Africa-wide
Program
Entrepreneurship
Details
Stanford Seed delivers world-class business training and resources to help entrepreneurs from profitable companies take their businesses, countries, and regions to the next level. Learn how to grow and scale your company in this 11-month program for CEOs and founders of established businesses in Africa and South Asia.
How can you bring Silicon Valley innovation and entrepreneurship to your company? What management skills, tools, and mindsets are required to grow and scale? How can the success of your business help to lead your region to greater prosperity?
The Seed Transformation Program is designed specifically for business owners and your senior management team, this in-person and online program is led by Stanford Graduate School of Business faculty, local experts, and supported by Stanford-trained advisors. You’ll participate in both face-to-face and remote class sessions and workshops to gain the strategic skills, methods, and mindsets to transform yourself, your team, your business and your community.
The ultimate goal is to create and activate a detailed action plan to help you grow your company. Throughout the experience, you will work in small, facilitated peer groups called Leadership Labs to share experiences, resources, ideas, and support. A Stanford Seed Business Transformation Advisor will be assigned to guide you and provide on-site training at your company.
There will be two, in-person immersion weeks on 16-21 January in Nairobi, Kenya, and 19-24 June in Accra, Ghana. Other program activities will take place online or at your company. All in-person events will be conducted in compliance with local health and safety protocols, including vaccines and testing. The program schedule is subject to change.
Criteria
- CEOs or founders of established companies or market-driven social enterprises with an annual revenue between US $300,000 and US $15 million, who want to grow and scale their businesses and positively impact their communities
- Entrepreneurs from any industry, but must be based in Africa or South Asia
- The cost of the program has been significantly subsidized by philanthropic contributions. In Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa, the cost of the program has been subsidized by the De Beers Group. To offset travel and other program participation costs, limited scholarships are available for women CEOs/founders, CEOs/founders from smaller markets, and social entrepreneurs
- The scholarship application will be made available to applicants who advance to the interview stage, after completing an application
Benefits
- Develop the skills, tools, and mindset to grow and scale your business and positively impact your community
- Gain essential business and leadership skills, from strategy and finance to marketing and sales, all taught by world-renowned Stanford faculty and local business practitioners
- Bring your management team along on this transformation journey to facilitate buy-in, implementation, and impact
- Take advantage of a world-class curriculum from Stanford GSB and the innovative thinking that has shaped some of the most successful companies in Silicon Valley
- Create a transformation plan, a detailed action plan to grow and scale your business
- Develop relationships with like-minded leaders to share experiences and develop an ongoing peer-to-peer support network
- Participate in both in-person and online classes and workshops with a schedule designed for busy business owners
- Take advantage of this educational experience that is highly-subsidized by philanthropic contributions
- Following completion of the program, you will earn a certificate of completion from Stanford GSB Executive Education and join the Seed Transformation Network to connect and collaborate with other founders. You’ll also have access to seasoned executives, who serve as leadership coaches and pro bono project consultants, as well as Stanford student interns who are available to work with your company
About Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies (Stanford Seed)
The Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies (SEED) is housed at the Graduate School of Business, and focuses on driving growth through entrepreneurship and scaling established enterprises to create jobs and improve lives. SEED engages in research, teaching and especially on-the-ground training and mentoring for entrepreneurs. SEED, which seeks to alleviate poverty by stimulating the creation of economic opportunities through innovation, entrepreneurship and the growth of businesses, was established in 2011. The Seed Transformation Program is a comprehensive yearlong program that includes six months of immersive general-management training on the continent, led by Stanford GSB faculty and supported by trained local facilitators.