2019 Bridges for Enterprise – Pro bono consulting for social entrepreneurs
Deadline: Rolling basis.
Bridges for Enterprise (BfE) is an international non-profit organization home to a global community of purpose-driven students, professionals and social entrepreneurs that join hands in designing and scaling business ventures that help create a more inclusive and sustainable future. We share the belief that one of the most effective ways of making a tangible difference in the world is by empowering social entrepreneurs, who create ground-up, locally informed, sustainable solutions that tackle local challenges.
PROGRAM DETAILS
The incubation programme consists of three components, all provided on a pro-bono basis by our student teams and professional mentors. Our communication with you will take place remotely – via emails, skype calls, etc. The entire programme typically lasts for 6-12 months.
1 | Consulting engagement: If you are accepted into the incubation programme, we will then match you with the best student consulting team available. We partner with student consulting societies in respected universities from around the world.
The student consultants will listen to your specific needs so that they can develop an Investor Proposal and provide strategic advice on key business areas which you request. This can include advice on marketing, revenue models, supply chains, market competition, and product distribution among others. At the end of the engagement, their findings will be presented in a final online video call.
Each consulting engagement is guided by a professional mentor, who has years of industry experience in consulting, to provide you with direct additional consulting advice as well as to give feedback to student consultants.
2 | Finance advisory engagement: their in-house Finance Team will first seek to understand your specific funding needs to gain the best possible platform from which to research suitable funding opportunities. This may range from potential investors to grants and crowd-funding options. Regular discussions between our team and your startup ensures that we develop a thorough understanding of the specific challenges you face in order to create optimum solutions together. At the end of the engagement, our team will provide you with concrete recommendations that aim to help your startup discern which sources of funding will be most successful.
Each finance advisory engagement is guided by a finance professional as a mentor. They provide industry experience and insights gained from years of experience.
3 | Legal Advisory Engagement: Our in-house Legal team will respond to your specific questions about legal issues by providing information and simple guidelines for startups. This engagement acts as a starting point in considering legal obligations that young businesses face.
ELIGIBILITY
1. They work with social enterprise startups from Middle East, Latin America, Africa and Asia, empowering entrepreneurs to achieve their ambitions.
2. By joining their incubation programme, you will have exclusive access to their advisory services, free of charge.
3. They develop the capacity of your business to cope with the various challenges and to attract financial capital.
BENEFITS
1. On completion of the BfE Programme, all startup alumni are invited to join the BfE Network.
2. This is a community of individuals passionate about catalysing social development. Many of the mentors in our Network come from some of the most prestigious firms in the consulting and finance sectors, including: McKinsey & Co, BCG, Blackstone, Deutsche Bank, Jefferies, HSBC and others.
3. Startup alumni have exclusive access to connect with these mentors and can receive continual support and resources.
APPLICATION
1. Theye have two-three rounds of intake each year. Because of this high frequency, applications are open all year round and will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
2. Apply by submitting an online application form now.
OFFICIAL LINK
