A monthly newsletter Issue #1 September 2008
Dear Friends of Afriversity,

Welcome to the very first Afriversity newsletter! It’s been almost 6 months since we launched our web site and at the same time started to recruit partners in the form of educational institutions, corporate sponsors, donors and supporters.
The response to Afriversity’s simple idea of creating a dedicated business training and incubation platform for budding entrepreneurs in Africa has been overwhelming. We seem to have struck a chord with people who are familiar with the tough situation for small businesses in Africa, i.e. the lack of practical business training linked with limited access to growth finance. This progress would not have happened without the help of the volunteers and individuals who are truly making a difference in the world and are helping us get one step closer to our goal!
We have presented Afriversity to the press and industry thought leaders at prestigious events such as Future in Review in San Diego in May. We had the fortune of meeting with leading executives from Google and Microsoft who in the future we hope will support Afriversity with both resources and placements. It was a great opportunity to meet individuals with the same interests and belief system. Social Entrepreneurship is a means to create innovative ways to improve social environments, and this field needs creative leaders who can take the initiative in many situations. We recently also met and discussed Afriversity with leading European corporations at the Hasso Plattner Ventures Social Entrepreneurship Conference in Potsdam outside Berlin in July. There is no doubt that Afriversity’s vision is fulfilling the knowledge gap that exists where new investments are made in Africa to alleviate poverty. As an example, Deutsche Bank presented its new investment fund for micro-financing small businesses in developing countries. Deutsche Bank highlighted the need for better business education to make microfinance work better, or else the opportunity for growth is missed. There is no question that Africa is in dire need for practical entrepreneurial education and coaching for both small and medium sized ventures, to match the new trend of investments directed towards micro-financing. The conference in Potsdam confirmed the global trend of increased social entrepreneurship linked with education as a logical step towards poverty elimination. Everyone is benefittng from this trend. From local entrepreneurs creating new jobs, to the investors involved, be it individuals, pension funds or commercial companies acting out their Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR)


"The concept of hands-on
entrepreneurialism coupled
with incubation is one very
close to our hearts, as we
are helping others to start."
"To share often and much . . . . To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded."

Ralph Waldo Emerson
Random Acts of Kindness, 1994
Our Newest Member New Afriversity Partner Afriversity is recruiting
We are proud to have recently attracted
additional expertise in Karen Williams from Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship (CSE) who has joined Afriversity’s advisory board specifically to develop the Afriversity curriculum.
Karen is a doctoral candidate at the Division of Management of Organisational Renewal and Entrepreneurship (MORE) at Chalmers University of Technology, in Gothenburg Sweden. Karen holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Tufts University and a Masters in Business Administration (with honors) from Babson College. While at Babson, Karen worked on projects focused on social and environmental entrepreneurship, while also having strong engagement with the Center for Women’s Leadership, including acting as president for the school’s chapter in the Graduate Women in Business (GWIB) association – now renamed NAWMBA. She has also been engaged in  ntrepreneurial development projects, from the regional to the EU level, including a 4‐year long project focused on entrepreneurial attraction and competence development at the regional level, and a 1½‐ year long EU project focused on university research commercialization and mobility. Karen is currently engaged in project proposals regarding interregional innovation development, regional entrepreneurial and culture development.
Afriversity is partnering with outstanding leadership and entrepreneur schools to provide resources, competence and teaching expertise in a collaboration and networking model. One such school that has recently agreed to become an Afriversity partner is the KaosPilots located in Denmark, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

“At the KaosPilots we foster creative entrepreneurship, learnership and leadership with special focus on
sustainability, social innovation and cultural diversity “ Christer Lidzélius, CEO explains “We offer creative outsiders and potential change makers space, and a place for them to develop their knowledge, attitudes and competencies to be able to realise their values and visions. The KaosPilots program is different compared to many other programs. It’s not about what you know, but what you can and will do.” Christer continues “We believe that Afriversity and KaosPilots share the same values and goals. We are excited to work together to bring innovative entrepreneurial training and help release the true potential of the African business talent.”
 Afriversity is currently recruiting
additional resources in South
Africa, specifically general
manager, program director,
lecturers and teachers.

