About Us
54 Collective exists to create a thriving African startup economy that drives prosperity across Africa. We are venture builders dedicated to solving some of Africa’s biggest challenges and capitalising on its incredible potential by leveraging market and tech opportunities. We seek to build an ecosystem that supports authentic innovation and our goal is to be the best growth engine for entrepreneurs across Africa and beyond. We believe by supporting entrepreneurship and innovation, we will unlock employment opportunities and drive inclusive growth across the continent.
Since 2019, we have supported 50+ African ventures with investment capital alongside hands-on support backed by 40+ full-time experts covering engineering, product development, growth, corporate partnerships, and investment. We have leveraged this experience and expertise to create an internal impact-driven venture that will directly create youth and gender-focused employment opportunities called Entrepreneur Academy.
About the Entrepreneur Academy
The Entrepreneur Academy is the growth engine for young entrepreneurs. We believe in the power of entrepreneurship as a means of obtaining meaningful employment and designing local solutions that can be scaled to address the needs of millions. We envisage an Africa where youth employment, access to education, training, and financial inclusion are all made possible by building, scaling, and investing in early-stage entrepreneurs and their businesses. We are committed to making entrepreneurship accessible to all.
About the Role
Business Support Accelerator is a 12-week Accelerator run by the Academy, designed to help new and early-stage SMEs grow their business further & faster. We are looking for a Community & Partnerships Lead who will be a key supporter for entrepreneurs in the Business Support community. You will be responsible for creating and maintaining a strong network of ecosystem contacts including business support organisations, incubators/accelerators, funding providers, and others that provide support that can contribute to business growth. You'll be expected to link our program graduates into these key networks and communities. In addition, you will lead the development and execution of our network of alumni, fostering a sense of community among program participants and creating opportunities for engagement and support.
The ideal candidate must be a self-starter who can take ownership of the role and work closely with core team members in conceiving, orchestrating, and executing projects, and establishing strategic partnerships beneficial to the company. The ideal candidate will constantly operate with a strong sense of urgency to get things done and is result-oriented.
Key Responsibilities:
- Spearhead and take charge of the community building & partnership strategies to drive engagement.
- The end-to-end management of programs and initiatives in-line with our community building strategy, content framework, target audience, and objectives.
- Identify and develop new business and partnership opportunities.
- Maintain positive and strong relationships with other ecosystem enablers.
- Monitor and report the performance of the business community initiatives.
- Lead the day-to-day community development and retention programs.
- Develop and implement a robust communication strategy, encompassing social media plans, newsletters, and interactive platforms to enhance community engagement.
- Build relationships with investors, mentors, and other ecosystem stakeholders that can support our portfolio companies.
- Act as the voice of the community, providing feedback and insights to improve products, services, or processes.
- Track and analyse key community metrics to measure success and identify areas for improvement.
- Work closely with the MEL team to track metrics of alumni businesses performance.
- Other duties as assigned.
Skills required
- Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent preferably in Business, Marketing, or other related degrees.
- A minimum of 5 years’ experience in a community relations & partnership role, where you have successfully hosted meaningful programs aimed at serving early-stage entrepreneurs and businesses.
- Experience engaging with entrepreneurship programs and collaborating with other ecosystem players.
- Experience in membership or community management/development.
- Experience in partnership or stakeholder management.
- Excellent relationship management, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively engage and collaborate with diverse stakeholders.
- Entrepreneurial mindset that thrives in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and is adaptable to change.
- Goal-oriented and ensures KPIs are met.
- Creative, strategic, and analytical thinking.
- Ability to work independently with minimal supervision, while also being a team player when required.
- Ability to cultivate long-term strong community/business relationships.
- Ability to persuade and influence others.
- Ability to travel for long periods of time when required e.g. 2-3 weeks.
*This role can be based in Nairobi, Lagos, or Johannesburg*
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