African Leadership Network

ALN Ventures is powered by the African Leadership Network.

ALN Ventures is a a pan-African startup accelerator program established to develop early stage, private ventures across Africa. ALN Ventures would help entrepreneurs looking to move beyond a fledgling enterprise. The defining characteristic of ventures that succeed in Africa is access to networks – networks that provide mentors and experts, capital and a talented team to build companies.

The program is built on an extensive network of investors, mentors, topic experts, entrepreneurs-in-residence and peer entrepreneurs. The emphasis is on a tailored program – recognizing that not every startup needs the same things, and we will bring you the mentors, financing, experts and peers that you need

ALN Ventures is designed to be an annual program for a cohort of exceptional entrepreneurs selected from across the continent. The entrepreneurs will be carefully vetted through multiple levels of selection, groomed through a rigorous program, and expressly selected for their impact and scalability.

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ALN Ventures is a sector-agnostic program seeking to support highly scalable ventures in a variety of domains, the defining factor being that they have a clear growth trajectory given our perspective on macro trends shaping the continent.

Criteria

You are an African business (based in Africa, or primarily targeting the African market)–
Your venture has a full-time founder/CEO (or you are willing to be full-time if accepted)
Your venture hasn’t been around for more than 2 years
You have raised less than $250k (USD) in capital so far

Seed-stage ventures
A focus on Africa
Scalable businesses
Ventures that need resources to grow on the continent

In the first 3 years, ALN Ventures plans to accelerate 50 companies and build a robust ecosystem where start-ups with pan-African ambitions can thrive.On acceptance, the entrepreneurs commence a 9 month programme.

The ALN Ventures programme consists of a 6-week session in Johannesburg, where members of the cohort from across Africa will meet, support one another and refine their business models.
The following seven months will be spent back in the home markets, progressing past milestones and preparing for ALN’s Annual Gathering.
Over the course of the whole nine-month programme, ALNV will support participants in approaching members of ALN to secure seed financing.”

ALN Ventures are selecting the inaugural class of entrepreneurs to join this accelerator program in January 2015.

If you are interested in learning more about being a potential investor, mentor or partner, please reach out to [email protected].
If you are an entrepreneur and interested in applying to be part of the inaugural class,

Apply Now for the 2015 African Leadership Network Ventures – Pan-African Startup Accelerator Programme

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the African Leadership Network Ventures – Pan-African Startup Accelerator Programme

Originally established in 2007 by the Legatum Group, the Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship are now hosted by the African Leadership Network (ALN). ALN believes that the surest way for Africa to create prosperity is through entrepreneurship. In line with this, ALN hopes to inspire as many Africans as possible to pursue the path of entrepreneurship through the Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship.

The Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship recognize and award exceptional entrepreneurial leaders who serve as role models to Africa’s aspiring entrepreneurs and demonstrate business excellence, innovation and profitability.

Since its inception, AAE has attracted more than 7,000 applications from African businesses and awarded prizes of over USD 1.5 million to 30 leading companies.

The AAE’s objectives are to:

Create a platform to spotlight and celebrate business excellence in Africa
Build a strong network of African entrepreneurs as role models and a source of best practice
Promote entrepreneurship as a driving force for Africa’s prosperity
Encourage aspiring entrepreneurs to embrace the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship
Attract venture capital inflows towards good businesses across the continent

There are five award categories which recognize entrepreneurs at different stages of the entrepreneurial cycle.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – Awarded to a senior African business leader who has served as an entrepreneurial icon for several decades and has left an enduring legacy of success in Africa
TRANSFORMATIONAL BUSINESS AWARD – Awarded to a notable business leader who has created significant socio-economic impact in Africa by building a business with revenues greater than USD 50 million
OUTSTANDING MATURE BUSINESS AWARD – A USD 100,000 prize to a business leader who has built a company with revenues between US$ 5 million and US$ 50 million
OUTSTANDING SMALL AND GROWING BUSINESS AWARD – A USD 50,000 prize to a young remarkable African business with revenues between USD 500,000 and USD 5 million
OUTSTANDING SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR AWARD (NEW) – A USD 50,000 prize awarded to an organization that demonstrates outstanding innovation and entrepreneurship while sustainably addressing the socioeconomic development of low-income communities in Africa. To be eligible, the organisation, which may be structured as a non-profit or for-profit must: have been founded or be currently run by an African citizen; demonstrate annual revenues of between USD 150,000 and USD 2.5 million in the last financial year; and be primarily focused on social return.

Eligibility

The Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship 2013 is open to Africa-based entrepreneurs with firms that are fully registered in the continent and that:

Have revenues of over USD 150,000 for social entrepreneurs and over USD 500,000 for all other categories
Have been profitable for the last two consecutive years
Are independent, that is, not a subsidiary of a foreign entity
Are free of legal actions

Selection Process

Nominees will be selected through a rigorous and transparent selection process. A team of business analysts, auditors and market and sector experts will review and shortlist the most outstanding nominations across each of the five categories.
The Finalists will be judged by an international panel of leading business experts through interviews and comprehensive reviews of company reports based on the following criteria:

Sustainability and innovation
Profitability and growth
Long-term business strategy
Leadership, culture and values
Investment in employees
Social and economic impact on communities

No financial data on the selected companies will be divulged without the companies’ consent. The decisions of AAE with respect to all aspects of the selection process are final and binding on all applicants without the right to appeal.

Sponsorship

The anchor sponsor for the AAE is Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm dedicated to harnessing the power of markets to create opportunities for people to improve their lives. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, the organisation invests in and helps scale innovative organisations to catalyse economic and social change.
Part of the ELMA Group of Foundations, the ELMA Growth Foundation invests exclusively in Africa in the growth or expansion of initiatives focused on the economic and social development of low-income individuals, families

Application Forms