Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at MIT

This morning Haitham Khoury, Ph.D., Director of Fellowships and Global Initiatives at the Legatum Center, spoke with first-year MIT students as part of Social Innovation Exploration FPOP hosted by the MIT PKG Center. This program introduces incoming students to the pressing issue of food insecurity both on campus and abroad, with a focus on the critical aspects of climate and sustainability. Dr. Khoury shared information on how the Center prepares students in creating lasting impact through social innovation and entrepreneurship. This session also highlighted other Innovation DLCs across the campus which provide opportunities for learning to these incoming students including (MIT D-Lab) (MIT Solve) (MITdesignX) (MIT Priscilla King Gray Public Service Center (PKG Center) Lauren Tyger, Nancy Adams, Brandon H., Lauren Witte & Alexander Dale

"To build a company in 2024 without employing AI is like building a company without software." Although AI has become a hot topic in recent years, technologists, researchers, and entrepreneurs have been implementing AI technologies for over five decades, continuously developing new innovations and discovering unknowns in the AI space. Entrepreneurs from global growth markets are presented with a unique opportunity to integrate these rapidly advancing technologies to solve complex issues. We were honored to attend a recent workshop led by 2011 Legatum Student Fellow Nadia Shalaby 🚀, founder of Pakira, Inc., as part of the MIT MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund Program Intensive Summer Program (SISP). The program brings together 16 Arab Entrepreneurs from 10 companies from the Hasoub StartupLabs Incubator to join an 8-week intensive focused on company development and customer discovery. The session "Navigating the AI Landscape: How to Innovate and Invest in AI", examined the myths and breakthroughs within the global AI stack over the past decades and highlighted two current case studies and demos by Sami Shalabi of Maven AGI and Dina Voevodsky of Palantir Technologies , who demonstrated the potential of AI technology both within publically established companies and new ventures. We look forward to continuing to see how "AI-First" companies will create an impact at scale in domestic and global growth markets. View some snapshots of today's panel below.

We recently concluded our Bootcamp for early-stage entrepreneurs in Accra, Ghana, held from July 23-25, 2024! This special event was organized in partnership with the Ghana Enterprises Agency, Ghana Hubs Network, The The She Hub Ghana, and funded by the Mastercard Foundation. Over three days, 25 promising entrepreneurs from across Ghana gained expert MIT knowledge, practical tools, and advice from successful Ghanaian entrepreneurs. From refining business models to developing leadership skills, participants are now better equipped to navigate growth markets and drive sustainable growth. To learn more about the Ghana Bootcamp and our other activities, visit: https://lnkd.in/eR3xfXUs A huge thank you to all our partners and participants for making this bootcamp a transformative experience!

We are very proud to recognize ’22 Foundry Fellow and CEO of ReelFruit, Affiong Williams, for her dedication to driving innovation and growth within her industry, Nigeria, and across the continent. ReelFruit is a Nigerian dried fruit snacks company established in 2012. Since then, they have scaled to process a diverse range of dried fruits, serving over 450 retail outlets in Nigeria and exporting to markets including the US, Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland, championing Nigerian-made products on a global level. The Legatum Center congratulates Affiong on her outstanding contributions to the agribusiness sector. To learn more about Affiong's journey and the success of ReelFruit, read this article by @howibuiltthisAfrica.

"Have fun, build great products, be humble, and always be learning!” Dr. Richard Rabbat, CEO of Lighty AI and a professional advisor at the Legatum Center, has an extensive background in technology and entrepreneurship, including leading roles at Google and Zynga! Watch Dr. Richard Rabbat's presentation on the fascinating topic of Artificial Intelligence! Catch the full talk on the TAKminds YouTube channel! https://lnkd.in/d7gEUQrQ

A close friend once said to me, to achieve great things and have impact, you need to build a great team and you need to have a village that you can tap into to support when needed. I have been thinking a lot about what it means to have a truly great team and my conclusion is this: you know you have a great team when every member of the team has the other’s back no matter what - I mean this figuratively and literally. I recently had to undergo emergency surgery on my back. That meant that my pace of work had to change and my travel had to be reduced as I recovered. For personal reasons, another team member also had to change pace and re-think travel. This meant others had to step up and we had to work together differently. In spite of these challenges, the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at MIT team designed and executed an amazing bootcamp for early stage innovation driven entrepreneurs in Ghana, a country that is close to my heart. This bootcamp was a manifestation of weeks of designing a new curriculum that is relevant to innovators in global growth markets. I am deeply grateful to the incredible leadership of Haitham Khoury, Ph.D. and Jennifer Brady along with Felicia Appenteng’s incredible effort in turning the idea of this new bootcamp into a reality on the ground in collaboration with the amazing Kosi Yankey. My gratitude extends further to Valeria Budinich for her incredible contributions in creating a new approach to teaching entrepreneurs from growth markets about systems thinking and to Seif Zaki Jacquelyn Gasparek Rania Helmy Donovan Beck Marc Alain Boucicault and Brandon Hoilett for the support throughout. Yet, still, a village was needed and we needed to tap into support from our extended community including our amazing fellows: Oluwasoga Oni, Genevieve Barnard Oni, Ehi Binitie, Owusu Akoto, and the amazing Bill Aulet who never says no when we ask him to give us his time to share the principles of Disciplined Entrepreneurship with bootcamp participants. Grateful is an understatement. #greatteams #entrepreneurship #africa #ghana #innovation #teamsmatter #takesavillage

