Incubation Road-Trip: Ampion Announces 2015 Venture Bus Africa, Partners

Ampion has announced partnership with Transparency International, the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and leading financial institutions in West Africa.

The partnerships will span two major projects: The Ampion Venture Bus West Africa, running from September 17 to 23, 2015 and the Ampion Fellowship, a startup incubation program to be launched and ran in West Africa from October 2015 until March 2016.

The Ampion Venture Bus West Africa 2015, which aims to develop tech solutions for democratic participation and financial inclusion, will kick off on September 17 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, at the brand new fablab Baby Lab.

The Venture Bus program will bring 45 talented entrepreneurs on a 7-day tour to meet the tech startup communities in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria.

The startups on the bus are encouraged to work together with Ampion’s partners to develop innovative solutions in the fields of fin-tech and governance.

The programme will alternate between working on own startup ideas on the bus and pitching, workshops & coaching sessions during stops in the region’s biggest tech HUBs.

The Venture Bus is destined for Lagos, Nigeria where it coincides with Africa’s largest pitching competition, DEMO Africa on September 23.

At the Venture Bus Grand Final in Lagos, the startups developed on the Venture Bus will pitch to a renowned jury of company representatives and investors.

The best startups emerging from the Venture Bus West Africa will have the chance to apply for the Ampion Fellowship West Africa 2015/2016.

The Fellowship is a 6 months incubation program starting in October 2015. It offers a grant, free office space and free, regular one-on-one mentoring.

The Ampion Fellows will fly to a kick-off event in Berlin, Germany, to meet investors and to refine their business model. No equity will be taken in the Ampion Fellowship.

The program is launched in cooperation with OSIWA.

Ampion is the leading pan-African entrepreneurship initiative to enable young Africans to start ICT companies, creating considerable social and economic impact.

AMPION organizes 7-day Venture Bus programs accompanied by international mentors and followed by an extensive incubation program.

Ampion is winner of the “Global Innovation Ecosystem Award 2015” as well as the “Pan African Awards for Entrepreneurship in Education 2014”.

Corporate supporters of the Ampion programs are and have been, among others, Microsoft, SAP, MTN and Merck.

In 1993, a few individuals decided to take a stance against corruption and created Transparency International (TI). Now present in more than 100 countries, the movement works relentlessly to stir the world’s collective conscience and bring about change.

From villages in rural India to the corridors of power in Brussels, TI gives voice to the victims and witnesses of corruption. TI work together with governments, businesses and citizens to stop the abuse of power, bribery and secret deals.

Also, the Open Society Initiative for West Africa is active in 10 countries in the region (Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone) and focuses on law, justice and human rights, and economic and political governance.

The initiative pursues the development of open societies by supporting and building partnerships with local and regional groups that promote inclusive democratic governance, transparency and accountability, and active citizenship.