Application: Accelerator for Ventures Serving Displaced People

We're thrilled you're interested in joining us for the Acumen Academy Accelerator for Ventures Serving Displaced People!

This program is open to social entrepreneurs in Kenya, Uganda, or Ethiopia. Please check additional eligibility requirements before completing the form (see criteria under 'who is qualified to apply' on program webpage).

Your answers should help us learn about your work and suitability for the program - we use the information you provide here to decide who to interview for the program, so take your time. On average, the form takes 1 hour to complete.

Applications for this program are open until April 12, 2022

Section 1: Team Contact & Background Information

LEAD PARTICIPANT 1 DETAILS

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

Gender

Female Male Non-binary/third gender/other Prefer not to disclose

What is your country of origin? (Where were you born?)

What is your country of residence? (Where do you live?)

What is your nationality?

Please indicate the option that best describes where you are currently living/working?

Urban cityUrban town Rural town Rural village

What is your role/position at the enterprise?

Your role / position:

What other accelerator, fellowships, or leadership programs have you participated in (if any)?

Are you starting any other accelerators, fellowships, or leadership programs in the next six months? If yes, please let us know which ones.

Select the appropriate answer that matches your educational background (please select)

Primary SchoolSecondary / High SchoolCollege certificate College diplomaBachelor’s degree Masters degree Graduate SchoolDoctorate degree / PHD Programme

LEAD PARTICIPANT 2 DETAILS

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

Gender

Female Male Non-binary/third gender/other Prefer not to disclose

What is their country of origin? (Where were they born)

What is their country of residence? (Where do they live)

What is their role/position at the enterprise?

Is this person a founder / co-founder?

YesNo

Select the appropriate dropdown that matches their educational background (please select)

Primary SchoolSecondary / High SchoolCollege certificate College diplomaBachelor’s degree Masters degree Graduate SchoolDoctorate degree / PHD Programme

Section 2: Basic Facts about Your Social Enterprise

What is the name of your enterprise?

Please provide a link to your organization's website

How many founders does your enterprise have?

How many female founders does your enterprise have?

How many years has your enterprise been in existence?

It doesn't exist yet Less than 1 year 1 to 2 years 3 to 5 years 6 to 10 years 11+ years

How many full-time staff does your enterprise have?

No full-time, paid staff 1 2 3 to 5 6 to 10 10 to 25 26 to 100 100+

How many part-time or seasonal staff does your enterprise have?

No part-time or seasonal staff 1 2 3 to 5 6 to 10 10 to 25 26 to 100 100+

What is your organization's status?

For Profit EntityNot for Profit EntityHybrid (for profit and not for profit)Government EntityAcademic InstitutionNone of the above

What is the city/village/town where your enterprise is headquartered?

What country are your primary operations in?

KenyaUgandaEthiopiaOther

Country:

What other countries does you organization operate in? (select all that apply)

What sector or industry does your business operate in?

AgricultureEducationEnergyFinancial inclusion HealthWorkforce DevelopmentOther

Other:

Section 3: History and Traction of Your Enterprise

Describe your enterprise in one sentence (e.g. Company X provides safe sanitation to low-income settlement areas which is then collected in its centralized processing plant and turned into fertilizer).

What is the problem you are solving?

What are your products or services?

Who is your target customer?

What is the best evidence you have that customers want the product or service you are selling?

What are the main channels you use to sell your goods or services?

What makes your product/ service better than your competitor(s')?

FINANCE: How much revenue did your enterprise generate in the last two years? Please provide information in US Dollars.

Total annual revenue 2020 (USD)

Total annual revenue 2021 (USD)

Total equity raised (USD)

Total debt raised (USD)

Total grant funding raised (USD)

Total number of users/ consumers in 2021

What percentage of 2021 consumers paid for your product/ service?

What has been your enterprise's primary source(s) of funding to date? (select all that contribute 25% or more of your income).

GrantsEarned revenueEquityDebtOwn savings / support of friends and familyOther

How much funding do you expect to raise in the next 2 years? Please provide information in US Dollars.

Grant funding (USD)

Debt (USD)

Equity (USD)

Other (USD)

Projected annual revenue (forecast) 2022 (USD)

What are the top two milestones you hope your enterprise will achieve in the next three years?

Other than access to capital, what is the biggest challenge you face as you scale your enterprise?

Do you have a business plan or pitch deck you can share with our team? If so, please upload it here (optional).

Section 4: Social Impact

Describe how your organization makes an impact. Who are the people or institutions that you are working to impact and how are you impacting them?

About the displaced populations and/or host communities you serve

Please provide some information on the primary displaced populations and/or host communities that your business benefits.

Location

Setting:

CampRuralPeri-urbanUrbanSelect all that apply

Amount of time displaced

Reason for displacement:

Climate change and natural disastersConflict and insecuritySocio-economic crisisOther

Other reason for displacement: please explain:

Who are the main beneficiaries amongst the FDP you're aiming to serve?:

ChildrenYoung adultsWomen & girls Heads of householdsSmallholder farmersPersons with disabilityOther

Other beneficiaries: please explain:

What is the primary way your company seeks to advance self-reliance for forcibly displaced populations and/or host communities?

Serving communities vulnerable to displacement, forcibly displaced populations and/or hosting communities as customersProviding decent work and employment to communities vulnerable to displacement, forcibly displaced populations, or hosting communitiesSourcing from communities who are affected by displacement, communities vulnerable to displacement, or hosting them

Please provide a real example of how your enterprise is making intentional efforts to engage forcibly displaced people and/or host communities as customers, employees or suppliers. What policies, practices or approaches have you tried? What success have you had to date?

Where would you place your business's type of impact on the crisis continuum below?:

Pre-conflict / resilience: our business's impact improves climate resiliency, regional stability and delivers preventive measures for forced displacement.Active/ acute conflict: our business improves humanitarian response capacity, infrastructure and innovationPost-conflict / recovery: our business accelerates economic inclusion, integration and self-reliance of displaced communities

Does your business model advance climate resilience: the ability for target communities to prepare for, recover from, and adapt to climate change? If so, how?

How do you hope this program will help you to advance your work as it relates to forcibly displaced populations and/or host communities?

Do you currently measure any other type of social impact? If so, what and how?

Section 5: Personal Goals and Values

Why is this important to us? This program is for individuals who are already deeply committed to the work of tackling poverty and injustice, and are interested in being a part of a global community that is bound by values. Everyone’s approach and the reason why they began their journey of tackling poverty and injustice could be different, but we aspire to build a community that is committed to staying on the path of creating lasting change in society.

What motivated you to start doing the work that you do, and what motivates you to keep going today?

What is the ONE THING that you want to get better at, that would make the biggest difference to your effectiveness as a leader?

What are your primary goals for participating in this program?

Section 6: Other

Anything else we should know?

How did you hear about this Accelerator?

Acumen EmailGoogle/search engine LinkedInTwitterFacebookthe Refugee Investment Network (RIN) communicationOpen Capital (OCA)Via an enterprise network, e.g. another accelerator/incubator Acumen WebsiteFriend or ColleagueUniversity I am an Acumen FellowOther

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