After supporting 5 successful cohorts of social entrepreneurs, ygap Bangladesh is running its first yher Accelerator Program, focusing on female-led ventures, in Dhaka in October 2018. This is in partnership with Build Bangladesh and ygap Australia. Applications for the program are open now.
In a statement ygap Bangladesh said, "we know women are vibrant and vital architects of society and the best levers for change. We also know female entrepreneurs need to be championed because they face multiple structural barriers, be it legal, financial or cultural. Because of these barriers, women are more likely to run low-growth businesses that struggle to get off the ground. Ultimately we want to see more Bangladeshi women running bigger and better social ventures and become role models for female entrepreneurs throughout South Asia. We also believe that true social change is driven by impact entrepreneurs. With the amazing successes of the yher program in Africa – a place where more women are pursuing entrepreneurship per capita than anywhere else in the world – we’re expanding our search for unrivaled entrepreneurial women to include Bangladesh."
The yher Accelerator will bring together 10-12 emerging female social entrepreneurs for five intensive days of entrepreneurship training from 29th September 2018 to 4th October 2018, led by world-class facilitators. Through a proven model, facilitated by a world-class team that has accelerated 400 entrepreneurs across five countries, who in turn have significantly and measurably improved the lives of more than six hundred thousand people living in poverty and disadvantage with a better income, a better home, a better education or reducing their risk of suffering from preventable disease or violence.
Beyond the Accelerator, the entrepreneurs are provided 12 months of ongoing support from ygap, to help prove their models and scale their venture. This includes regular business and strategy support from the ygap team, access to free graphic and web designers, pro-bono legal support, assistance with tracking impact, multiple injections of small funding to encourage innovation and growth. Further down the line, continued growth will be encouraged through access to larger funding and investment as well as connections to impact investors, global organizations, and strategic partners within ygap’s network of international partners. We are also creating an advisory board of successful female executives and entrepreneurs from the entrepreneurship, development and public sectors to mentor yher entrepreneurs.
This is an invaluable opportunity for impact start-ups to rapidly grow their ventures. Emerging female social entrepreneurs are encouraged to apply online here.
Applications close on 31st August 2018.
