Acumen Academy Accelerator for Ventures Serving Displaced People 2022

Refine and develop a scalable business model that advances sustainable livelihoods for forcibly displaced populations in East Africa.

Refugee owned, refugee-led, or refugee-supporting social enterprises can help to unlock the potential of forcibly displaced communities with business models that promote self-reliance: the social and economic ability of forcibly-displaced people and their host communities to meet their essential needs without external aid. To assist social entrepreneurs who work in or seek to expand into this space, this accelerator will equip leaders with the moral leadership lessons, business skills, and learnings from our portfolio companies to confidently scale their enterprises and build scalable, inclusive, and sustainable solutions.

Learn How To:

• Refine and develop a profitable and scalable business model
• Identify key opportunities for growth while supporting either displaced or hosting communities through market, workforce, and value-chain entry points
• Develop the hard-edged leadership skills necessary for building better, inclusive, and sustainable business solutions
• Sharpen your presentation skills and practice pitching to an audience of investors and entrepreneurs — with a chance to receive a share of US $75,000 of grant funding
• Build a professional network and community of social entrepreneurs in East Africa who are committed to tackling displacement and inequality

About Acumen Academy

Acumen Academy serves a community of social innovators and builders who are willing to embrace the challenge of solving the world's toughest problems and provides the practical tools, practices and resources needed to create new solutions for an interdependent world.

Accelerator for Ventures Serving Displaced People

Aim and Benefits of Accelerator for Ventures Serving Displaced People

• Five Learning Labs alongside your cohort of entrepreneurs
• Three one-on-one consultation calls with Acumen’s team for individualized support on customer experiments, financial model and pitching
• Video tutorials on customer discovery, sales and marketing, financial modeling, pitching, and more
• Case studies from social enterprises that have successfully scaled while contributing to sustainable livelihoods for the forcibly displaced
• Opportunity to pitch to a group of investors and donors interested in the FDP space, eligibility for a share of $75K in grant funding, and possible inclusion in Acumen’s investment pipeline
• Graduation into Acumen Academy’s Foundry: an alumni community designed to accompany leaders from around the world by connecting them with resources and relationships to amplify their work

Following the program, you’ll join an alumni community of over 1000 social innovators around the world. We call the Acumen alumni community ‘The Foundry’ – where our aim is to accompany builders from around the world by connecting them with the resources and relationships to amplify their work in architecting a just, inclusive, and sustainable world.

Requirements for Accelerator for Ventures Serving Displaced People Qualification

This Acumen Academy Accelerator is open to entrepreneurs who:

• Run a for-profit social enterprise based in Kenya, Uganda, or Ethiopia
• Are advancing self-reliance in and between forcibly displaced populations and their hosting communities in at least one of the following ways:
  • Serving communities vulnerable to displacement, forcibly displaced populations and/or hosting communities as customers
  • Providing decent work and employment to communities vulnerable to displacement, forcibly displaced populations, or hosting communities
  • Sourcing from communities who are affected by displacement, communities vulnerable to displacement, or hosting them
• Have a demonstrated track record of at least 1-3 years, some market traction, and are preparing to scale
• Favorable consideration will be given to teams promoting climate resilient solutions
• Learn more about qualifications in the below FAQs

Interview date, Process and Venue for Accelerator for Ventures Serving Displaced People

Over 10 weeks, two members of your leadership team will learn the essentials for building a scalable business model that achieves both profitability and impact. Working virtually alongside a close-knit cohort of entrepreneurial peers, you’ll examine how your business model currently serves forcibly displaced people and their host communities and test strategies to further access the FDP market. You’ll learn how to finance your business as it scales, practice pitching, and receive feedback and tips from Acumen’s network.

As a participant, you’ll also have access to industry and impact-specific case studies, video tutorials and practical readings, and receive invaluable one-on-one support and guidance from our team. Each week, you’ll complete assignments designed to help you think critically about your business model and introduce best practices to reach and serve forcibly displaced populations, and then join weekly interactive Learning Labs alongside your cohort members to give and receive feedback and learn together.

Throughout the journey, you’ll dive into Acumen’s Moral Leadership practices, like Listening to Voices Unheard and Partnering with Humility and Audacity. These skills are vital for any leader looking to reimagine what society and the workforce can look like and drive actionable change.

The program will culminate with a virtual closing session where you’ll have the opportunity to pitch your venture. The top three ventures selected will receive a share of US $75,000 of grant funding. 

Application Deadline

How to Apply

For more details, visit Acumen Academy website.