Accion Venture Lab Company Builder Program AT Accion To, NG

Job description

THIS IS NOT AN APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT OF ANY TYPE AT ACCION INTERNATIONAL OR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES OR SUBSIDIARIES. PARTICIPANTS IN COMPANY BUILDER WILL NOT BE EMPLOYEES OF ACCION AND WILL NOT BE COMPENSATED.

Accion Venture Lab Company Builder (AVLCB) bringing together extraordinary people to start inclusive fintech startups in Nigeria.

About Accion And Accion Venture Lab

Accion Venture Lab is the world’s leading seed-stage investor in fintech for the underserved. Venture Lab invests capital in, and provides support to, innovative fintech start-ups that increase access to, improve the quality of, or reduce the cost of financial services for the underserved at scale. Since launching in 2012, Venture Lab has deployed over $13.5M across more than 31 startups that work in over 20 countries worldwide. Venture Lab is a part of Accion International, a global non-profit committed to creating a financially inclusive world, with a pioneering legacy in microfinance and impact investing.

About The Accion Venture Lab Company Builder (AVLCB) Program

We are currently recruiting entrepreneurs to identify, validate, and launch promising consumer-facing fintech business models in Nigeria as part of the Accion Venture Lab Company Builder Program (AVLCB). AVLCB will work with these entrepreneurs to build their business from the ground up, leveraging our global knowledge and expertise in fintech models for financial inclusion while also providing financial and non-financial support as the startup business scales. The program will operate as follows:

Generate ideas with your future co-founder(s)

• Introduction to your cofounder – we are recruiting a group of approximately 15 potential founders with a diverse set of skills to generate ideas and form startup teams
• Support to develop and refine ideas – You don’t need to worry about having a good idea in order to apply - we select our cohorts based on individual talent and ambition alone. As a group we will review research, conduct focus groups, and generate, refine, and rank ideas over a series of sessions

Validate your idea with your potential co-founder(s)

• Clear expectations – the Venture Lab team will work with your team to develop a validation plan detailing what proof points need to be obtained to consider your idea validated
• Translate ideas into Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) – move from the theoretical to the practical by developing an MVP of your product during the validation period
• Test potential cofounders – this is also your opportunity to work with other members of the group to determine who you would like to startup with

After 8 weeks, if you have successfully built a team and have successfully validated your idea, you have the opportunity to pitch to join the next stage of AVLCB, Launch. It is highly competitive and we won’t fund every individual or company at this stage. However, we will stay engaged with program alumni.

Build a startup

• Pre-seed investment for your NewCo – the next phase of AVLCB is focused on helping you get the proof points necessary to raise your seed round. This will require the full commitment of your team as well as funding, therefore we will provide up to $100,000 towards piloting your business
• Continued mentoring for growth - you will continue to work with the Venture Lab team who will now push you towards piloting and growing your business. The focus here is on product, customers, and investment
• Founders will be majority owners – unlike most company builder programs, AVLCB will not take majority stakes in companies created through the program to ensure that the founders are fully engaged in and responsible for the success of their venture

We are looking for talented and motivated problem solvers with direct experience in financial services, technology, and product management. Successful founding teams are typically comprised of a group of people with relevant management experience as well as technical, domain, and product skills which allow them to create innovative and scalable businesses. Previous startup experience is welcomed, but not required.

For CTO candidates, we expect you to be able to design an MVP for piloting purposes, build and manage a broader technology team, and have prior experience launching technology products for the broader market.

For design lead candidates, we expect you to be able to collect user requirements and translate them into customer journeys and then into prototypes.

AVLCB Participants Are Expected To

• Want to be a founder of an inclusive fintech company
• Participate in weekend and/or after work ideation sessions and validation activities and should be excited to build a startup full time if their business is selected
• Work collectively with each other and the AVLCB team to generate ideas and brainstorm
• Work with teams of like-minded people interested the inclusive financial services space
• Test and validate ideas in the Nigerian market
• Communicate effectively with stakeholders

For more information please visit our website.
APPLY HERE