Sometimes you just need a little help.

An entrepreneurial leader who is driven to solve a social problem through either a for-profit or non-profit enterprise. The accelerator primarily targets social entrepreneurs with for-profit enterprise models which we also refer to as social enterprises

$100K in annual revenue is one of our basic criteria and social enterprises generating this amount or more will be prioritized. A rare exception may be made for social enterprises that a close to hitting the $100K mark and have a sure path to getting there in the near-term.

We are primarily interested in social enterprises generating between $100K and $500K in annual revenues. This represents a class of business that is neither at the earliest stage of start up nor an advanced stage that would diminish the value of our offering. We believe we are able to add the most value to social enterprises stage between early start-up and growth stage.

As long as you have operations in one of our countries of interest i.e Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana or Rwanda, even if you are headquartered elsewhere, you can apply.

Beyond financial sustainability and growth of the social enterprises in the accelerator, we are keenly interested and invest in their capacity to deliver and grow their impact. After two years of engagement, what we see is businesses that have expanded their market reach, increased their revenues, build stronger teams, improved the efficiency of their operations and increased the social impact they are delivering.

We look at social impact on three levels. On one level, we look at the number of beneficiaries of the services or products a business produces. On another level, we look at qualitative metrics such as the economic and healthcare benefits generated from the use of delivered products and services. On a systemic level, we are interested in seeing how the businesses in the accelerator are contributing towards improved access, quality, awareness and affordability of care.

The accelerator provides technical support through co-creation to businesses in the accelerator but does not maintain any interest in any IP that is generated through co-creation engagements.

No. All financial support provided through the accelerator is done in the form of a grant.

Collaboration is a key component of the accelerator’s philosophy. We expect the businesses in the program to collaborate and support each other to do better. As such, were it is clear that a business does not embody this collaborative spirit, they we will not be recruited into the accelerator. On the other hand companies in a similar space that are open to working together and collaborating may be recruited into the program.

Engagement only changes but does not stop after two years. Engagement is most intense during the first 12 months of the accelerator and then slows down after that. We have various activities, support services and events that are open to companies in the program regardless of what cohort they were a part of.

Although this is extremely rare, it has happened. The reasons for taking such action have to be pretty serious like misrepresentation during the selection process or when it becomes evident that the commitment and/or capacity needed to engage in the program is lacking in a business.

Use of funds is limited to the project co-created and implemented during the accelerator. The specific allocation of funds within the project is decided by the social entrepreneur.

Most of the work involved in the accelerator is connected to day-to-day operations. As such we require a full-time project manager for the accelerator related activities. With a full-time project manager in place, other members of the team can put in a few hours a week/day as needed.

Yes. A non-founding team member can be the point person for engagement in the accelerator. What is critical though is that this person is a senior enough to make strategic decisions.

As long as your innovation can add value to the healthcare value chain, we are interested in it. We have innovations in our portfolio in fintech, data analytics, logistics and supply chain management, education, and waste management. What they have in common is a clear and deliberate link to healthcare. They either increase affordability of care, quality of care, availability of care or accessibility of care for humans, animals or both.