.
MARKUP II is the second phase of the Market Access Upgrade Programme (MARKUP), a regional initiative supported by the European Union and implemented via the International Trade Centre (ITC) in collaboration with the East African Community (EAC).
While MARKUP I focused mainly on market access and export competitiveness, this specialised track emphasises access to finance and investment readiness for SMEs operating in key value chains across East Africa. According to the call overview, the programme covers three pillars: investment readiness & financial management capacity; linkages with financial institutions and investors; and transaction advisory support.
For African MSMEs (especially in East Africa) this means not only training but actionable support to position for growth financing and engage with the finance ecosystem—a crucial gap in many small businesses.
Programme Benefits:
- Training and capacity-building in financial management, investor-readiness, business modelling and pitch preparation.
- Structured facilitation of connections between participating SMEs and financial institutions or investors.
- Transaction advisory support to help navigate from readiness to actual funding engagements.
- Networking, mentoring and technical assistance provided by the MARKUP II initiative.
Eligibility Criteria:
To participate, SMEs must meet the following typical requirements
- Be legally registered and operating in one of the six EAC partner states: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania or Uganda.
- Operate in one of the priority value chains: coffee, tea, cocoa, avocado, leather, gum arabic, French beans, essential oils, packaging, spices.
- Have been in operation for at least two years and have a track-record of financial performance (including financial statements).
- Demonstrate readiness to raise external financing within the next 12 months and be committed to participating in the full programme.
Duration:
Six-month structured programme focused on building capacity and facilitating engagement with finance.
Deadline:
The submission deadline is 24 November 2025. However, the selection is on a rolling basis, so applicants are encouraged to apply early.
Applicant Guidance
1. Get your financials in order: Ensure you have audited or verified financial statements for the last two years, document your revenue, expenses, profits and cashflow. SMEs often fall short here.
2. Show your readiness to grow: The programme is for SMEs that can absorb external financing, so define clearly how you plan to use funding, what investment size you need, what growth metrics you expect.
3. Align with priority value chains: If you are in a non-priority sector, highlight how you relate to one of the listed chains or value-add within them (e.g., packaging for coffee).
4. Be ready for investor conversations: Prepare your pitch deck, business plan, financial model and define what kind of investor or financier you seek. The advisory component will expect this.
5. Early submission is beneficial: Because of the rolling selection, applying sooner increases your chances and gives more time for engagement.
6. Avoid vague application responses: Instead of “we will grow exports”, specify “we will increase export volume by X% through new financing of US$ Y within 12 months” with measurable outcomes.
7. Prepare team and documentation: The programme may require cooperation with experts and your team must be available for training and advisory sessions.
8. Use the contacts provided: If questions arise, reach out as per the contact info (the call states financing@intracen.org) to ensure clarity.
How to Apply
- Visit the official programme webpage: EU-EAC MARKUP II
- Download or review the full call for proposals / application guidelines (check for the “Access to Finance / Investment Readiness” track).
- Complete the online Expression of Interest or application form, providing your business registration, sector information, financial statements and growth plan.
- Submit your application before the deadline (24 November 2025) and be available for follow-up training or advisory sessions.
- Monitor your email and portal for selection updates, possible interviews or coaching preparation.
