About the Program
This research initiative, in partnership with the Small Foundation, will deepen our understanding of the support ecosystem for rural-impacting enterprises (RIEs), specifically, entrepreneur support organizations (ESOs) that work or seek to work with RIEs in sub-Saharan Africa.
This research initiative will inform stakeholders' interventions to achieve a thriving, commercially viable rural business ecosystem.
We are seeking to partner with locally-led ESOs from across sub-Saharan Africa.
Impacting the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Africa
Since 2009, we have supported 1,200+ early-stage entrepreneurs through our accelerators and invested in 100+ accelerator graduates, including rural impacting startups in sub-Saharan Africa.
Ecosystem building is core to our work in Africa. Our ESO Accelerators - accelerators for locally-led startup support organizations- focus specifically on improving access to financial, social and human capital to improve opportunities for locally-led ESOs and the entrepreneurs they serve. To date, we’ve worked with over 60 locally-led African ESOs from over 25 African countries. Globally, we’ve worked with over 160 ESOs who have gone on to raise over $10M in funding for their organizations.
Entrepreneur Support Organisations (ESOs)
Eligibility
We are seeking Entrepreneur Support Organisations (ESOs) that meet the following criteria:
Legally registered ESO with operations in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
Applicants can have operations across other countries, however, preference will be given to those operating predominantly in SSA
Entrant must fall into one of these supporter categories: accelerator or incubator, association or network of entrepreneurs, makerspace or fablab, SME business advisory firm, or other SME / entrepreneur training organization
Organizations must currently be supporting entrepreneurs in the sub-Saharan Africa ecosystem through services or programs
Benefits ESOs will receive:
Research support
Cash stipend and tools to collect impact data on your programs
Training
Training and access to the VilCap's Abaca supporter package, and 1:1 support from the Village Capital team
Connections
Access to a network of peer ESOs from across sub-Saharan Africa and an opportunity to be considered for funding from Small Foundation
Learn more about mentoring with Village Capital