FLANE Virtual Acceleration Programme 2020 for early-stage Entrepreneurs

Application Deadline: Friday 31st July 2020, 23:59 (CET+1)

FLANE Virtual Acceleration Programme 2020 for early-stage Entrepreneurs is a five-week virtual acceleration programme for early-stage entrepreneurs with ambitious outcomes to drive change by empowering women. It is put into practice by the Vodafone Institute in cooperation with our partners Yunus Social Business. Yunus Social Business was founded by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus and has successfully implemented just shy of 20 accelerator programmes. These programmes tap into their global community of over 300 experienced and renowned mentors to help entrepreneurs deliver consistent impact and their professional dreams.

The FLANE founding partners Social Entrepreneurship Akademie (SEA) in Munich will continue to support the programme with their excellent impact entrepreneurship competencies, while the Impact Hub Berlin remains on board as Community Partner providing participating start-ups with access to the global impact community and investors. Furthermore, WLOUNGE, as a new partner to the FLANE network, will contribute its expertise in gender lens investing and it’s local and global investors and mentors network to support the cohort.

The curriculum is strongly tailored to the individual needs of the social entrepreneurs and makes use of team sessions and individual deep dive formats. It covers topics around purpose, customer and product development, growth & marketing channels, organizational development, online networking, tech development and finally, investor and financial management.

FLANE scouts social entrepreneurs that empower women worldwide.

• led by women or empower women in their roles,
• clear about the social mission and measure their impact,
• an innovative and technology-based solution,
• scalable solutions that have the potential to impact millions of girls and women around the world,
• put into practice by means of an enterprising, more-than-profit approach,
• have proven their concept in the market,
• will benefit from participating in the programme and
• ventures to which the value of our help is real.

Commitments

• The founder must be available to join all mandatory sessions from early September to the end of October. Other team members are welcome to dial-in too, especially if it is relevant to the topic.
• Other sessions such as community events are held on a voluntary basis, nonetheless, we highly encourage you to participate in them, as they are specifically tailored to you. On Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, no mandatory programme takes place so that important appointments can be scheduled during that time.
• We expect you to be cooperative and actively participate in the sessions and we highly encourage you to share your knowledge with your peers.

Requirements

• You are leveraging your for-profit business to create a positive impact.

…are aware of your impact.

• You are clear about your impact and how to depict or even measure it.

…have proven your concept.

• You have demonstrated traction and proven product market-fit ready for scale.

…are scalable.

• You have the potential and ambition to impact millions of lives.

…focus on female empowerment.

• You show clear commitment to diversity and equality in the impact you generate.

…use the power of technology.

• You use innovative technology to accelerate your social impact.

…will benefit from the programme.

• You are at a stage in which the value of our help is real.

…have the right mindset.

• You demonstrate a willingness to be active and engaged throughout the programme.

Tailor-made programme

Through personalised support, capacity building and ecosystem work – we maximise your potential and bring your business to the next level. Five weeks of acceleration will provide a platform to grow individually, sharpen your business and impact model and get it ready for investment.

The programme will run virtually for five weeks from early September until late October. Keeping in mind entrepreneur’s busy time, our programme weeks will contain 3 days of content and there will be a break of several weeks in between to allow time for FLANE inputs to be digested and implemented by the teams. This way, we hope to bring the best of both worlds by combining the experience and excellence from on-site programmes with the flexibility of a remote setup.

Benefits

Connect with Mentors

You will have a dedicated Vodafone mentor throughout the programme who will be as fired up about your business as you are, offering you advice and acting as your counterpart to discuss the tough decisions you face. You will also have access to top-notch international experts that will help you on specific topics (e.g. product, investment, tech etc.).

Build Impact Remotely

Bolster your impact trajectory no matter where you are. There is no limit to location. All you need is an internet connection to engage in our accelerator programme and participate in virtual networking events.

Join a Community

Unite under a common vision and collaborate with other talented founders. Engage in purposeful cross-sector conversations with peers and experts to take your company, but also yourself as a founder to the new level. As a team leader, you will see the importance of nurturing a community inside your own company.

Access to Investors

We personally introduce you to potential business partners and valuable investors throughout the programme.

Make It Yours

After individually assessing where and how we can best help you get to the next stage of your venture’s life, we set up a curriculum, 1-1 mentoring and key virtual experiences to help YOU work on your business.

Join the Impact Ecosystem

Join the YSB global impact community, founded by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammed Yunus. Additionally, you will have access to the Impact Hub community that contains +15 000 social innovators as well as to the Social Entrepreneurship Akademie.

A Partner like No Other

You will have the unique opportunity to work with and be connected to Vodafone Germany and the wider Vodafone family.

It’s On Us

The programme is free of charge and no equity is taken!

Application Process

The application process consists of three steps:

1. The first steps is an online application, asking about your business idea, team and motivation.
2. In a second step, our team will schedule a call to get to know you and your business more in-depth.
3. Lastly, an experienced advisory board takes the final decision in the application process.

Timeline

• The application deadline closes on 31st July 2020
• The finalists will be announced on End of August
• The VIRTUAL programme week dates include:
  • Week 1: 7th September
  • Week 2: 21st September
  • Week 3: 5th October
  • Week 4: 19th October
  • Week 5: 2nd November

A detailed overview of the 7-week programme will be announced in due time.

How to Apply:

• The application process consists of several steps. T
• The first step is an online application, which you can find here  Apply Now.
• FLANE will contact you via email concerning the other steps.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the FLANE Virtual Acceleration Programme 2020