Ye! Boosting Entrepreneurship – in action!
28 October 2015

Ye! Boosting Entrepreneurship – in action!

The first edition of the Ye! BoostCamp took place in the week of Oct 12 at ImpactHub Amsterdam! 27 young entrepreneurs and innovators from Ghana, Kenya and the Philippines participated in this one-week startup boost event, organized by Ye!.

The Ye! BoostCamp is a featured activity of the Ye! Boost Program, a one-year entrepreneurship program that provides training, networking and international exchange opportunities for young entrepreneurs in Ghana, Kenya and the Philippines. The 27 participating entrepreneurs of the BoostCamp, representing a variety of sectors and businesses, were selected from the Ye! startup video competition held earlier this year. The activity was participated by 150 startups and voted by over 110,000 supporters. These 27 participants were offered scholarships co-funded by the Erasmus + programme of the European Union to take part in the event. 

The BoostCamp was an intensive, exciting and impactful week, filled with workshops, lectures, networking and fun. During a series of 3-day workshops partnered with the GSBI (Global Social Benefit Institute) Boost program, entrepreneurs sharpened their business plan and developed a business model that demonstrates the impact, growth, and long-term financial sustainability of their company. Entrepreneurs also dived into numbers and financials during a half-day financial planning workshop with EY Netherlands. With David Beckett, Pitch Coach and TEDx Speech Coach, entrepreneurs developed their startup’s “Best 3 Minutes” pitch. They also spent some “Inspiration Hours” with inspiring Dutch startup figures such as Jaspar Roos, Chief Inspiration Officer of XL Family, on startup innovations; and Laurens van Nues, Founder of Magnet.me ,on startup journey and marketing tricks.

The highlight and closing of the week was a final pitching event held at De Nederlandsche Bank (Dutch Central Bank). 10 entrepreneurs (listed below) won their tickets to present their startups to Dutch investors on this final stage.

Mr. Klaas Knot, President of De Nederlandsche Bank, opened the pitching event with a welcome speech. The investor panel was represented by Tatiana Chopova (Managing Director of AlpInvest Partners), Paul van Aalst (Managing Director of SOVEC), Maarten van Dam (Managing Director of Pymwymic) and Anne Mieke van der Werf (Director Energy & Climate at Triodos Investment Management). They challenged the pitchers with sharp questions but also gave insightful feedback on their business.  Furthermore,  all BoostCamp participants got the chance to showcase their startup and have one-on-one dialogues with investors during the startup exhibition. The event was closed by Jeroen Roodenburg, Ambassador Private Sector & International Cooperation at Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Jeroen also awarded certificates to all participants and congratulated them for their achievement.

Ye! will support boosting these entrepreneurs (and many more!) in their future journey through coaching, local workshops and links to funding opportunities. If you are interested in partnering with us, don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Here are the 10 entrepreneurs that pitched at the final event at DNB:

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