Since 2018, we have been supporting a business acceleration programme thanks to the E4Impact Accelerator, that set up and managed the initiative that promotes a new generation of entrepreneurs in Africa. The programme offers selected companies the chance to become catalysts of social and environmental change, leveraging their good practices, know-how and acquired skills. We wanted to contribute to the integration of social and business needs, making effective use of private sector resources. In two years we have helped to promote high impact entrepreneurship in Kenya, provided financial support, created new jobs for the younger generations and promoted the international growth of companies in strategic sectors for a Kenya-Italy partnership. Of the 40 companies incubated by our partner E4Impact, we have financially supported 20 (of which 40% are managed by women). The project was financed, for a total of €823,000, by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan and by Eni Kenya, as a private financier, which gave seed grants to the most deserving companies worth a total of €150,000. The project lasted two years.
To apply for the programme, businesses must satisfy the following criteria:
- innovative products/services
- established revenues
- a strong entrepreneurial team
- a defined social/environmental impact
There was a focus on mission-driven businesses that deal with disadvantaged communities in informal settlements and with the approaching end of the first accelerator stage, the E4Impact team plans a second phase consisting of:
- launching a third cohort in collaboration with its partners
- including more companies in the programme
- supporting technology companies
- building better partnerships with Italian businesses and Associations
- revising the programme to make it more focused on developing different sectors