Twenty social entrepreneurs got offered an incredible opportunity: they will be undergoing leadership training, financial and personal development, in order to build transformative businesses and make an impact on local communities. This is a story where success rhymes with social responsibility.
A team of twenty social entrepreneurs has been selected to take part in the inaugural Acumen Fund East Africa Fellows Program. The twenty will undergo intensive leadership training on challenging issues facing East Africa for one year. They will also engage with thought leaders and conduct field work focusing on social change.
The Acumen East Africa Fellows Programme aims at equipping talented entrepreneurs with personal and financial skills needed to help them build transformative businesses that will serve the poor in society and bring about social change. The fellowship organized by the Acumen Fund, a venture capital fund, is sponsored by the KCB Foundation, a foundation run by the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) and the Edmond de Rothschild Foundation.
The entrepreneurs are drawn from Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Selected participants of the fellowship run projects that either have a social impact or are entrepreneurial ventures. The fellows run projects in sectors such as renewable energy, early childhood education, youth empowerment, support for SMEs, waste management, housing for low-income families, digital villages, poverty alleviation and political accountability. They were selected based on their business leadership abilities and passion to impact communities.
Now, the fellows are expected to attend five seminars where they will interact with prominent leaders who will mentor and offer them guidance developing their projects. The first seminar is expected to kick off in July 2011. A journey that will surely change the lives of the selected entrepreneurs as well as the communities around them.
During the fellowship the participants will be equipped on how to fully make use of their passion to impact society and expand their projects. They will also learn and develop skills in social change and innovation. They will also attend a regional trip at a destination of their choice where they will be accompanied by renowned thought leaders to witness successful social initiatives in other countries.
To mark the end of the fellowship participants will take part in an innovation conference during which they will showcase their social change and put into practice what they will have learnt in the fellowship. The end of the fellowship will bring forth a new crop of leaders who will push sustainable social initiatives in East Africa.
The Acumen East Africa Fellows Programme is a replica of a global fellowship run by the Acumen fund which has been ongoing for the last five years. The programme envisions a world where all people will have access to services such as health, water, housing, energy, agricultural inputs and services.
This is a powerful vision, slowly compelled thanks to a program empowering successful entrepreneurs. It reminds us that being an entrepreneur is being a leader. And ultimately, being a leader means having a positive impact. On as many people as possible.
