Q: Please provide an overview of the Stanford Seed Transformation Program.
A: The Stanford Seed Transformation Program (STP) is a Stanford Graduate School of Business School-led initiative designed to help business leaders in emerging markets grow and scale their enterprises and transform lives in the communities in which they operate. The vision is to end the cycle of global poverty by empowering local entrepreneurs to transform their companies and their teams, creating new products, services and jobs, and positively impacting people, organizations, and the planet.
The 10-month program imparts a comprehensive set of skills and knowledge, focusing on both strategic and operational aspects of business growth. Key learning areas include transformational leadership, assessing business foundations, strategic decision-making, and financial analysis and planning, operations management, market opportunity identification, organizational change and development, governance, and sustainable and ethical business practices.
The STP is conducted in a blended format, combining both in-person and online sessions. This approach is designed to maximize learning while accommodating the busy schedules of business leaders. The program includes intensive in-person classroom weeks, online sessions such as live faculty sessions and company workshops conducted at the companies’ premises.
Q: Who is eligible to participate in the program, and what criteria do they need to meet?
A: The program is designed for CEOs and founders of for-profit and market-driven social enterprises in emerging markets in East, West and Southern Africa, South Asia, and most recently Indonesia.
In addition, the following criteria apply: the applicant must be the key decision-maker of the business; the business must be headquartered in a country that qualifies for the Seed program; the management team must comprise at least four people, including the applicant; and the business must have an annual revenue of between $300,000 and $15 million in the most recent fiscal year.
A: How many Batswana entrepreneurs have successfully enrolled in the program since its inception and how has the program’s training directly contributed to the growth and sustainability of those businesses?
B: Through the collaboration between De Beers Group and Stanford Graduate School of Business, launched in 2017, the STP has supported 91 companies in Southern Africa with an additional 19 companies currently undergoing the program and due to complete in November 2024. Of the 91 companies, 46 have been from Botswana, 39 from South Africa and 6 from Namibia.
Lerang Selolwane, Co-Founder of Lucient Engineering in Jwaneng, Botswana noted, “The Stanford Seed Program isn’t just about you; they train your people. That was probably the single most useful part of the program they worked on the real-life problems in our company and took our management and leadership team with us. That was the magic for us.”
Q: Can you share any success stories or case studies highlighting the tangible economic benefits experienced by Batswana entrepreneurs who have participated in the Stanford Seed Transformation Program?
A: Brastorne- Founded in 2013 in Botswana by Martin Stimela, Brastorne connects the unconnected in Africa by providing internet access and app-like services to the poorest people unable to afford a smartphone or mobile data. Brastorne has built a suite of products targeting the 300 million feature phone users in Africa, who are among the world’s poorest and most marginalized citizens. Brastorne has connected 4 million unconnected feature phone users In Africa to the internet. Brastorne has expanded its footprint into Cameroon, DRC and Guinea post-completion of the transformation program.
Zila Investments was founded by Rebonyeng Hick. Through the program, Rebonyeng gained invaluable insights into the importance of believing in her products and embracing constant innovation. This paradigm shift has not only made Zila resilient but has also propelled it towards continued success and growth. Zila has diversified her portfolio from manufacturing cleaning products to providing cleaning services and more recently opening a 7- 7-bedroom Villa, employing 100 Batswana.
Q: In what ways does the program facilitate the creation of jobs within Botswana and contribute to the overall economic development and diversification of the region?
A: The vision of the Stanford Seed Transformation Program is to end the cycle of global poverty and is aligned with De Beers’ strategy to support the creation of jobs. Thus, the program is centred on innovation, exploring new ways of product development, and building strategies for expanding into new geographies.
Participants are provided with tools and a mindset to identify the most promising growth opportunities for their company. It also focuses on insight into what it takes to win new customers, retain old ones and build an organization that can pursue those opportunities. Thereby leading to job creation and household members benefiting from jobs created by businesses that have participated in the program. The average annual job growth rate for these businesses is 19.7 per cent, which surpasses benchmarks reported by the International Labour Organization.
Q: What ongoing support does De Beers Group offer to Batswana entrepreneurs beyond the completion of the Stanford Seed Transformation Program?
A: Participants that complete the program become a part of a wider Stanford Seed network of over 1200 business leaders from across East, West, Southern Africa and South Asia. As such they take advantage of the continuous access to peer-led learning and opportunities to do business with one another.
Furthermore, the De Beers Group supports post-program initiatives such as the coaching and consulting programs- where business leaders apply to work with a pool of executives from across the globe that have led multi-million dollar companies, spending up to 1-year working with the business leaders on their transformation journey.
De Beers also supports the internship program – another networking benefit where students from Stanford University complete in-person 8-week rounds with companies in Southern Africa working on transformation projects.
Q: Could you elaborate on any local partnerships or collaborations established by the De Beers Group through the Stanford Seed Transformation Program?
A: De Beers continues to explore avenues that can support the transformation of businesses and as such has explored partnerships with banks and entrepreneurship development agencies to enhance access to finance, access to markets and opportunities to mentor other entrepreneurs.
Q: How do you ensure inclusivity and representation of diverse sectors and industries within Botswana when selecting participants for the Stanford Seed Transformation Program?
A: Every year during recruitment the marketing strategy includes engaging various bodies that oversee sector development. This includes holding sector-specific information sessions, placing advertising material on their various platforms or designing sector-specific promotional material and this strategy has ensured that every year we have a diverse pool of industries in our cohorts. Additionally, we provide incentives for female-led enterprises by offering them scholarships and through this strategy; at least 30 percent of our cohort has been filled by women-owned companies.
Q: What long-term economic impact does De Beers Group anticipate from its involvement in the Stanford Seed Transformation Program, particularly in terms of job creation and economic diversification?
A: Over the years we have seen the impact of the program on job creation and in supporting an export-led economy where companies have been able to set up in other markets. Annual surveys of our business leaders indicate that firms consistently outperform local benchmarks and create a positive impact in the region.
Q: What plans or expansions does De Beers Group have in place to further enhance the impact of the Stanford Seed Transformation Program?
A: Our partnership with not just Stanford Graduate School of Business but other local agencies as premised on the De Beers Building Forever Framework is a testament to our commitment to leave a positive impact on the economy beyond mining diamonds. It is our priority to continually seek out collaborations that advance this commitment and support governments in the countries in which we operate.
