Stanford Seed Transformation Program - East Africa

The Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies (Seed) seeks innovative and growth-oriented leaders of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) based in East Africa. Seed's highly interactive six-month Transformation Program challenges SME leaders to assess their vision, redefine their strategies, and make ambitious changes toward exponential growth. The Stanford Seed Transformation Program addresses the needs of founders/senior leaders in developing economies who lead growing, small to medium sized enterprises. The first cohort of SME leaders will begin the 6-month program in May 2016.

Program Eligibility

• Applicants must be founders/senior leaders of for-profit companies
  who lead and want to grow their established businesses in the East Africa subregion. 
• Applicants must demonstrate commitment and potential to grow and scale their companies, thereby creating jobs, products, or services that benefit those living in poverty.

• Applicants lead organizations with an annual revenue range between USD 150,000 and USD 15 million.

• Applicant's company must be headquartered, legally registered, and currently operating within East Africa.

• Applicant must have English language proficiency.

• The program is open to all industries. The following sectors have been represented in past cohorts:
• Agriculture and Food Processing
• Construction, Civil Engineering, and Real Estate
• Education
• Energy
• Financial Services
• Healthcare
• Information and Communications Technologies (ICT)
• Retail & Product Manufacturing
• Tourism
• Transportation and Logistics
• Water and Sanitation
• Other sectors qualify as well

Participant Commitment 

• Admitted founders/leaders must commit to the six month program duration.

• Mandatory attendance is required for the four sessions, each lasting one week. Sessions are held at Seed's East Africa center in Nairobi, Kenya, unless otherwise indicated.

• Attendance is also required at one Leadership Lab, held between the week-long sessions.

• You are also expected to work closely with your management team to share and apply your learnings and to develop a company-wide plan for transformation and growth of your business.

Cost of Participants

• STP participants are responsible for transportation to and from Seed's East Africa center located in Nairobi, Kenya, as well as for lodging during the sessions. 

• Breakfast, lunch, snacks, and some dinners will be provided during the program.

Program Fee

Instruction in the Seed Transformation Program is offered by Stanford Graduate School of Business faculty, leveraging expertise in executive education, training, and coaching. In order to partially defray program expenses and increase Seed's potential impact, there is a USD 5,000 fee for program participation. 

In our inaugural year in East Africa, Seed has reduced the fee to USD 1,500 per participant. 

 NB: Application Submission Deadline is 15 January 2016 (5:00 PM Pacific Time)

Apply Now!! 

For more information visit the official Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies Webpage