Call for applications: the Social & Inclusive Business Camp opens its doors to African entrepreneurs for the 6th year running

The Social & Inclusive Business Camp (SIBC) has begun searching for its 6th cohort of African entrepreneurs. Leaders of developing, high-impact companies on the continent have until June 26 to apply for a place on the SIBC 2022!

The Social & Inclusive Business Camp has become the unmissable event for high-impact African entrepreneurs and will soon be supporting the next generation of project leaders in scaling up their businesses. Since 2017, the SIBC has helped nearly 240 entrepreneurs grow through a program that combines innovative training and networking with other entrepreneurs, mentors and potential investors.

A PROGRAM TO BOOST THE GROWTH OF HIGH-IMPACT AFRICAN COMPANIES

The SIBC program is supported by the FDA Campus and implemented by a consortium of international partners: I&P Conseil, African Management Institute (AMI), ScaleChanger and StartupBRICS.

It has been tailor-made for promoters of ambitious African companies to scale up and lead social and/or inclusive innovations in order to come up with solutions to address shortcomings in society. These companies’ impact can stem from either their product or service as well as the inclusiveness of their organisation and their value chain (suppliers, production, distribution, etc.), specially to benefit vulnerable populations (women, disabled people, refugees, etc.).

The SIBC provides its participants with a wide-ranging program to strengthen their skills by focusing on four main areas: leadership development and team composition; scaling upinvestment readiness and impact measurement.

These areas are managed in different approaches with a 3-month online training course and individual mentoring from previous participants, and a 1-week intensive bootcamp in Marseille, France, in partnership with the EMERGING Valley Summit (an event dedicated to emerging innovations between Europe and Africa) to take a closer look at the pressing issues and gain insight from high-level experts and investors.

“The SIBC provided me with training, business management coaching and an unlimited network of people (…) with whom I could build relationships and partnerships.”

Founfonsi Mathe Allah, Founder and Manager of African Food Nutrition (Burkina Faso)

THE SIBC’s KEY VALUES: CONNECTING ENTREPRENEURS TO A WIDE NETWORK OF STAKEHOLDERS

The SIBC brings together a large network of stakeholders for its participants in addition to the capacity building it provides to entrepreneurs about the main aspects of scaling up.

A rich alumni community of nearly 240 social and inclusive entrepreneurs

Since 2017, nearly 240 female and male entrepreneurs have participated in the program. Every year, this dynamic community of alumni shows its commitment to the newer generations of SIBC entrepreneurs through a personalised mentoring program and collective sessions. The program thus enables entrepreneurs to better connect with each other, share their experiences and develop areas of collaboration (partnerships, access to new markets, contacts, etc.).

“The SIBC helped me meet entrepreneurs from around the continent from different

business sectors and countries who have issues similar to my own”

Enki Barache, CEO of Tigoun (Madagascar)

A network of over 80 investors and experts working alongside the program’s participants

The SIBC brings together a large number of experts from across the continent throughout the program: investors, human resources specialists, management coaches and many leaders of growing companies. During the Bootcamp and the EMERGING VALLEY Summit, the SIBC participants also have access to a panel of investors and financial partners, allowing them to establish a first contact, which can then turn into a partnership. Over the past years, nearly 40 investors came to meet the SIBC cohort during the speed-meeting sessions.

To apply for the 2022 edition, click on the link for the dedicated platform .

Applications are open from May 09 to June 26, 2022.

For more information about the program: https://www.socialbusinesscamp.com/

Schedule:

  • May 09 – June 26, 2022: application submissions
  • June 26 to July 8, 2022: assessment of applications, the consortium will choose 40 participants and the selection committee will take place
  • July 18, 2022: the chosen candidates will be announced
  • End of August 2022: start of the program and the online course
  • End of November 2022: Intensive one-week bootcamp in Marseille and participation in the EMERGING Valley summit on November 28 and 29.