And that's a wrap on our 3 day bootcamp for early-stage innovators! We're so grateful for our partners the Ghana Enterprises Agency , Ghana Hubs Network and #SheHub and for our funder Mastercard Foundation that made all of this possible. Some highlights: A captivating session by Akua Nyame-Mensah on self leadership and team dynamics. We were lucky enough to be joined by Salma El Sayeh on the importance of connecting impact to your bottom line. Mrs. Kosi Yankey shared some departing key words of wisdom to the participants and assured them that the Ghana Enterprises Agency would always be there to support them. Our alumnus Oluwasoga Oni of MDaaS Global walked the participants through financing options for their startups and then showed them how to best harness their strengths in their pitches. Our final discussion featured a roundtable of leading Ghanaian entrepreneurs, including our own Foundry Fellow Owusu Akoto alongside Abdul Rahim Shaibu-issah , Anita Kittoe and Steve Ocloo of the inimitable Nkulenu Industries. They imparted practical pearls of wisdom to our participants about their own journeys to becoming successful entrepreneurs. After we handed out certificates to our wonderful participants, we closed out the program with a reception at the beautiful Villa Monticello. This bootcamp was a part of our series targeting early-stage entrepreneurs across Africa. At the Center, we believe that by sharing cutting edge theories on Innovation Driven Enterprises in a local context can unlock the next generation of global change-makers.  We cannot wait to see what these wonderful Ghanaian entrepreneurs do next! Haitham Khoury, Ph.D. Rania Helmy Dina H. Sherif Felicia Appenteng Jennifer Brady Donovan Beck

Another great day of our bootcamp for early-stage innovators here in Accra! We started the day with a great session by Sandy Sanchez from the Clayton Christensen Institute on how businesses can grow and innovate by targeting non-consumers. Then Haitham Khoury, Ph.D. lead the entrepreneurs through a case study on CIRA Education, during which the entrepreneurs extracted important lessons about sustainable growth and visionary leadership. Participants also heard a presentation from the CEO of Ghana Enterprises Agency, Kosi Yankey about the crucial role that entrepreneurs play in driving sustainable economic in Ghana, and shared some key lessons from her own career as an entrepreneur herself. We were then lucky to have a highly interactive course on financial modeling taught by our alumna Genevieve Barnard Oni of MDaaS Global. Stay tuned for more lessons and insights from these change-makers! Thank you again to the Mastercard Foundation for their support. Oluwasoga Oni Jennifer Brady Dina H. Sherif Rania Helmy Felicia Appenteng Donovan Beck Ghana Hubs Network

Yesterday marked the exciting kickoff point of our entrepreneurship bootcamp in Ghana, conducted in partnership with the Ghana Enterprises Agency, Ghana Hubs Network, and #SheHubs.  We are looking forward to sharing insights and space with the great 25 selected Ghanaian ventures that are poised to ignite their businesses with new tools and strategies.    Day One focused on Value Proposition. After a warm welcome by our Director of Fellowships and Global Initiatives, Haitham Khoury, Ph.D., we started off with a session on Design Thinking lead by our Executive Director, Dina H. Sherif. Emphasizing the necessity of knowing the needs of your customer, participants learned how to sharpen their strategies by better understanding their customers by maintaining curiosity and avoiding assumptions.    After a light break, participants learned about the importance of refining product/market fit by our very own Legatum alumnus, Oluwasoga Oni. Additionally, our partner from  Clayton Christensen Institute Sandy Sanchez, showed the entrepreneurs through power of market-creating innovations to reshape economies and systems. The participants were then invited to use this knowledge to quantify their venture’s value proposition. To close off this packed day, we were honored to have our very own Foundry Fellow, Ehi Binitie, share his wisdom and insights about venture building in a fireside chat. As we start this bootcamp, we extend thanks to our sponsor, Mastercard Foundation, and the incredible community across Ghana who have welcomed our team and entrepreneurs from across the nation into their vibrant ecosystem. We are excited to continue to share insights and takeaways from this event! Stay tuned for more updates on the exciting journey of these future leaders as they continue their learning and networking throughout week! Felicia Appenteng Jennifer Brady Kosi Yankey Eunice Adjei

We're thrilled that MIT Sloan School of Management continues to shed light on our entrepreneurs as we celebrate the 15 years of impact of the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at MIT. Fifteen years ago, we embarked on a mission to harness the power of entrepreneurship and innovation to drive prosperity in emerging markets worldwide. Over the years, we have proudly supported 344 student fellows and 34 foundry fellows. Our 15-year Impact Report highlights the impact of many more successful fellow-founded ventures that are paving the way for the next generation of entrepreneurs. You can read it here. Read the MIT Sloan article here: https://lnkd.in/e8Sxpw4Q We’d like to extend our congratulations again to these seven remarkable fellows and their ventures! Great Learning - Founder Arjun Nair MAX- Founders: Adetayo Bamiduro, Chinedu Azodoh MDaaS Global - Founders: Genevieve Barnard Oni, Oluwasoga Oni PlayBusiness - Founder: Fernanda de Velasco Ricult - Founder: Aukrit Unahalekhaka Safi Organics Ltd. - Founders: Kevin Kung and Joyce Kamande Keep up the great work!