1. Vision
The place where you are born and the things you are exposed to (at an early age) are decisive for your access to personal development and adjacent economic opportunities. In this way, the world is a very unequal place and – if we do not act – these differences are bound to increase, which will result in increased human suffering. To our minds, pure philanthropy is not the answer as this is not self-sustainable and often proves ineffective in the long term.
Instead, we believe it is important to take chances on entrepreneurs. These tend to be bold, energetic, visionary people who can drive authentic economic development. Therefore, we are working towards an entrepreneurial culture that positively impacts lives and livelihoods in communities across Sub-Saharan Africa.

2. Mission
The Marula Tree (sclerocarya birrea) is a tree indigenous to Sub-Saharan Africa and – in this case – symbolises the growth of Sub-Saharan African born talent. While we think that it is essential for the further economic development of the continent that this talent pool receives improved access to capital, we also see that it is often overlooked by investors. Our mission is to bridge the pioneer gap to empower innovative and sustainable businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa. More specifically, we will do this by providing board advisory services, technical assistance, catalyst capital, and access to investors. For every EUR 1 donated to the Marula Foundation, it is targeting EUR 3 of financial investment in a pioneering entrepreneur.
We are targeting the following sectors essential to further economic development: (i)
education, (ii) healthcare, (iii) agriculture, (iv) environmental and/or (v) financial inclusion.
The countries we shall operate in are South-Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Rwanda, and Kenya. Specific entrepreneurs shall be selected through our networks in these respective countries.

3. Our ambition to bridge the so-called “pioneer gap”
Typically, entrepreneurs on the Sub-Saharan African continent face the following challenges:
• Access to capital: banks require security rights and tend to charge interest rates of
20-30%. The typical entrepreneur does not have access to private investors either.
• Currency risk: foreign exchange is arguably the most important part of the risk
equation for any business operating in the abovementioned countries.
• Reliable infrastructure: these challenges vary from access to (consistent) energy,
access to (consistent) internet, bad roads, inefficient harbours, and tedious
bureaucracy.
• Access to talent: though education outcomes are steadily improving across the
continent, entrepreneurs still struggle to find adequate talent needed to grow their
businesses.
• Corruption: entrepreneurs in Africa need strong business integrity standards and
networks to navigate the pressures of a business environment that may invite
corruption.
• Political risk: given the complexity of capacity challenges across governments and
high poverty in many countries in Africa, investors and entrepreneurs alike are
vulnerable to political instability fuelled by societal inequalities.

Investors face the following barriers when considering investing in these entrepreneurs:
• Currency risk: even if the entrepreneur performs very well, all returns on investment
may be lost due to currency inflation. Percentages may vary between 10-30%.
• Repayment risk: as the entrepreneurs operate in challenging environments, there is
an increased risk of failure. Also, there is limited options to agree on security rights.
• Transaction costs: these costs include due diligence costs, lawyers' fees, local
registration fees, and banking fees.
• Political risk: like for the entrepreneurs, political risk is a major concern for investors.

To facilitate transactions and to ensure that pioneering entrepreneurs in the mentioned crucial sectors can be financed, we will offer the following four types of assistance:
• Board advisors to optimise the business model and fundraising strategy.
• Technical assistance consisting of legal and/or consultancy services.
• Catalyst capital to improve the investment proposition of the venture.
• Access to our network of investors.
Given our respective professional backgrounds, international experiences, and networks, we believe that we are in a good position to build bridges between entrepreneurs and investors.

4. Fundraising
Our fundraising strategy targets private individuals, corporate philanthropists, nongovernmental organisations, and governments. In our fundraising efforts we expect to benefit from the network of the SBS Oxford business school, where we have all met. Our board member Axel Addy lives in Washington and is well connected to governments, as well as non-governmental organisations. Our board member Elvira de Jong is well connected to several Dutch family offices and foundations that may be interested in grant-making. Finally, we will use social media platforms and our website to raise awareness and funds.

5. Partners
We have built and will continue to build partnerships with the following types of
stakeholders, and we will leverage these partnerships to deploy the funds in a responsible and productive manner:
• Incubators and accelerator programs: there are between 600-700 incubators and
accelerators on the continent that are training entrepreneurs to launch innovative
ventures. We will use these partnerships to get in touch with talented entrepreneurs.
• (Angel) investment networks: we are partnering with (angel) investment networks
that are investing in early-stage ventures in the abovementioned sectors to
understand their needs and collaborate with them in the deal-making process.
• Advisory Committee: we have an advisory committee consisting of Executive MBA
candidates and graduates from SBS Oxford who have indicated their willingness to
voluntarily support early-stage ventures in Sub-Saharan Africa to help them succeed.