Dear friends and colleagues,

In the spirit of Global Entrepreneurship Week, the African Diaspora Network celebrates the entrepreneurs of our two accelerator programs, Builders of Africa’s Future and Accelerating Black Leadership and Entrepreneurship. 

ADN is proud to announce that the eleven entrepreneurs named Builders of Africa’s Future (BAF) 2022 have been authorized to each receive $25,000 grants from the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF). Read more in our official press release here. Thank you to USADF for this robust financial award that will help accelerate the enterprises of grassroots African entrepreneurs. 

We are also delighted to recognize the first and second cohort of Accelerating Black Leadership and Entrepreneurship (ABLE), an enterprise accelerator program designed to strengthen, energize, and support small businesses and startup organizations led by Black entrepreneurs in the United States. Save the date for January 19, 2023, and meet the twelve entrepreneurs of ABLE cohort at the ABLE Pitch Day!

Thank you to our program advisory committees, reviewers, ecosystem partners, mentors, and alumni for being a part of this enriching ecosystem of support for Black entrepreneurs across the globe. We celebrate this growing and thriving community and look forward to these upcoming engagement opportunities with you.

With appreciation,


Almaz Negash 
Founder & Executive Director 
African Diaspora Network

To celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week, the African Diaspora Network (ADN) is proud to announce that the 11 entrepreneurs named Builders of Africa’s Future (BAF) 2022 have been authorized to each receive $25,000 grants from the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF). This funding will be used to support the African organizations honored in the BAF 2022 cohort. 

Each organization is impact-oriented, African-led and -owned, and represents the healthcare, education, agriculture, renewable energy, and menstrual health sectors. Since 2018, ADN has recognized and catalyzed 53 African startups in 5 cohorts, recognizing the rising stars of African entrepreneurship as they build the continent’s future through nonprofit and for-profit businesses addressing the needs of their communities.

 

African Diaspora Network invites venture capitalists, investors, philanthropists, and leaders of financial institutions and foundations to join us for the pitch presentations of the second cohort of Accelerating Black Leadership and Entrepreneurship (ABLE). ABLE is an enterprise accelerator program designed to strengthen, energize, and support startups and small businesses led by Black entrepreneurs in the United States. 

What role does self-care play in Africa? Why is self-care literacy so important? What can be done to improve self-care literacy? What is the role of governments, industry, NGOs, and the private sector, and why is their collaboration critical to the improvement and strengthening of self-care? 

Join African Diaspora Network and Sanofi on Thursday, November 17 at 8:00am PST for the webinar, "The Role of Self-care as a Critical Enabler for Universal Healthcare Coverage."

Be a part of a global movement that contributes to changemaking organizations like the African Diaspora Network. Our work is made possible through the generosity of our funders and sponsors. Join our community of supporters and help sustain the organization and advance our work that touches the lives of Africans, Diasporans, and communities across the globe.

Consider making a charitable gift to ADN this holiday season:

• African Diaspora Network at Support ADN Webpage, https://bit.ly/ADNGiving

• Silicon Valley Community Foundation Donor Advised Fund at SVCFDAF https://bit.ly/SVCFDAF

• Checks made payable to African Diaspora Network addressed to:
  
  African Diaspora Network
  4701 Patrick Henry Drive
  Building 25, Mailbox 140
  Santa Clara, CA 95054

In this season of gratitude, we sincerely thank you for your continued and meaningful support of African Diaspora Network. Your belief in our vision and mission moves our purpose forward. Together, we make a difference on the African continent and the communities in which we live.  

ADIS23 presents the theme of “Future Ready Africa.” 

In the next 25 years, Africa’s population is expected to double across the continent. Projections show that a quarter of the world’s people will be African by 2050 (The Guardian). Africa has an opportunity to drive major transformations that adapt to this drastic demographic shift and build resilience in an era of disruption.

The unforeseeable economic shocks created by the ongoing pandemic, international conflicts such as the war in Ukraine, and challenges in the global economy have sparked innovations in industry, investment, and entrepreneurship across the continent. Now, ten years into Agenda 2063, Africa must plan for a sustainable recovery and reimagine its path forward. What does a future ready Africa look like?

Join us as we explore trending innovations, blueprints for the future, and the interconnectedness of sectors including climate change, healthcare, finance, education, and agriculture. How do we strengthen infrastructure, reinvigorate markets, and create a healthy atmosphere for communities? What seeds must be planted to enable a thriving future for the continent? Be inspired to envision, celebrate, and make an impact upon the future of Africa.
 

A special thank you to the sponsors of ADIS23, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (lead sponsor), Sanofi, United States African Development Foundation, Invest Barbados, EY, Hugh Stuart Center Charitable Trust, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the Mastercard Foundation Scholars program at UC Berkeley. Ashinaga USA, and Africa No Filter!

Interested in becoming an ADIS23 sponsor? Check out our ADIS23 Engagement Opportunities here.

Looking to have a more active role as a member of African Diaspora Network? Learn more about ways to engage:

Invite a friend to subscribe to our newsletter by sending them the link here Follow us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Support us through Amazon Smile Give Through Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) Donor-advised fund Mentor entrepreneurs participating in our ABLE and/or BAF programs. Contact Debra Pacio, ADN's Entrepreneurship and Community Engagement Manager, at debra@africandiasporanetwork.org to learn more. Be a volunteer and support African Diaspora Network initiatives Be an organizational sponsor and support the African Diaspora Network to bring together diverse people from around the world to collaborate and work together. Support ADN HERE

Hugh Stuart Center Charitable Trust