Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to your questions

01. What is Jasiri?

Jasiri (meaning brave in Swahili) is an entrepreneurship development programme supported by Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropy to accelerate meaningful employment creation, by investing in, nurturing, and empowering responsible and value-driven individuals with an ambition to create high-impact ventures. We do this through our two programmes, Jasiri Talent Investor and Jasiri Growth Accelerator.

02. What programmes does Jasiri offer?

The Jasiri Talent Investor Programme is a 13-month programme with a unique approach to entrepreneurship development. Rather than investing in existing businesses or teams, the programme focus is on identifying individuals with exceptional potential as co-founders. We bring selected individuals together and offer you an optimal environment to form founding teams and rapidly experiment with their ideas to bring forth a venture. We offer a financial package to every successful fellow to remove financial barriers that could prevent them from excelling in their pursuit of entrepreneurship. More to that, Fellows gain access to a diverse pool of business coaches, industry experts and advisors. Our ultimate goal is to pinpoint and invest in startups with significant potential for large-scale success, what we call Market-Creating innovations.

03. When do applications for the Jasiri Talent Investor open?

Applications for the Talent Investor are now open. Please apply here for Jasiri Talent Investor EA, https://jasiri.org/jasiri-talent-investor/ and here for SA, jasiri.org/jasiri-south-africa/.

04. When do the Jasiri Talent Investor applications close?

The applications for the Jasiri Talent Investor are reviewed on a rolling basis. Selection into the programme ends upon reaching the required number of applicants admitted into the final stage of the application process. Please apply now to be considered for the next cohort of the Jasiri Talent Investor (https://jasiri.org/application).

05. What are the requirements of the Jasiri Talent Investor?

An Ethiopian, Kenyan, or Rwandan residing in your country or diaspora.
Ready to pursue entrepreneurship full-time as a career, and spend three months of Residential Intensive in Rwanda.
An Ethiopian, Kenyan, or Rwandan residing in your country or diaspora.
Ready to pursue entrepreneurship full-time as a career, and spend three months of Residential Intensive in Rwanda.
Well-informed and skilled in your professional field, adept at identifying gaps and opportunities within your sector of interest.
Committed to launching a new, innovative venture with potential for rapid growth.
Historically an achiever, problem solver, and value creator wherever you have focused your attention.
Collaborative, eager to meet equally ambitious peers within your cohort, and co-found ventures from scratch.
Committed to launching a new, innovative venture with potential for rapid growth.
Historically an achiever, problem solver, and value creator wherever you have focused your attention.
Collaborative, eager to meet equally ambitious peers within your cohort, and co-found ventures from scratch.

06. What are the Selection Processes for the Jasiri Talent Investor Programmes?

You are:

An Ethiopian, Kenyan, Rwandan or South Africa residing in your country or diaspora.
Ready to pursue entrepreneurship full-time as a career, and spend three months of Residential Intensive.
Well-informed and skilled in your professional field, adept at identifying gaps and opportunities within your sector of interest.
Committed to launching a new, innovative venture with potential for rapid growth.
Historically an achiever, problem solver, and value creator wherever you have focused your attention.
Collaborative, eager to meet equally ambitious peers within your cohort, and co-found ventures from scratch.

Please note:

Female candidates are highly encouraged to apply.
The Talent Investor programme includes a mandatory 3 months residential intensive in Bugesera, Rwanda / Cape Town, South Africa.
As we take a data-driven approach to identifying entrepreneurial potential, completing all stages of the selection process will require significant effort and time.
The application process has been designed to be a valuable learning and self-discovery experience for all applicants, regardless of the eventual outcome.

Step 1: Complete and Submit Application
Step 2: Complete Intention & Value Creation Assessment
Step 3: Complete Innovation Scenario Assessment
Step 4 : Take a Psychometric Test
Step 5: Attend Selection Conference

07. What are the content and timelines for the Jasiri Talent Investor?

Jasiri Jumpstart: February, 2025
The Residential Intensive Program (in Rwanda / South Africa): March-May, 2025
The Venture Creation Phase (in countries where the business is launched. i.e. Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda or South Africa: June, 2025 – February, 2026

08. I understand that the Jasiri Talent Investor is a fully funded Programme, what exactly does the Programme cover?

Data Allowance during the Jasiri Jumpstart sessions;
A return flight to and from Rwanda / South Africa;
Monthly stipend, transportation, health insurance, means and accommodation while at the Residential Intensive;
Prospecting grant, offered to teams, not individuals;
Monthly stipend for members of teams that qualify for Venture Creation;
Startup capital per each team that qualifies for the Venture Creation stage
Access to coaching, and industry experts

09. If I get selected for Jasiri Talent Investor, what would disqualify me from the Programme?

The following may disqualify selected candidates from the programme:

- A selected Fellow may decide to discontinue the programme at any time;
- A selected Fellow may be disqualified due to a failure to comply with the programme requirements;
- A selected Fellow is unable to join a team during the Residential intensive;
- A team of selected Fellows is not progressing towards set goals, thus not meeting programme performance criteria, both during the Residential Intensive and Venture Creation;
- Misconduct as defined in the Jasri Talent Investor Agreement.

10. If I am disqualified for one Cohort of Jasiri Talent Investor can I apply for the next?

If a candidate was regretted in the previous cohort they applied for, they would still be able to apply during the next cohort recruitment.

11. I would like to get feedback on why I was disqualified for Jasiri Talent Investor to help me refine my application in the future.

While we would love to give every candidate personalized feedback on why they could not proceed to the next stage, we do offer generic feedback to include all factors we believe would have contributed to a candidate discontinuation. It is up to the discontinued candidate to read and decide which ones may be the most relevant factors.

12. Can I apply my current business to the talent investor programme?

The Jasiri Talent Investor Programme is not an accelerator programme, that means it doesn’t not invest in existing businesses. Rather, the programme focuses on identifying individuals with exceptional potential to become co-founders. We bring selected individuals together and offer them an optimal environment to form founding teams and rapidly experiment with their ideas to bring forth a venture.

13. Can I apply for the talent investor programme with my co-founder?

No, each individual is required to submit their own application. However, the programme brings together a pool of potential co-founders.

14. Do I need to apply with an idea to be selected for the Jasiri Talent Investor programme?

No. Candidates do not need to have an existing business idea to apply. All ideas are born organically within the cohort at the Residential Intensive stage.

15. Do I need to leave my job to join the talent investor programme?

Yes, once selected to join the Programme you will be required to commit full time to the programme. The Jasiri Talent Investor programme selects, guides and invests in Fellows who are highly driven and committed to realizing their entrepreneurial aspirations and launching new ventures that have the potential for high growth and scale. The creation of such types of innovations which targets large markets that are either unserved or underserved require full time commitment, active participation and efforts. Our financial package, deployed on a monthly basis, aims to remove financial barriers that could arise and prevent fellows from fully focusing on building their ventures.

16. I'm still pursuing my university degree. Can I apply for the programme?

We do not accept applicants who are still at the University or College, or pursuing any form of education as that would compete against the full time commitment requirement.

17. Do you accept applications from all nationalities?

Currently, the programme only accepts applications from nationalities from Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and South Africa residing in the respective countries or in the Diaspora.