Stanford Seed launches in Kenya

Dr Becaye Sidy Diop, CEO of Delvic Sanitation Initiatives and Stanford Seed Transformation Program Participant at Stanford University in California

In May, the first group of promising business leaders selected by Stanford Seed will gather in Nairobi to begin a 12-month transformational process led by the faculty from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Aimed at driving sustainable growth in the East African regional economy through private-sector-led development, Seed will train these established entrepreneurs from Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Ethiopia, in a yearlong, interactive, educational journey based out of Seed’s new regional centre in Nairobi, Kenya.

Seed’s expansion into East Africa is intended to boost and scale established businesses in the region. Thirty-one CEOs, founders and executives have been chosen to participate in the pioneering program. Members of the cohort were selected based on their leadership capacity and the growth potential of their business. The mission of the initiative is to leverage the innovative and entrepreneurial mindset that is fostered at Stanford to help businesses in developing economies create new jobs, and ultimately, end the cycle of poverty.

Jesper Sørensen, Robert A and Elizabeth R Jeffe Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford GSB and Executive Director of Seed, state, “At Stanford we believe that some of the most pressing problems we face today can be addressed through leadership and innovation in the private sector.”

The Seed Transformation Programme will address specific regional challenges such as leadership, strategy, value-chain innovation and, most importantly, will deliver an invaluable network of like-minded individuals from the Silicon Valley to sub-Saharan Africa.

Seed West Africa accepting applications

As Seed East Africa welcomes its first cohort, Seed West Africa is accepting applications for its next session (cohort seven) which begins in September 2016. Open to business owners based in West Africa, the deadline for submission is 31 May 2016. Information sessions will be held in Cote D’Ivoire, Senegal, Nigeria, Benin and Ghana throughout the month of May.

For more information, go to www.gsb.stanford.edu/seed/transformation-program/east-africa or
www.gsb.stanford.edu/seed/transformation-program/west-africa.