Endeavor Kenya, the Kenyan wing of the New York-based Endeavour Global, has accepted Kenyan entrepreneurs into the global-stage acceleration program.
Endeavour Global, is a not-for-profit organization that supports high-impact entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs enrolled in the program will get access to the capital and networks needed to grow their small businesses.
Endeavour Global has set a target of the enrolled businesses to create at least 25,000 jobs by the year 2023. It Kenyan wing – Endeavor Kenya – was launched in July 2018, and is based at the capital, Nairobi. The Kenyan entrepreneurs selected to take part in the program are:
Ken Njoroge and Bolaji Akinboro from Cellulant
Paul Mbugua from Eclectics International
Grant Brook from Twiga Foods
Wandia Gichuru from Vivo Activewear
Bilha Ndirangu and Samuel Gikandi from Africa’s Talking
“Unemployment is very high among young Kenyans, and we need to generate more than 3.9 million new jobs by 2020,” said Benson Wairegi, the Chairman of Endeavor Kenya and Britam Group.
“Endeavor believes that the real heroes of job creation and economic growth are the small subsets of entrepreneurs who scale to contribute the lion’s share of net new jobs.”
Wairegi further expressed his disappointment with the limited support towards local entrepreneurs and companies that are within the growth phase. He reiterated Endeavour Kenya’s commitment towards filling that gap.
His counterpart, Endeavor Kenya CEO Fiona Mungai, also added, “We search for, select, and support these entrepreneurs to think big and actualize their vision. As they scale, Endeavor entrepreneurs multiply their impact by inspiring, mentoring, and investing in those that come behind them.”
The first sub-Saharan Africa company Endeavour has invested in is Cellulant, in which the co-founders Njoroge was roped in as Endeavor Kenya first entrepreneur. That happened shortly after Endeavor Kenya set up an office in Nairobi last year.
Cellulant’s other co-founder Akinboro was also roped into the program, and the two (Njoroge and Akinboro) tapped into Endeavor’s global network to connect with business leaders within the fintech space from around the globe.
