Viridian is a trusted end-to-end delivery partner for development agencies, government departments and corporates to deliver locally relevant, impactful programmes that support the development of African entrepreneurial ecosystems.
We design, develop and implement unique and thoughtful programmes that are context-relevant and results-driven. Our robust M&E systems provide the data and feedback to optimise and scale these programmes. We use a mix of media to educate and connect participants, from online courses and virtual masterclasses to real-life networking and bootcamps.
We offer research, ecosystem mapping and resource curation that allows our clients to better understand the context of their work and design appropriate interventions to drive impact. With our continent-wide associates, we offer expert advice and insights into entrepreneurship, investment and ecosystem development in an African context.
We develop bespoke publications that create real value for finance-ready entrepreneurs, hubs and early-stage investors. We have produced high quality, practical toolkits, playbooks, research reports and educational videos that have been designed to be actively utilised and disseminated across the African ecosystem.
We work with subject-matter experts to provide localised and specialised support tailored to programme participants’ businesses, over and above our core programming.
We also operate robust, secure and user-friendly data systems for programmes. Our backend cohort manager databases flow into a dashboard that helps our team, coaches, delivery partners, and clients monitor the cohort’s progress in close-to-real time.
Our years of expertise, the partnerships we’ve established, and our ability to design adaptable, sustainable and scalable programmes within these stakeholder groups enable the impact we desire to see on the African continent.
Our years of expertise, the partnerships we’ve established, and our ability to design adaptable, sustainable and scalable programmes within these stakeholder groups enable the impact we desire to see on the African continent.
This programme was managed by the HAUS Finnish Institute of Public Management Ltd and Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV) under the umbrella of the Data Governance in Africa Initiative supported by the African Union, European Union, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany.
Viridian managed the training and technical assistance on behalf of the partners.
In collaboration with CDI Capital, the Orange Corners Innovation Fund empowers young, innovative businesses that are solving local challenges.
The programme gives entrepreneurs access to grants, no-interest loans, and expert technical support to help you grow.
Raise Ready is a training and support programme for founders, to help them get ready to apply for finance and close a deal.
This iteration of Raise Ready has been created for the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation alumni.
The programme helps innovators to apply for, negotiate, and secure the right capital for growth.
Angel Raise Ready prepares entrepreneurs to close a deal with African angel investors, quicker and on good terms.
The first cohort was run in May 2024, and trained 7 women-owned Kenyan and South African startups on how to secure a deal with an angel investor.
The Launch League initiative was established by Viridian and the UK-South Africa Tech Hub to create opportunities for teams from South Africa’s hubs and ESOs to grow their skills, access quality resources, and connect with each other as a community of practice.
The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation is an 8-month programme for early-stage engineering entrepreneurs. With a strong focus on investment readiness, the programme allows entrepreneurs to design their own learning paths and access over subject matter experts from across the continent for individual consultations.
The African Angel Academy (AAA) was established in early 2020 to grow the number of angel investors on the continent to catalyse and grow Africa’s early-stage investing and startup ecosystems.
AAA is designed and delivered by Viridian and ViKtoria Ventures.
Led by the Make-IT in Africa initiative and supported by GIZ, OceanHub Africa in partnership with Viridian spearheaded this 7-month support program dedicated to building the capacity of Innovation Support Organisations (ISOs) in designing and implementing innovation programs focused on ocean impact.
Selection, training and mentoring of innovation hubs with the potential to become climate change incubators from nine West African and Francophone countries. Includes the production of a Playbook that scaled lessons learned. Delivered in collaboration with Moroccan green energy experts, IRESEN.
Let’s Talk Financing is an open-licence toolkit that enables entrepreneur support organisations to have productive, entrepreneur-led conversations about funding options with the business owners they are supporting. Developed with the support of the UK-South Africa Tech Hub, train-the-trainer support was rolled out beyond RSA’s borders to 15 hubs in Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Tanzania in early 2022, funded by SAIS2.
Strategic Foresight, a practice that allows individuals and organisations to better anticipate future changes, and to come up with new ways to work through challenges and leverage emerging opportunities. This online short course, funded by the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs through SAIS2, was delivered to municipalities and hubs in five SADEC countries. (Scroll down on the link to access the training videos and manual.)
Viridian has been a close strategic partner of the V&A Waterfront’s small business, innovation and social impact teams for many years. We supported the team in designing and implementing compassionate responses to the Covid-19 lock-downs; an approach which saw the V&A Waterfront win a Global Award at the World Responsible Tourism Awards in late 2021. This responsive approach has now become a permanent programme, providing foundational business support to more than 350 small businesses across the precinct.
Viridian’s first online short course was aimed at encouraging angel investment and educating investment-ready startups, and focuses on the South African ecosystem. The seven animated modules are complemented by interviews with 20 of Cape Town’s top investors and startup entrepreneurs. The course was funded by the Western Cape Provincial Government’s Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDAT).
When Covid-19 and the related lock-down hit, small businesses were blindsided. This emergency coaching project, funded by UK-South Africa Tech Hub, had to a two-pronged approach to immediate support in mid-2020, offering 25 small business owners access to leadership/personal wellness coaches (Factor10) together with experienced SME accountants (The Beancounters), to quickly tackle their most pressing problems.
A five-day idea-to-business-model challenged, delivered online and through Facebook Live, culminating in a virtual TechFest, sharing inormation on tech tools that support business growth. Nearly 1500 entrepreneurs took part in the challenge and more than 600 attended TechFest. Delivered in collaboration with Future Females and funded by the UK-South Africa Tech Hub.
This pilot explored how to take startup entrepreneurs about to receive their first cheque from investment readiness to investment raising. Startups pitching to angels learned about the investor mindset, investment process, and how to plan their own growth and investment journeys. Funded by UK-Nigeria Tech Hub.