Please send your CV to
jobs@afriversity.org!
Afriversity is now in a stage of securing further
financing and strengthening its organisation to meet
its aim to run the first training courses during 2009.
We are aiming at puttng 30 new students through
the first pilot course and creating 10‐20 new
“projects”, i.e. real ventures that the students will
run and grow during the course. We expect that the
“Afriversity Incubation” program will fund 25% of the
student projects. This means we will help create real
new companies with the potential to grow and
deliver a potential financial return for investors in
Afriversity

Hence, Afriversity is aiming at creating real
companies with real profits that will create jobs
and sustainable prosperity. As an investor, you will
not just help local entrepreneurs to realise their
dream of growing their own business, but you will
have the opportunity to participate and benefit
too. It’s a true win win situation!

The projects will emanate from a combination of
existing business plans (e.g. through business plan
competitions) as well as spin‐offs from local
corporations, representation of foreign
corporations (e.g. franchises), ideas from local
chambers of commerce or simply existing business
that are looking for growth capital and coaching.

Our aim is to run the first courses in South Africa
but we are also looking at options for additional
nations for initial pilot courses. In order to fulfill
this goal, we need to raise approximately €250,000
by the end of 2008 and another €250,000 during
2009.
During the first year, our aim is to allocate about
70% of these funds to the educational resources,
20% as direct investments in selected business and
10% for the administration cost of running the
organisation.

Investors in Afriversity will not only make a
difference in the future of many thousands of
Africans, but Afriversity will be an investment that
can pay dividends to investors in the form of equity
in the new ventures being created . Any profits
that Afriversity makes will be reinvested in the
educational program and in the incubation of
promising ventures.

We encourage you to spread the news of
Afriversity to CEO’s and investors who you know
are eager to put their own CSR initiatives on
steroids! Afriversity is an initiative where CSR
money will make a real difference to the future of
Africans and make commercial sense too. As you
know, we are looking for corporate sponsors who
will not just provide cash funds and resources, but
also offer placements/internships, inspirational
speakers, mentors and potentially also bring
forward projects that might further the sponsors
own business in Africa.

Please feel free to contact us on
sponsor@afriversity.org and we will provide you with
a full sponsorship prospectus and answer any other
questions you might have.

Thank you for your on‐going support of Afriversity.
We are eager to get your feedback, ideas and
suggestions to make Afriversity more efficient and
grow even faster.

Yours sincerely,

The Afriversity Team
Note from Afriversity Fellow

Note from Afriversity Fellow: Natasha Nay Avidan

I hope that you enjoy this first issue of our newsletter and thanks to everyone for your contributions and participation. I also want to send a big thank you out to all our volunteers who are giving their time and expertise to make this project a reality and spreading the freedom of education and opportunity in Africa. Many of us take our education and fortuity for granted and it is hard to imagine a world in which something as random as where you are born could result in a lifelong struggle for equal opportunity. Please remember that you CAN make a difference. We all want to make a difference in life and here is an opportunity to do so in a way that may seem small to you but could have a big impact on someone elses life. One of the best things that you can do to help is spread the word about Afriversity by simply sending this newsletter to family and friends.

Thank you for your support!


Interesting Links:

www.kaospilots.dk
www.futureinreview.com
www.nai.uu.se

Contact Us:

Afriversity HQ
Kullingsbergsv. 7
Alingsås
SE‐441 43
Sweden

Information: info@afriversity.org
Admissions: admission@afriversity.org
Sponsoring: sponsor@afriversity.org
Jobs: jobs@afriversity.org
Sponsors of Afriversity
 
 
 

For more information visit www.afriversity.org or email us at info@afriversity.org