OPUS

"No one is investing in Africa the way Africa needs it.” Niama El Bassunie, CFA, a seasoned entrepreneur and investor, has spent over 13 years championing African startups. After founding and scaling WaystoCap to success, she's now leading Baobab Network with a bold mission: to invest $100,000 in a thousand African companies over the next decade. It’s a challenging landscape for founders in Africa who struggle to access the capital and support they need. Niama knows these hurdles firsthand and is deeply passionate about dismantling them. "I'm here to change the narrative. Africa is not just open for business; it's ripe with opportunities that deserve the right investment." – Niama Learn how Niama plans to close the massive funding gap for African founders and catalyse change across the continent. #opportunity #community

While many would pin Instagram content as dopamine inducing at best and a waste of time at worst, some of the entrepreneurial content is fascinating! Especially as it relates to the snippets and takeaways from some of the business greats. In fact, it is surprising that LinkedIn doesn't keep up on that front.   A perspective we loved recently was Mark Zuckerberg's thought-provoking piece on ideas and the most important part not being the eureka moment, but is in fact 'just getting started'. At OPUS, we subscribe to that in every sense - as Rockefeller, Jonny Ive and many others have said: 'don't let perfect be the enemy of good'... https://lnkd.in/g3nvW2DS

Today we are spotlighting two of our OPUS members, Cien S. & Jack Bennet who have been shortlisted for the prestigious Great British Entrepreneur Awards & Community 2024 in London! Cien Solon, CEO & Co-Founder of LaunchLemonade🍋 is on a mission to make AI accessible to all entrepreneurs - both technical and nontechnical alike. Jack Bennet is the Founder & CEO of Coddies, a footwear brand on a mission to reshape the footwear landscape by injecting a much-needed dose of creativity, fun, and comfort. This nomination is a testament to their innovative spirit and outstanding contributions to our industry. Join us in congratulating Cien and Jack on this fantastic achievement! #opportunity #community

We have had an incredible year at OPUS so far and have been overwhelmed by the number of brilliant founders and business builders who have joined our family. Due to this wonderful demand, we’re announcing that we will be pausing our onboarding, with applications being deferred to a waitlist starting from 15th July. There's a lot to look forward to and we’re excited to launch our Summer Series - a lineup of events, tech-developments, and unique experiences tailor-made for our OPUS community. Highlights include our upcoming summit in Jordan, graciously hosted by the Crown Prince Foundation, and our Entrepreneur in Residence programme kicking off this summer. Plus, with registrations for Davos on the horizon, there's never been a better time to get involved. We can’t wait to share more impactful moments with you. If you’re considering joining us, apply to be considered now or secure your spot on our waitlist from the 15th July. #opportunity #community

OPUS and WeWork welcomed the Rajasthan Royals to London this week, as the senior management team scoped out regional entrepreneurial learnings! A huge thanks to OPUS partners and members: 🏏 Jake Lush McCrum (CEO of Rajasthan Royals) for allowing us to host the knowledge exchange 📈Freddie Bloor at WeWork for hosting us in the beautiful spaces and telling the epic WeWork story that continues to soar 🏉 George Kruis at fourfiveuk (Founder) for sharing his story of sport to wellness business 🌍 Toby Hanington and Niama El Bassunie, CFA (Leaders of Baobab Network) for talking through investing at scale and finding product market fit A powerful afternoon of OPUS magic and entrepreneurial knowledge sharing! #opportunity #community

