Ashesi Venture Incubator

The New Entrepreneurs Xchange for Transformation: Idea to Impact project (NEXTi2i), is an Ashesi program in collaboration with MIT D-Lab, funded by USAID. The purpose of this collaboration is to create a values-driven incubator that trains emerging entrepreneurs with the focus on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, (SDG)-driven outcomes in their business models. The project runs three (3) programs: 1. Ashesi Venture Incubator: The NEXTi2i project is a collaboration between Ashesi University and MIT D-Lab, funded by USAID. The Ashesi Venture Incubator is a pilot program of the project and is designed with the intention of developing hybrid businesses that are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. 2. Ecosystem Convening: Although the entrepreneurship community in Ghana is growing, angel investors, venture capitalists, government, incubators, and accelerators seldom have the opportunity to come together to grapple with challenges. To address this challenge, Ashesi University and MIT D-Lab will be hosting yearly NEXTi2i Ecosystem Convening. For this event, we bring together stakeholders — such as entrepreneurs, educators, incubator managers, investors, channel partners, policy makers, and CSOs to name a few, — into a working group. 3. Lean Research : Lean Research training has become necessary in the areas of entrepreneurship and innovation development as more and more developers have realized the need to stop viewing research subjects as sources of data rather than true collaborators. Lean Research is an approach and an initiative to improve the practice of data collection involving people and communities in development and humanitarian contexts. It is an ethical approach to rigorous, relevant, respectful, and right-sized research: a process of user-centricity that enables entrepreneurs to ensure their business meets community and customer needs.