New Village Capital programme aims to help those who support African entrepreneurs

Village Capital has launched a call for applications for a management training programme aimed at helping train those that work at entrepreneur support organisations in Africa.

The programme, NextGen Ecosystem Builders Africa 2020, will run in collaboration with the African Management Institute with support from the Dutch Good Growth Fund.

The initiative aims to strengthen mid-level talent — department leads, programme managers, partnerships, acceleration and incubation managers — within support organisations.

Applications for the programme close on 30 January.

Applications for Village Capital’s NextGen Ecosystem Builders Africa 2020 will close on 30 January

Village Capital said in a statement last month that the programme is designed for those that work at support organisations that include co-working spaces, accelerators, incubators, business advisory firms, makerspaces or fablabs and tech hubs that support early-stage small businesses and startups.

To be considered for the programme, the applicant must have been in operation for over two years, have grown from co-founder or founder to over five employees including middle management. This includes department leads, partnership managers, incubator and accelerator managers, and programme managers.

In addition, the entrepreneur an applicant’s support organisation must have multiple lines of business or departments and have raised funding, run multiple programmes as well as be able to demonstrate traction.

Village Capital will select about 20 organisations for the programme.

These organisations will then each be able to nominate two mid-level managers that have been endorsed by the leadership of each respective organisation, to attend the programme.

The programme, which will be offered in both French and English, will include three learning labs or workshops. These will comprise one in-person in Nairobi and two others that will be conducted remotely.

Village Capital said NextGen Ecosystem Builders Africa 2020 will combine a technical development and management development programme that will among other things cover:

• Planning, executing and measuring the impact of a programme or service for entrepreneurs
• Understanding an ecosystem, target entrepreneurs and engaging stakeholders
• Professional and management skill development
• Developing a culture of performance

Participants will also learn more about the African entrepreneur support sector and the “why” of entrepreneur support at a macro, ecosystem, organisational and personal level.

Costs to attend in-person training and all learning resources for two team members from each entrepreneur support organisation will be covered by Village Capital.

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