2023 impact
In light of the looming climate crisis, we chose green social entrepreneurship as the impact focus of the HerMeNow Accelerator Cycle 2. The program was developed to align with the 2023 COP 28 conference in Dubai and address key UN Sustainable Development Goals*.
The Objectives for this cycle were -
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Foster a supporting environment for entrepreneurs to connect and learn from each other.
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Provide them with technical knowledge on customer delivery, digital marketing, financial management, and pitching and storytelling by seasoned trainers in each field.
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Support them with a financial grant of 2,000 USD to scale up their businesses.
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Organize a retreat in Dubai to give them exposure, experience, and networking opportunities.
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Read the full impact report here
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*SDG Relevance: 5 - Gender Equality, 8 - Decent Work & Econ Growth, 10 - Reduced Inequalities, 13 - Climate Action, and other eco-relevant SDGs (6 - Clean Water & Sanitation, 7 - Renewable Energy, 11 - Sustainable Cities & Communities, 12 - Responsible Consumption, 14 - Life Below Water, 15 - Life on Land).
First, it was my first time in Dubai, so I enjoyed everything. It was a great experience working with the kind and helpful HerMeNow team. I am so grateful for the great experience and exposure in Dubai. Second, the digital marketing session helped me in marketing my products. Also, the pitching sessions helped me express my social enterprise by providing the problem and solutions so I could use the pitch deck elsewhere.
Belta Kazimoto
Belta Waste Papers Recyclers
key takeways
459
registered applicants
The Accelerator phase lasted eight weeks. We covered four modules: two weeks per module and one weekly training session. The program culminated in an in-person Dubai retreat for our Accelerator finalists and the HerMeNow and Bloom teams.
10
finalists
We selected ten finalists out of 50 participants in the HMNA2 Bootcamp Phase to enter the HMNA2 Accelerator Phase of the program. We engaged ten mentors to support our teams throughout the program and four trainers to deliver the technical sessions designed per the teams’ needs.
NPS 9.9
Net Promoter Score
As per our end-of-program feedback, the final NPS is 9.9, an unprecedented score proving that 100% of the participating teams are promoters who would refer this program to their networks. The average Net Promoter Score of training on the four modules is 9.38.
We joined the program as a marketplace for fish and feeds, but Jeffrey Khatar, our mentor, and the training sessions helped us realize that we will scale faster if we concentrate on selling the feeder and our farm management software. The best mentorship shows how far and big someone can go. I appreciate your intent and efforts to make me a better leader for myself and my business. Asante sana!
Madeleine Mung’ei
Fish Box
COP28
The HerMeNow and Bloom teams carried out a successful visibility campaign at COP28 in Dubai.
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We geared ourselves with customized marketing materials and attended high-level panels, exhibitions, workshops, and networking events.The material included a carefully assembled HerMeNow package (notebook, brochure with our Founder’s message, inspirational stickers), a QR code redirecting to our top 10 finalists’ profiles and how to get in touch with them, and HMN clothing items such as shirts and caps.
We continued to follow up with contacts to ensure productive connections with fellow accelerator programs and potential investors for our teams and the Bloom and HerMeNow programs.
The experience with the HerMeNow team was simply unique. Not only does one manage to access excellent trainers, but one also gets a chance to have one's business diagnosed and guided to what can improve one's enterprise.
Elizabeth Koigi
Ndogo Farms
the retreat
The program culminated in an in-person Dubai retreat that stretched over five days from February 19th to February 23rd, 2024.
Activities included:
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Internal technical workshops.
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Public events that enabled networking, support and wellbeing.
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Reflection time including recorded interviews and advise for the applicants of the next cycle.
Read the full impact report here