Recruitment-room Volunteers
Entrepreneur in Residence Middle East North Africa
Job Description
About Seedstars
Seedstars is a group headquartered in Switzerland / Geneva on a mission to impact people’s lives in emerging and frontier markets through technology and entrepreneurship. We operate 2 main activities to achieve our mission: (A) We work in partnership with development agencies, governments, corporate partners, and private donors to develop entrepreneurship ecosystems, create jobs, and fuel income growth. (B) We invest in high-growth technology companies in impactful sectors (fintech, ed-tech, agritech, health tech, etc) in emerging markets.
About the Programs business
Seedstars Programs consults multilateral and bilateral organisations, governments, and private sector foundations on customized interventions and financing solutions for small and growing businesses (SGBs) in emerging markets. Our goal is to create thriving entrepreneurship ecosystems and generate positive social and economic impact in the global south and developing economies.
We support our clients in:
- Developing entrepreneurship ecosystems (insights and advice on policy, finance, culture, support infrastructure, human capital, and markets) based on our proprietary Seedstars Index.
- Designing and co-creating customized interventions and implementing programs based on the segmentation of businesses and their specific needs.
- Setting up innovative development finance facilities and managing capital flows (VC & Equity program funds, Convertibles, Catalytic finance instruments, Impact linked finance, blended finance, result or revenue-based finance, loans, mezzanine, grants, etc.).
- Measuring and managing the impact of programmatic interventions.
The majority of our projects are sustainable development goal (SDG) driven and tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges like climate action, gender equality, migration, and financial inclusion.
About the Program
We are applying to a tender for a comprehensive entrepreneurship intervention in Abu Dhabi that is designed to provide support to entrepreneurs in specialised sectors –climate, AI, fintech, life sciences, and digital assets– through capacity-building, access to financing pathways, ecosystem development, and engagement with key stakeholders in MENA; further positioning Abu Dhabi as a growing, vibrant and robust entrepreneurial hub.
About the Role
As an Entrepreneur in Residence (EiR) your objective will be to develop the curriculum for and deliver the material for this program. You will localize existing content, source and manage our network of mentors and experts, work to develop the innovation ecosystem in Abu Dhabi and track success through monitoring and evaluation efforts.
This is a hybrid remote and on-site position that may require up to two months in Abu Dhabi.
This job opportunity is contingent upon our team successfully winning the proposal.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Key Responsibilities:
Training
- Co-creation, delivery, and delivery support for workshop sessions.
Progress
- Lead small group sessions and 1:1s with the entrepreneurs and guide them through meeting their milestones.
- Assist in milestone setup and review sessions for entrepreneurs.
- Track and report batch progress for internal and external stakeholders.
Network
- Leverage your network to source relevant mentors and experts.
- Facilitate introductions and partnership opportunities to the entrepreneurs.
Analysis and Insight
- Support on programmatic MERL efforts.
- Identify areas for program innovation and improvement.
- Disseminate learnings across the MENA team.
Your Profile:
- Your mindset
- Excellent team player with high levels of empathy.
- Passion for problem solving and striving for excellence.
- Knack for coordination.
- Extremely polished and straightforward communication –written and spoken– with different levels of stakeholders.
- You are extremely rigorous in following processes (even self-set) to achieve your objectives.
- Your Experience
- Mentorship or training experience.
- Founding experience and/or experience supporting in startup & entrepreneurial programs.
- Deep understanding of startup methodologies (testing / experimentation design, fundraising etc ) as well as up to date knowledge of the latest tools (Analytics, SEM/CEO/Email/Social marketing etc.).
- Nice to have
- Strong understanding of digital technologies, and their role in economic and social development.
- You are either a local entrepreneur or innovation enthusiast.
- You are an active member in your startup community.
- Knowledgeable about the startup ecosystem in your country or region.
Why our employees love working with us
- We are on a mission that is bigger than all of us: to impact people’s lives in emerging markets.
- You get many growth and learning opportunities early on, including impactful and skills-enhancing roles in innovative programs.
- Robust onboarding to translate our values and ways of working into successful outcomes.
- Excellent networking opportunities, including exposure to thought leaders and SMEs in the field of entrepreneurial support.
- An entrepreneurial culture where you’re surrounded by a vibrant and diverse team.
- Autonomy and flexibility with a flat hierarchy and a strong belief that responsible people should have the freedom to do their work when and how they want.
- We were awarded as one of the most democratic workplaces in the world due to our freedom-centered practices.
We are an equal opportunity employer with a diverse mix of nationalities and backgrounds represented in our company. We truly value diversity and believe that the cultural landscape of our organization should reflect the types of work that we engage in and the places that we do it. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status and strongly encourage women, people from emerging markets, and those from historically underrepresented groups to apply to all of our roles at Seedstars.