Achieving prosperity and equal opportunity in Africa requires high potential individuals to become high impact responsible entrepreneurs

Animated by a fast growing challenge of lack of unemployment for young Africans, the Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropies believes that achieving prosperity and equal opportunity in Africa requires high potential individuals to become high impact responsible entrepreneurs. Understanding that context, the Gray Philanthropies launched the Jasiri Talent Investor in 2020, a program that selects, develops and invests in high potential aspiring entrepreneurs. 

This fully funded program takes a comprehensive approach to developing aspiring entrepreneurs known as Jasiri Fellows, following a progression framework that takes them from ideation to team formation, prospecting, validation, prototyping, and market entry. In the Talent Investor, Fellows are immersed in a 14 month long process to build high growth ventures, while given access to a diverse group of equally ambitious co-founders.           

Jasiri believes that high-impact entrepreneurial success requires patient, holistic and contextualised support. The Talent Investor is therefore designed to support the development needs of entrepreneurs and ease systemic barriers that may prevent them from progressing, through the provision of funding, coaching, mentoring, linkages with industry experts, networks and business advisory. 

To date, Jasiri has enrolled two cohorts of aspiring entrepreneurs from Rwanda and Kenya in its Talent Investor program. The second cohort of 48 fellows will soon conclude the residential part of the program in Kigali, Rwanda. 

Each year, the program admits two cohorts of fifty entrepreneurs and is currently expanding to Ethiopia. The application is currently open for Rwandans and Ethiopians to join the third cohort until October 7th.