Apply for ABLE Cohort 2 - African Diaspora Network

Apply for ABLE Cohort 2!

About ABLE

Accelerating Black Leadership and Entrepreneurship (ABLE) is an enterprise accelerator program designed to strengthen, energize, and support startups and small businesses led by Black entrepreneurs in the United States. ABLE identifies Black business leaders with impact-oriented solutions at the local and national level across multiple sectors. This includes healthcare, finance, connectivity, agriculture, and renewable energy, all of which address essential community needs while spurring sustainable growth. 16 entrepreneurs graduated in the inaugural year of the program in February 2022.

Who can apply? Black entrepreneurs leading startups and small businesses. The target audience are those who are early-stage and revenue-generating (seed to Series A) for-profit enterprises.

The second cohort of ABLE will serve 10 entrepreneurs. Applications are welcome from all industries, with a preference for those that are impact-oriented. Priority will be for those in Health & Wellness/Healthcare, Education, and Fintech/Financial Services.

Benefits Overview

The ABLE Program Advisory Committee will select the top 10 nominees to receive a fully paid entrepreneurship and leadership training program by Silicon Valley Executive Center at the Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University. In addition, the top 10 will participate in a pitch session and awards ceremony with leading Silicon Valley investors, venture philanthropists, and impact investors among others.

Note: Please only share non-confidential information. There is no cost to participate in the program and companies do not need to give up any equity.

For more information, please visit https://africandiasporanetwork.org/able/. Applications are due by Wednesday, August 24, at 11:59 PM PDT. For more information, please contact debra@africandiasporanetwork.org.

Program Commitment

Selected entrepreneurs will participate in a virtual enterprise and leadership training program from October 2022 – January 2023, leading up to a live, in-person pitch session at Santa Clara University. The time commitment will be about 16 hours per month, including bimonthly training sessions of 8-12 hours and 2-4 hours of mentorship sessions and network-building

Eligibility Requirements

For consideration, prospective candidates must meet the basic requirements:

Founder or executive of a scalable, for-profit startup
Company must be led or co-led by Black entrepreneurs
The company is early-stage and revenue-generating (seed to Series A)
Enterprise must be headquartered in the United States
Must be an established legal entity already in operation for 6 months or more

Primary Selection Criteria

Must demonstrate early traction evidenced in growing usage, revenue, or other metrics. (Pitches or prototypes are not eligible.) The business should have a website and a tangible digital or physical product or service.
Potential for financial sustainability and investment
Potential for scalability
Demonstrate quantifiable impact and market reach
The entrepreneur must be able to dedicate time to program activities, including enterprise training, mentorship sessions, networking events, investor roundtables, and the African Diaspora Investment Symposium, either virtually or in-person. Finalists are expected to meet with program peers, ADN network members, and sponsors as part of their commitment. Participants are expected to adhere to a high level of personal and professional integrity, respect for one another, and accountability.

Secondary Selection Criteria

A strong preference for businesses that are impact-oriented and serve the needs of communities in the areas of education, healthcare, finance, connectivity, agriculture, renewable energy, and other sectors.
Balanced gender representation among entrepreneurs. In the United States, Black women receive the smallest amount of VC funding and should be well-represented in the selected cohort
Reasonable geographic distribution among the United States and territories.
Cross-sector diversity and a comprehensive mix that showcases impact and innovation among multiple sectors, including education, healthcare, finance, connectivity, agriculture, and renewable energy.