Village Capital Future of Work Africa Accelerator Program

Application Deadline: April 29th, 2022

10 to 12 million young Africans enter the labor market each year and an estimated one-third of the 600 million young people entering the global labor market by 2030 will be a young African.

Village Capital in partnership with Moody’s Foundation aims to support entrepreneurs across Africa that are building for-profit, market-based solutions in education, employment, and benefits that could help young people in sub-Saharan Africa, better prepare for the future of work, access more and better employment opportunities, and build careers.

Future of Work 2022 is looking to support 45 startups across the region with investment readiness training through: a core cohort of 10-12 startups, and an expanded cohort of 33-35 startups featuring self-guided training, extensive virtual support and engagement with mentors.

The program supports impact-focused startups leveraging highly sensitive data to improve the quality, and access to digital, financial and healthcare services.

Eligibility

Ventures must address unemployment through the following:

Technical, professional, upskilling or reskilling programs
Testing and credentialing programs
New approaches to apprenticeship or employment matching such as gig, job matching and distributed manufacturing platforms
Financial health for informal workers, and/or
Edtech for post-secondary and tertiary institutions

Benefits:

Benefits startups will receive:

Connections

Build deep connections with the other impact-driven founders in your cohort

Mentorship

Network with mentors ranging from investors to potential strategic partners and customers

Training

Join interactive sessions tailored to help your company identify early milestones and prepare for your next round of capital

Advice

Chat with an investment analyst who will coach you 1:1 on building a financial model, identifying unit economics, and using financial metrics

Exposure

Get featured on Village Capital’s program website and other collateral

Program Timeline

Applications Open: Mar 31st, 2022
Applications Close: April 29th, 2022
Cohort Confirmed: July 1st, 2022
Cohort workshops: August – October

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Village Capital Future of work Africa 2022 Accelerator Program

Application Deadline:January 22, 2021.

Village Capital, with the support of IFC is launching Future of Work Africa 2021 – an accelerator supporting and scaling startups across Sub-Saharan Africa that help young people find jobs, build careers, and prepare for the future of work.

Africa’s workforce is projected to be the largest in the world in the coming decades, with hundreds of millions of people below the age of 25 starting to look for work. But there are simply not enough quality jobs for this young and growing population. Nearly half of young people on the continent are unemployed, and in some countries, more than four out of five work in the informal sector, with fluctuating incomes and few if any benefits. While agriculture has long been the continent’s top sector, more and more of Africa’s population is moving to urban areas, where jobs in the formal sector are in short supply.

accelerator will support entrepreneurs building for-profit, market-based solutions across the education, employment, and benefits spectrum that can help young people in Sub-Saharan Africa better prepare for and manage the future of work.

ELIGIBILITY

Ventures must address youth unemployment through the following:

Innovations like upskilling/reskilling programs
Credentialing programs
New approaches to apprenticeship or employment matching
Financial health for informal workers, and/or
Edtech.

THE WORKSHOPS

Future of Work Africa 2021 will host two cohorts, each cohort will have between 10 and 15 entrepreneurs. We are not sure yet if the program will be in person or virtual. A decision will be made as we approach the workshop dates.

Cohort 1

Workshop 1: May 10-14

Workshop 2: Jun 7-11

Cohort 2

Workshop 1: May 24-28

Workshop 2: Jun 21-25

The deadline to apply for this program (for both cohorts) is January 22, 2021.