East Africa
Program
Entrepreneurship
Details
Applications are open for the Acumen/IKEA social entrepreneurship East Africa accelerator 2021. The Accelerator supports social entrepreneurs to develop a scalable social enterprise model. Over 19 weeks, you and your team will learn the essentials of building a business model that can achieve both social impact and profitability.
You will have access to case studies from Acumen social enterprises and curriculum materials that package IKEA’s business knowledge. You will complete your own assignments to apply lessons directly to your business and then join biweekly interactive Learning Labs to give and receive feedback from your peers. You will also receive biweekly individualized coaching from IKEA coaches.
You should expect to spend at least 8 hours per week working on your project. Most of this work can be done on your own schedule. The program will culminate with a virtual Final Summit where you will attend final workshops and have a chance to network, pitch your venture, receive feedback from industry leaders, and be considered for up to $25k in seed funding.
Criteria
Open to social entrepreneurs in East Africa who:
- Run a social enterprise (nonprofit or for-profit) based in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda or Ethiopia
- Have proven customer demand and demonstrate increasing annual revenue
- Have a team equivalent to 3 full-time staff
- Focus on promoting livelihoods, equality and inclusion
Benefits
- 6 Peer Learning Labs
- At least 6 sessions with an IKEA coach
- Video tutorials
- Case studies from East African social enterprises
- Interviews that package IKEA’s business knowledge
- Eligibility to compete for $25k per startup in seed funding
About Acumen Academy
The world’s school for social change. A university re-imagined for a world that needs all of us. Our mission is to unleash a new generation of social innovators and leaders with the determination to build a more just, inclusive and sustainable world.