As founders and innovators, challenging established norms is part of our DNA. That’s why we invited our members to join us for an OPUS Oracles that promised to fuel the debate on sports, ethics, and the future of competition, just before the Olympic torch ignites spirits worldwide! Our Chair Sam Tidswell-Norrish was joined by Aron D'Souza, the revolutionary thinker and the mastermind behind Enhanced Games, the ground-breaking competition where the limits of human performance are redefined. Enhanced, often dubbed 'the Olympics of the Future,' is shattering the status quo by allowing athletes to harness the full potential of performance-enhancing drugs, science and technology. We had a global audience with members from the UAE and UK both joining the event, including entrepreneurs from sport, consumer businesses, health and beyond. Thank you to WeWork for hosting us and Aron for sharing your invaluable insights. Here are our key takeaways: 💡 Mission-Driven Motivation Having a compelling and deep mission is crucial for enduring the challenges of building a company. It should motivate not just the founders but also every employee, driving them to achieve excellence even in difficult times. 💡 Overcoming Resistance and Disruption Disruptive ventures often face criticism from incumbents. Success requires not only innovative ideas but also effective marketing and cultural change to shift public perception and gain acceptance. 💡 High-Performance Organisational Culture Creating a strong organisational culture where everyone understands the mission and key performance indicators (KPIs) is essential. Efficient project management and communication systems are crucial for maintaining operational excellence. 💡 Technological and Economic Leadership Embracing technological advancements and positioning a venture at the forefront of innovation can drive significant economic opportunities. Supporting and hosting cutting-edge initiatives can make a country or organisation a leader in new, high-growth industries. #OPUSOracles #opportunity #community #entrepreneurship #innovation

In early 2024, OPUS invested in understanding, measuring, and driving impact within our community and beyond. Our latest Impact Report marks the culmination of a learning process that began in January, involving extensive outreach, consultation, and critical thinking. We aimed to grasp the impact OPUS is making and aspires to have. This meant identifying our strengths, areas for improvement, defining success, establishing metrics to measure it, setting bold yet achievable targets and most important spending time listening to our members. Through this exercise, we gained deeper insights into our members, their motivations, and developed a clear vision of our network's current and future state. This journey is not top-down. We want to support our members to own their collective impact, both individually and as a group. OPUS is a network built by our community of business builders, for our community. Below, we present some key highlights, and we will continue to report back on the value our members and community are receiving and creating. Kerry Fennell Ellen Courtney Tallulah Israel Niama El Bassunie, CFA Hugh Chichester Lyndsay Mason Tom Hewitson James Gozney James Farnfield Godfrey Asare Neda Sahebelm Rafael Guper #ImpactReport #opportunity #community

OPUS stands ready to work with Sir Keir Starmer’s government to create better outcomes for entrepreneurs. OPUS was formed and is backed by a group of business leaders, public servants and entrepreneurs, and is on a mission to connect entrepreneurs and to enable opportunity creation amongst them. We exist because we believe that together entrepreneurs are stronger. Entrepreneurship serves as the backbone of a resilient and dynamic economy, and it is an area that the UK has historically been strong in. By encouraging people to start their own businesses, we can harness their creativity, energy and innovative spirit to address some of the greatest challenges we face today, from climate issues to social injustices, and everything in between. This Open Letter is intended to demonstrate our passionate view of areas that could underpin progress in entrepreneurship for the UK’s broader social and economic benefit, and willingness to contribute energy and resources. While non- exhaustive, our mission remains to support all entrepreneurs and their opportunity creation, and we highlight three key areas the UK Government could focus on to support the next generation of entrepreneurs. #newchapter #entrepreneurship #innovation #investing #primeminister #election #business #businessbuilding

As we continue to bring our members game-changing resources and experiences to help them on their mission to build, we are delighted to announce Adam Levene as the inaugural OPUS Entrepreneur-in-Residence - welcome to the OPUS family Adam! Adam is an experienced entrepreneur and serial investor. After leaving school at 18, he went on to build, scale and exit two leading technology businesses for a total consideration of $250M, by age 32. His last venture - HERO - the global leader in video commerce - was acquired by Klarna in 2021, where he joined the leadership team of the global fintech disruptor. He is now an investor and hands-on advisor to many of Europe’s fastest growing consumer businesses, including UNTIL, All Things Butter, Heights, SURREAL and DIRTEA. Adam is passionate about the role of entrepreneurship in society and we cannot think of a better way to begin our programme than by welcoming Adam to OPUS as our Entrepreneur-in-Residence! #EIR #opportunity #community

Did you know 1.5 million maternity items end up in landfills each year? Meet Lyndsay Mason, founder of For The Creators, who's redefining maternity wear. Whether it's renting, buying new, or choosing pre-loved, Lyndsay's mission is to empower mothers to feel their best during pregnancy and beyond. To bring commerce convenience to the creators. Watch the OPUS Talk now #OPUSTalks