Innovation Fellowship Programme secures funding

Impact Africa Network’s Innovation Fellowship programme has secured funding from three Silicon Valley tech leaders.

The undisclosed amount of funding donation will assist to add more budding entrepreneurs to its rigorous 12-month Innovation Fellowship programme.

The programme provides graduates the opportunity to enhance their business knowledge and gain practical experience.

Mark Karake, CEO of Impact Africa Network comments on the funding donation received.

“When we launched Impact Africa Network I did not doubt that impact-oriented tech leaders in Silicon Valley and beyond would not hesitate to support the work we are doing. They are uniquely positioned to understand how critical support is to the development of young innovators early in their careers. Most of them benefited from similar support when they were coming through the ranks.”

With donations received by Stewart Butterfield, CEO of Slack, the premier team collaboration platform, Aaron Levie, CEO of the leading enterprise cloud company Box, and Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist have joined the organization’s 100 Founders’ Challenge.

Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist and Craig Newmark Philanthropies provides insight into why he chose to donate to the IAN.

“I chose to support the program in order to stimulate Silicon Valley-style entrepreneurialism in the best sense of that in their geography. It’s important because it creates employment and opens doors for advancement in careers and wealth creation.”

Impact Africa Network

Established in 2019, the Impact Africa Network has provided Innovation Fellowship opportunities to African entrepreneurs.

Impact Africa Network is a non-profit startup studio in Nairobi on a mission to ensure young talented Africans can access the digital transformation of Africa as creators and owners.

In an official press statement, IAN explains its main objective.

“The goal is to expand entrepreneurial capacity while at the same time develop fundamentally sound early-stage startups. ”

The fellowship aims to expose selected participants to a high-performance work environment that assists in developing their business acumen and execution skills. Throughout the fellowship, the selected participants are exposed to multiple innovative projects that have the opportunity to develop into high-growth startups.

Participants have gone on to create a number of innovative startups such as Jenga School, a STEM edtech startup that aims to make Africa the “engine room” of STEM talent globally.

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