Mentors, investors, business leaders, and previous graduates from across the world were in attendance at the virtual graduation ceremony to celebrate the latest cohort of exciting startups to complete the FI program. As well as hearing the experience from each graduate and being treated to the pitches of a selection of the cohort, our audience was also treated to the wise words of the illustrious Ghanaian business icon, Kofi Dadzie, who spoke to the importance of using their talent, training, cunning, foresight, leadership and experience to ensure they position themselves to be in the right place, at the right time – to be where the ball will fall. And it’s certain that the latest cohort of FI graduates are well on their way to following Kofi’s advice after graduating from the initial program. Managing Director of Founder Institute Ghana, Simon R Turner, commented: “Without doubt, the program is one of the best filters to determine who is serious, and possesses the grit, determination, resilience, and work ethic that all entrepreneurs must demonstrate, as Kofi Dadzie discussed in his keynote. The program is not for the faint-hearted, but what can be achieved in 16 weeks can ultimately save years of time, and costly mistakes sending good money down the drain, needlessly”. The Founder Institute Ghana program graduated the following startups: Spiika An EdTech company that helps Africans get to conversational fluency in new languages. (Tema, Ghana) Fantasy Gold Organizes fantasy sports contests where players enter weekly fantasy sports games for a fee, and high performers get rewarded with prizes. (Accra, Ghana) Smart Farmer Allows consumers to join food & commodity production by financing African farming for profit sharing and a digital farming experience. (Kumasi, Ghana) Duapa Werkspace Creates an enabling environment for young entrepreneurs to connect, collaborate and transform their ideas into viable businesses. (Takoradi, Ghana) Ólage A logistics support marketplace providing credit finance for the purchase of trucks by drivers, then matching businesses and shippers to the trucks to meet demand for haulage and logistics support. (Lekki, Nigeria) Wunpini Sanitech Engineers Reducing open defecation by giving customers a chance to own an improved toilet through cash or payment plan. (Tamale, Ghana) Rheyod Global Via the platform “Preneurship.I” companies can find talent in-house and also see real ROI for their engagement programs by building it around the challenges they are looking to resolve. (Accra, Ghana) Graduating from the Founder Institute core program is no small achievement. Without doubt one of the toughest accelerators available for startups on the global market, entrepreneurs are taken through over 16 weeks of rigorous training, spending on average 20 hours per week on the part-time program, often while juggling full-time work commitments, family, study, health challenges and more. It’s no surprise that just one-third to one-quarter of those who start will finish across the global network, which includes programs in over 90 countries and 200+ cities. The current Ghana class mirrors these patterns, with 432 applicants, 31 Founders (from six countries) selected to begin the cohort, and seven graduating. Over 70 Mentors from five continents, as well as the FI Ghana staff, guided them through the program. The graduates will now move on to the next step of their entrepreneurial journeys, with some of them being selected for one of the free worldwide follow-on accelerators offered by FI HQ in Silicon Valley to help them become more investment-ready. Hopefully, as with past graduates, they will receive pre-seed funding from angel investors and venture capital funds, including the hundreds of funds around the world that only invest in FI graduates, many of which were founded by FI’s VC Lab. The FI Ghana ‘Fall 22’ program begins on August 31, 2022, for founders interested in joining the nextFounder Institute Ghana program, in either our launch or growth track. Early admissions deadline 29 May.The final deadline for applications closes on 21 Aug. Applications are open here.
