REC@NNECT Advisory Group Announcement

I. Introduction and scope

CRDF Global, with funding from the US Department of State’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, is selecting five to seven entrepreneurial organizations to join the REC@NNECT Entrepreneurship Education Advisory Group (hereafter “AG”). The AG members, in close collaboration with CRDF Global, will facilitate REC@NNECT’s goal of providing entrepreneurs with startup skills and tools that will help them succeed. As part of this initiative, CRDF Global will be developing an entrepreneurship curriculum entitled REC@NNECT the Foundations for Startups to be held from February 15-April 15, 2016.

About REC@NNECTREC@NNECT identifies the next generation of technology entrepreneurs in South and Central Asia and supports them through entrepreneurship capacity building activities that provide: skills development; networking; and international exposure and seed funding. The program achieves this through competitions, start-up acceleration services, online social media platforms, and interactive mentorship programs.

II. Apply to be on the Advisory Group http://tiny.cc/agapplication

III. Benefits of Participating in the Advisory Group

Networking with peer professionals from around South Asia. Access to online curriculum and materials that you can use for your membership starting

February 2015. A platform to share your voice about entrepreneurship development in your country in South

Asia.

IV. Advisory Group Goals

Bring together the leaders in entrepreneurial community organizing from South Asia in order to articulate common and unique obstacles to entrepreneurial success that South Asian entrepreneurs face.

The Advisory Group will provide a perspective to with the world. The AG members will share what their groups are doing to promote entrepreneurial excellence in their communities, identify the areas where they see their entrepreneurs could improve, and discuss the types of education, networking and resources that could support further entrepreneurial development.

The Advisory Group will then advise on the types of lessons that should be created, and subsequently engage their entrepreneurs in online learning.

The resulting REC@NNECT Foundations for Startups Curriculum will provide content for AG members to host live, on-site entrepreneurial educational meetings with their communities.

V. REC@NNECT AG Member Tasks and Goals

1. During late January-early February, AG members will be given access to a draft version of the online curriculum for REC@NNECT the Foundations for Startups. They will review the content and provide comments via an online survey.

2. Attend and participate in three monthly AG conference calls during February, March, and April 2016. During the calls, the AG members will:

a. share the obstacles to entrepreneurial success that they see their entrepreneurs experiencing

b. share what their groups are doing to promote entrepreneurial excellence in their communities

c. identify the areas where they see their entrepreneurs could improved. discuss the types of education, networking and resources that could support further

entrepreneurial development

3. Ensure outreach for the course REC@NNECT the Foundations for Startups. a. AG members will nominate and guarantee 10-30 entrepreneurs from within their

network who will attend and participate in the course.b. Should host one or more live meeting to complement the course material including

i. Hosting a meeting / viewing site during one of the live webinarsii. Exploring one or more of the online module’s materials as a group during a

meeting where entrepreneurs can discuss the topics with each other.

4. Provide technology entrepreneurship development assistance to aspiring technology entrepreneurs, scientists, and engineers. This goal will be met by participating in REC@NNECT’s online curriculum development that includes online training, webinars, expert and local feedback and networking opportunities.

5. Promote the REC@NNECT Hackathon to their entire memberships as well as nominating and ensuring that their top entrepreneurs apply for the REC@NNECT Hackathon, which will be held in India this April/May 2016 (final date TBC). One venture from each country (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) will be selected to receive a travel scholarship to this workshop.

VI. Advisory Group Eligibility

This Program Announcement for AG members seeks applications from entrepreneurial non-profit or otherwise community-based entrepreneurship-building institutions based in either Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal or Sri Lanka that have the capacity to support the development of technology entrepreneurship and innovation. Preference is given to organizations that:

- Have experience in providing entrepreneurship development and technology commercialization support and are in the position to develop a community of entrepreneurs

- Have a successful project management track record and a skilled implementation team - Have the ability to correspond and conduct business in English and the local language

VII. Selection Criteria

All potential AG Members will be evaluated using the following criteria:

Performance excellence: Capability of the AG Member to manage and coordinate REC@NNECT activities (identified in section V below)

Partnership potential: Ability to develop strategic Partnerships to carry out the goals of the program, and the ability to develop a community of technology entrepreneurs

Experience: Level of experience in entrepreneurship and Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) development, capability to provide basic training, and ability to organize events

Understanding of market needs: Ability to assess the market needs in the region

VIII. Outreach StrategyA large part of becoming an AG member involves recruitment of great entrepreneurs. In order to ensure the AG Member does adequate outreach, CRDF Global has developed the metrics of outreach below. CRDF Global will provide the REC@NNECT and CRDF Global’s logos for use in the outreach materials.

Medium AG Member Activity Target deliverables

Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube)

Official announcement of the Partnership with CRDF Global for the REC@NNECT program

1 posting per social media channel

REC@NNECT Program updates

Events5 Hackathon announcements 2 online announcements per webinar/educational resource

AG member Website

Branding: US flag, REC@NNECT, Department of State and CRDF Global logo

Place logos in the most appropriate page on AG Member webpage which will link to the REC@NNECT webpage for the duration of the Partner. (Such as on the “about us” page, or a page or area where you list your partners.)

Announce REC@NNECT activities in relevant section of AG Member website

Events1 Hackathon application announcement 1 Online announcement per webinar/educational resource (regardless of region/country)

Contact Base/Newsletters

Partnership Acknowledgement 1 Acknowledgment in e-newsletter

IX. ApplicationsInterested parties are encouraged to apply to CRDF Global. Applications may be submitted via the online application form. Applications will be reviewed against the Selection Criteria specified in Section III; the party should highlight its qualifications in those areas.

Annex 1: Profiles of REC@NNECT Target Audiences

Entrepreneurs: Technology entrepreneurs representing various sectors-- IT, health, agriculture and energy. The REC@NNECT the Foundations for Startups course will be open to all interested people. The course will be of interest to likely one of two types of entrepreneurs:

Idea Stage: - You are eager to start or join a new venture and have excellent business or technical skills - You are curious, enthusiastic and have relentless entrepreneurial spirit

Early Stage Entrepreneurs: - Your venture is for-profit or financially sustainable- Your product or service is in testing or pilot stage and may already generate some revenue- You have been in business less than three years - At least one team member is currently working full time with the venture- You may have already received at least one round of financing from friends, family or

other sources- You have demonstrated that customers will buy from you

See profiles of entrepreneurs that REC@NNECT has supported in the past here http://www.reconnectsca.org/entrepreneurs.html