Empowering Sustainable Entrepreneurship Africa 2024

They are launching Phase One of the initiative to identify 14 high-performing community-led entrepreneur support organizations. These 14 ESOs from Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania will work collaboratively on ecosystem-specific problem statements and strategies to best identify and support high-potential startups in their ecosystems. In addition, to benefit from Village Capital’s strategic support and deep dives with world-class Thematic Experts in blue economy, renewable energy, climate adaptation and food security.

At the end of 2024, they will select one ESO partner per market to co-lead Venture Programs in 2025-26.

Problem Statement

• Community-led Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs) play a crucial role in creating an enabling ecosystem for climate startups. They connect these startups with the critical resources (financial, networks, and training) they need to build sustainable and impactful businesses. However, many ESOs face challenges similar to the startups they support. Limited resources hinder their ability to provide comprehensive support and build a robust pipeline of investible startups.
• The initiative aims to empower these ESOs focusing on those based in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. By strengthening their capabilities, they aim to build a resilient ecosystem that fosters impactful solutions and drives sustainable economic growth across Africa.

Program Benefits

• Training
  • The curriculum is tailored to help your organization build better services and enhance program delivery, including sector-specific sessions led by experts, program management tools training, and key stakeholder engagement
• Mentorship
  • Build 1:1 connections with potential funders, strategic partners and potential customers. Additionally, you’ll get access to Village Capital’s broader ESO community of 160+ ESOs.
• Research Collaboration
  • ESOs will get access to comprehensive research on sustainability entrepreneurship in Africa, collaborating with fellow program participants to enrich their projects and knowledge.
• Financial Analysis
  • Chat with an investment analyst who will coach you 1:1 on building a financial model, identifying unit economics, and using financial metrics.
• Media Exposure
  • Get featured on Village Capital’s program website and other collateral.
• Access to Abaca
  • Scale your business faster by effectively planning your next milestones for growth through the ESO Diagnostic tool.

Eligibility

• They’re looking for locally-led ESOs that are supporting sustainability ventures across sub-Saharan Africa. Eligibility requirements include:
  • The ESO must be operating in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania.
  • The organization must be willing to support climate-focused – early-stage, tech-enabled small and medium enterprises with significant growth potential, and/or ventures with scale potential.
  • The organization must support ventures through a formal incubation/accelerator program.
  • The organization must be providing or looking to provide training, resources, advice, or support to entrepreneurs around finance and investment.
• The organization must have been in operation for more than 2 years OR has grown from co-founder/founder to 5+ employees including middle management (department leads, partnership managers, incubator and accelerator managers, program managers).

For more information, visit Village Capital.