2021 Annual Performance Report Narrative: Accelerating Local Potential - A USAID Partnership with Ashesi University and MIT D-Lab

The program aims to cultivate a new generation of entrepreneurs in Ghana whose mindset aligns with building businesses that deliver impact with hybridized business models. This approach is critical to transforming the local and regional economies in Ghana. The program, launched in September 2018, utilizes three frameworks to achieve its strategic objective: the Ashesi Venture Incubator, the Ecosystem Convening, and the Lean Research. The Ashesi Venture Incubator uses the Lean Startup Framework to support learning within a local context, gathering information from projects developed locally and including additional research that supports market needs assessments and potential partnership development. The Ecosystem Convening component utilizes the MIT D-Lab Understanding Innovation Ecosystems Framework to assess local assets and gaps and create a resource for high-growth industries. The Lean Research framework was developed by MIT D-Lab in collaboration with Tufts University and refined with input from individuals from academia, development agencies, and industry. The program has engaged stakeholders in each component and has met its annual targets, including the production of knowledge products to share information and resources related to the project areas. The project has secured resources and partnerships to continue each component after the project ends. Major accomplishments from this reporting period include the onboarding of 13 entrepreneurs into the Ashesi Venture Incubator, the orientation of the third cohort of 16 entrepreneurs, and the launch of the Ecosystem Value Chain Approach. The Ashesi Venture Incubator has supported 11 entrepreneurs, with 8 women completing the program and 17 entrepreneurs onboarded into the incubator. The program has also supported students at Ashesi University in the Business Administration department, who participated in internships at AVI Fellows' businesses and created resources such as marketing plans. The Lean Research Masterclass has trained 21 individuals from different sectors across Ghana, who have applied lean research to research, program development, and project management. The program has also hosted a workshop to illustrate how machine learning can be used to connect young entrepreneurs to resources. The workshop focused on the application of machine learning in building an entrepreneurship value chain. The program has also created case studies that are being shared publicly to increase local content in the lean research community. The Ashesi Venture Incubator Fellows have learned lean research to apply lessons to perform summer research and develop their customer acquisition strategies. The program has made significant progress in achieving its overall goal to develop assets within the Ghanaian ecosystem while building Ashesi University's capacity to support entrepreneurial development within its institution and the community. The program has secured funding for at least two years after the end of USAID funding for entrepreneurial ecosystem activities at Ashesi University, which includes the Ashesi Venture Incubator and other student entrepreneurial activities on campus.