Press Statement - London, 15th July 2024
Djassi Africa and a group of founders from its Afropreneurs Brasil Fellowship program joined forces to launch the AFROPRENEURS HUB, as the platform to multiply the impact, expand the community, and perpetuate the momentum created during the months of the fellowship program. This is their way of paying forward for all the opportunities they had in their personal and entrepreneurial journeys, creating a virtuous cycle of impact, abundance, and generational success for other Black Founders in Brazil.
The pact that sealed this joint mission was signed in São Paulo (Brazil) last month during the Afropreneurs Fellowship Graduation Ceremony at Google for Startups Campus, where Djassi Africa and the Afropreneurs Fellows revealed their pledge that will target Brazil in its first phase, then scale to Lusophone Africa countries (Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, and São Tomé and Príncipe) in 2025.
The AFROPRENEURS HUB is launched with the following strategic objectives:
to become the enabling platform for the Afropreneurs community, connecting, engaging, and multiplying value and impact across and between its members;
to unlock the potential and accelerate the growth of high-impact and scalable tech-enabled startups;
to continuously mobilise, activate, and build a solid and future-proof pipeline of scalable black-led startups, maximising their visibility and success rate in the Brazilian innovation ecosystem;
to write new narratives and amplify success stories of black entrepreneurship.
The AFROPRENEURS HUB will offer multiple propositions, kicking off today with the Mentorship Program and Afropreneurs Academy. The Mentorship Program has a three-month duration and it’s based on Djassi Africa’s holistic and bespoke mentorship model, including a dedicated mentor exclusively assigned to one startup founder, additional on-request sessions with a pool of specialised mentors, strategic sessions with Djassi Africa’s team, and community building moments. Simultaneously, the selected cohort will have access to the Afropreneurs Academy, including the following experience-based modules delivered by industry experts: Funding & Fundraising, Sales & Go To Market, Product & Technology, Business Management & Operations, Business Model, People, and Financial Management.
The first cohort for the Mentoring Program kicks off today and includes 10 startups covering various industries, with 50% being owned and led by women.
The second cohort starts in September and will include up to 30 startups, with a special focus on underrepresented regions outside São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
The AFROPRENEURS HUB is part of Djassi Africa's expansion roadmap for Brazil, contributing to its mission to level the playing field for Black Founders in the country.
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