Reckitt Access Accelerator Program for Social Entrepreneurs

The program is delivered by Reckitt, the consumer health, hygiene and nutrition company, home to some of the world’s best known brands such as Dettol and Durex, in partnership with Yunus Social Business (YSB).

They have created the Access Accelerator to harness the power of business to tackle the world’s greatest problems. Social enterprises combine business efficiency with community impact, and by accelerating their growth, they can enable access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) for more people, whilst also driving economic growth, creating jobs, and reducing poverty. By working with entrepreneurs that inherently understand the needs of their communities, they can reach people with solutions that work. This approach also provides a platform for Reckitt employees to directly engage and contribute to the purpose, making them catalysts for impact.

The programme will also:

• Stimulate the growth of the social businesses though connection activities, networking and events;
• Provide tailored social business training in key areas such as impact measurement and management, customer and product development, and communication to investors and partners.
• Provide financial support in the form of seed funding to selected entrepreneurs to enable them to accelerate their growth.

In all, there will be a maximum of 4 group bootcamps, masterclasses on core social business topics, networking opportunities, and individual mentoring with the selected business leaders. Bootcamps last from 2 to 3 days and will be held online between November 2024 and March 2025.

Funding Information

• There is no obligation on the part of Reckitt, its companies, affiliates or Yunus Social Business to make investments directly in accelerated projects or to hire them as suppliers. There is, however, the provision of a financial resource from a dedicated pool of funding for each selected business in order to support the dedication of the Participants to the programme and the implementation of projects, strategies and actions that may arise to achieve the selected business goals:
  • For Kenya
    • maximum allocation of 1,000,000 KES (One Million, Kenya Shillings)
  • For Nigeria
    • maximum of 12million Naira

Benefits

• All social businesses who complete the program will get access to:
  • Tailored support & capacity-building: Receive mentorship and topic-based guidance from industry professionals, including Reckitt employees, who can offer learning across a wide range of subjects from digital marketing to impact measurement & management. ‍
  • Extensive business network: The Access Accelerator offers social entrepreneurs an open door to partners and supporters from Reckitt, Yunus Social Business, and the global WASH community who are fully committed to creating better access to WASH for the long-term.‍
  • Access to seed funding: Financial support to help scale the growth of the participating social businesses beyond the accelerator

Eligible Activities

• They are seeking social businesses based in Nigeria and Kenya that address the challenges of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) through:
  • Improving Infrastructure of Access
    • Solutions to reduce loss in water distribution
    • Solutions for better management and technical training of service providers and public agents responsible for water and sewage
    • New and effective forms of financing for the sector (providers and consumers)
  • Innovation and decentralization
    • New technologies that offer cleaner, regenerative, and cost-effective solutions for access to  water ‍
    • New and cost-effective solutions for sanitation services ‍
  • New and easy-access solutions for better hygiene practices and concepts for their distribution
  • Methodologies for efficient maintenance of water, sanitation and hygiene solutions ‍
  • New and cost-effective solutions to educate, raise awareness, prevent, and treat sexually transmitted diseases and promote sexual and reproductive health
• Information, education & community management
  • Methodologies and social interventions for information and education on water, sanitation, hygiene, and sexual and reproductive health‍
  • Methodologies and social interventions for community management of existing and new water, sanitation, hygiene and sexual and reproductive health solutions.
• They also encourage applications from social enterprises that offer WASH and SRH solutions for the following beneficiary groups:
  • Women and girls
  • Populations in remote and rural areas
  • Populations in informal settlements

Who can apply?

• Legal entities based in Nigeria, either for-profit or not-for-profit (“Participant”), may apply, which:
  • Has a partner and/or founder who is a person eighteen (18) years or older;
  • Is a social business or wishes to become one;
  • Is a Business/Entity in the form of a company limited by shares (public or private), company limited by guarantee (public or private), unlimited company (public or private), limited liability partnership, limited partnership, or an incorporated trustee, that is registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in Nigeria and Kenya
  • Has a mission to solve challenges for access to adequate water, sanitation, hygiene and/or sexual and reproductive health in Nigeria and Kenya
  • Generates revenue or has the potential to do so through the solution they present with a business model that is aiming for financial sustainability;
  • Has a solution or service that relates, directly or indirectly to the purpose of the call and to at least one (1) of the challenges;
  • Has at least one member or founder dedicated full-time to the business; and – Has at least two (2) persons – one (1) founder/partner and another professional, founder or employee.

Who cannot apply?

• Individuals or non-profit companies that are:
  • Legal entities of national or international public law;
  • Projects or companies with political/party objectives;
  • Individuals and/or legal persons considered politically exposed under Nigerian and Kenyan law;
  • Projects or companies whose totality of leaders are under the age of eighteen (18) on the start date of this call; or,
  • Individuals and/or legal persons/projects or companies with prior record of fraud and corruption/judgements/criminal records/bad credit record
  • Projects that have, among its officers or employees, spouses or relatives up to the second degree of employees of the companies of the Reckitt group or Yunus Social Business.

For more information, visit Yunus Social Business.