Grace Ashiru
Leading global investment firm 500 Global has joined forces with the United Nations Development Programme to establish a comprehensive three-pronged entrepreneurship initiative in Nairobi, marking a significant expansion of support for Africa’s startup landscape.
The partnership introduces a structured approach to startup development through three distinct programs, each targeting entrepreneurs at different stages of their business journey. Kenya’s capital will serve as the operational hub for this ambitious undertaking.
The initiative kicks off with the Pre-Acceleration Academy, a concentrated in-person program scheduled to run from October 6-12, specifically designed for founders in the earliest phases of business development. This will be followed by the Sustainable Innovation Seed Accelerator, which focuses on entrepreneurs developing environmentally conscious and socially responsible solutions at the seed funding stage.
The third component, 500 Global’s specialized Bootcamp for Accelerator Managers, addresses ecosystem infrastructure by training managers and incubators within UNDP’s timbuktoo initiative—professionals dedicated to fostering innovation throughout the African continent.
According to Mareme Dieng, Partner at 500 Global, the collaboration represents an opportunity to strengthen the firm’s engagement with African entrepreneurs while helping them navigate an increasingly complex global business environment. The partnership aims to provide essential infrastructure for sustained innovation and growth across the region.
Ahunna Eziakonwa, who serves as Assistant UN Secretary General and Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa, emphasized the strategic vision behind the initiative. She highlighted that the partnership represents an investment in innovators who are driving Africa’s sustainable transformation, with the goal of building a resilient entrepreneurial ecosystem that supports inclusive growth and advances the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
500 Global brings substantial African market experience to the partnership, having initiated its continental investment activities in 2011. The firm has since supported over 100 African-headquartered companies, including notable successes such as Chipper Cash, Smile Identity, Stitch, Money Fellows, and Asaak.
Beyond direct investment activities, the venture capital firm has actively participated in ecosystem development through collaborations with governmental organizations, including Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and Germany’s Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). These partnerships have resulted in accelerator manager training programs and support infrastructure that has benefited more than 150 Egyptian founders since 2022.
The firm manages $2.1 billion in assets and has supported over 5,000 founders across more than 3,000 companies operating in over 80 countries globally. Its portfolio includes more than 35 companies valued above $1 billion and over 150 companies valued above $100 million.
Applications for all three programs are currently open, with interested founders able to access program details and application portals through the respective Pre-Acceleration Academy and Sustainable Innovation Accelerator Program pages.
This partnership arrives as part of UNDP’s broader timbuktoo initiative, which seeks to mobilize $1 billion to transform 100 million livelihoods and create 10 million jobs, representing what officials describe as the world’s largest initiative to support the innovation ecosystem for African startups.
Launched in January 2024, the timbuktoo initiative is designed to create the world’s largest support network for African startups and was first unveiled at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The initiative takes its name from the historic city of Timbuktu in Mali and operates through a growing system of UniPods and Thematic Hubs located across the continent, focusing on sectors including HealthTech and GreenTech.
The timing of the 500 Global partnership reflects timbuktoo’s strategy of working with African governments, investors, corporates, and universities, to support the African startup ecosystem, addressing a huge gap in Africa’s early-stage risk capital, particularly domestic resources. The initiative combines catalytic and commercial capital in order to de-risk and crowd-in early stage risk capital at scale.
Recent developments within the timbuktoo framework include the launch of specialized hubs, such as the HealthTech Hub in Rwanda, which focuses on AI-driven diagnostics, locally manufactured medical devices, and biotechnology tailored to African needs
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