The Stanford Graduate School of Business has announced a USD $3 million, three-year partnership with De Beers Group to empower young, budding entrepreneurs and owners of established businesses in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa through two new educational programs launching in 2018.
The B-school is expanding two of its successful programs to Southern Africa, Stanford Seed and the Stanford Go-to.
The Seed Transformation Program was developed by the Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies. The one-year Program involves intensive sessions on topics such as leadership, strategy, business ethics, accounting, marketing, and value chain innovations.
Skilled facilitators assist participants in applying classroom insights, developing leadership teams, and formulating a detailed plan for organisational transformation and growth, the school said in a press release.
Seed facilitators also work with participants in carefully constructed leadership peer groups, offering networking opportunities, resources, and ideas to help implement the participants’ transformation plans.
The mission of the program is to enable business owners to lead their regions to greater prosperity through the growth of their companies and job creation. The program will be open to owners of established businesses in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. The applications will be accepted from August 17 to October 6.
Stanford Go-to-Market Program is an intensive, one-week entrepreneurship Bootcamp, taught by Stanford GSB faculty, held in cities around the globe.
“If the business and job growth that follows matches what we are seeing in our other locations, I anticipate this collaboration will be a very impactful initiative,” he added.
Through a combination of lectures, case studies, and small-group discussions, It helps budding entrepreneurs gain the confidence and skills to commercialise their business ideas and accelerate their route to market.
While Botswana will host the first Stanford Go-to-Market program in Africa, the Bootcamp may expand to include participants from other Southern African countries once fully established.
Applications for the Stanford Go-to-Market program in Botswana will be accepted this fall and the cohort will convene in March 2018, the release added.
“We are excited to work with the young and established entrepreneurs in the Southern African region. As with our experiences in East and West Africa, we are coming to learn as much as we are to teach,” said Jesper Sørensen, professor of organizational behavior at Stanford GSB and faculty director of Stanford Seed.
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“If the business and job growth that follows matches what we are seeing in our other locations, I anticipate this collaboration will be a very impactful initiative,” he added.
The Seed Transformation Program launched in West Africa in 2013 and expanded to East Africa in 2016, will open a third location in India later in August. The Faculty, staff, and coaches have trained more than 500 business leaders with the goal of promoting prosperity in these regions.
Both the Seed Transformation Program and Stanford Go-to-Market program will be headquartered at the Botswana Innovation Hub, a science and technology park in Gaborone.
The initiative will be supported by a range of government entities in Botswana, including the Botswana Innovation Hub, the Ministry of Tertiary Education, and the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport & Culture Development.
