To support African entrepreneurs, Stanford Seed and AMI renewed partnership

The African Management Institute (AMI) and Seed, a Stanford Graduate School of Business project that works with entrepreneurs to help them create successful businesses that improve lives, have reaffirmed their partnership.

AMI provides ambitious entrepreneurs and executives in Africa with the tools and training they need to succeed, while Stanford Seed, a unit of the Stanford Graduate School of Management, offers the Seed Transformation Programme to aid in the development of established enterprises.

The programme, which spans the African continent and will now encompass Francophone Africa, includes a new scholarship fund that Stanford has announced as part of the partnership’s renewal. AMI’s Aspire Business Growth Programme, which will be introduced in cooperation with Stanford Seed in 2021, offers senior teams and owners of small- and medium-sized firms (SMEs) practical learning and training to support company growth.

“Partnering with AMI to offer the Aspire Business Growth Programme has expanded our ability to reach more SMEs across Africa, while also preparing businesses to be positioned to join Stanford Seed’s Transformation Program for established CEOs and founders,” said Darius Teter, Seed executive director. “Evidence shows that small and early-stage businesses are in need of more tailored support. Through Aspire we’re able to offer support to entrepreneurs at an earlier stage of their journey through AMI’s practical programme built specifically for African business owners.’’

Aspire is a virtual six-month programme for business owners whose yearly turnover is between $20,000 and $400,000. Participating firms join cohorts of 30 other businesses from around Africa. Via interactive seminars, online platform access, peer groups, and a live session led by Stanford University Graduate School of Business faculty, the programme provides access to AMI’s useful business tools and services.

A small number of participants who run high-performing enterprises and completely complete all programme criteria are given access to Stanford Seed mentors.

“Aspire draws on AMI’s business growth methodology and practical learning approach that has proven to help African businesses grow and thrive,” said Rebecca Harrison, CEO and co-founder of AMI. “The Aspire programme is designed for small-to-medium sized businesses (SMEs) who benefit from learnings focused on five key pillars including Strategy and Planning; Customers and Markets; Finance and Money; People and Talent; and Operations Efficiency.”

Applications are now being accepted online until March 13 for the March 2023 English cohorts. Go here for additional information and to submit an application for the Aspire Business Development Programme in French, with cohorts beginning in May 2023. Depending on the requirements of the organisation, Stanford Seed will grant scholarships to deserving candidates of up to 75% of their total application fees.