Recently, I came to know about Invest2Innovate’s (i2i) social entrepreneur program. Invest2Innovate or (i2i) – provides support for early-stage social enterprises in Pakistan. Through a four-month program geared towards growing the businesses, and connecting them to i2i Angels, their global investor network.
Invest2Innovate defines a social enterprise as a for-profit or non-profit business that provides an innovative product or service to address a long-standing social or environmental issue.
Applications for the first round of i2i Accelerator are open from June 3 – July 1, 2013. The details can be found here.
It should be noted that if an enterprise is selected to join i2i Accelerator program, they pay an upfront cost of USD$250 or around PKR 25,000. This initial payment covers the time i2i puts in, and also shows us that the selected team is willing to put some skin in the game. Also they take a combination of a flat fee & sweat equity from entrepreneurs (averaging 3% to 5% for-profit enterprises). This works with the flexibility of the entrepreneur but also ensures that i2i gets compensation for the work they do. Complete details can be found on the site’s FAQ page.
If you are a startup and have used or contacted i2i, I’ll be delighted to know about your experience. Kindly share in comments below.