We’ve been in business since 2015…
but 2020 made us
We like to think every year should be better than the previous one but 2020 was a hard one, wasn’t it?
We’ve been in business since 2015…
Our 2020 goals were pretty ambitious:
Good thing we had amazing partners by our side:
The impact of our programs built to Offer entrepreneurship support to everyone Disrupt industries through innovation Close the gender-gap Create strong and resilient jobs
The impact of our programs built to offer entrepreneurship support to everyone everywhere
0
New jobs created on average by the incubated ventures
0%
Entrepreneurs in business after 2 years
0%
Ventures create new jobs
0
Entrepreneurs
0
Supported ventures
0
Countries
0
Entrepreneurship programs
0
Volunteer Mentors
0%
of female founders
The ugly truth
Innovators are all over the world… Opportunities are not
45% of founders in the Bridge for Billion’s community couldn’t find the right support before joining one of our programs to launch their impactful solutions.
Founders in 80+ countries are on the look-out for support
Urban (Major Metropolitan City) 84.57%
Urban (Other, smaller city size) 12.15%
Suburban 1.64%
Rural 1.64%
Still, less than 15% of our founders are based outside of urban areas
73% of the founders are working and launching a startup at the same time!
Employed (full time) 73.00%
Employed (part time) 2.70%
Self Employed 7.91%
Student 14.08%
Unemployed 2.31%
A movement in the midst of a pandemic
Together for Innovation
During the first out-break of covid in March, we saw most entrepreneurship support programs were being paused or postponed so we launched Together for Innovation, an initiative to offer any offline incubation program the opportunity to digitalise their solution. That way no entrepreneurs would be forced to stop their training and the development of their businesses in a year where the global economy needed them the most.
20
Innovation Programs digitized in 1 month
13
Countries across all 5 continents
270
Purpose-driven ventures supported
As the unemployment rate rises to 11,2% across Latinamerica our team rises 43% in the region
We consider entrepreneurship and innovation as an instrumental vehicle to address the consequences brought by the COVID19 pandemic outbreak. So does the Argidius Foundation and PES LATAM. Together, we want to accelerate the development of enterprises in all Latin America and the Caribbean.
Argidius Foundation
They are supporting our scale by incubating 1,900 entrepreneurs in Latin America with the ultimate goal of generating 2,140 new jobs in the region in 3 years.
PES Latam
Together with the PES Latam Alliance, we’re promoting integrated programs to support social entrepreneurs in the region with mentoring, training, funds and life support within the network. This was made possible by funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
As part of the PES Latam Alliance, we launched the Bridge for Billions Fellowship, where 11 selected social enterprises from Latinamerica will be able to access 50,000 USD of seed capital and have a support community for life.
Innovation comes in all shapes and sizes
In the last 5 years we have worked with 45+ organizations all around the world to fuel all sorts of innovation by creating over 166 entrepreneurship programs
Check out what some of our partners: corporations, foundations, governments and entrepreneurship support organizations did in 2020 as a solution to the most pressing issues our society and economy face today.
Corporates leading the way
Tackling youth unemployment with one of the largest students’ entrepreneurship programs in the Spanish Speaking world
Explorer Lab
216 University Entrepreneurs
4 countries ( Spain, Portugal, Argentina & Chile) & 18 University Partners
Program type: Social Innovation
4 countries ( Spain, Portugal, Argentina & Chile) & 18 University Partners
Program type: Social Innovation
Transforming Facility Management Industry through open innovation to solve pressing challenges of a changing world, while affecting its impact in their sector
Buildings4People
8 Startups
Europe
Program type: Open Innovation
Europe
Program type: Open Innovation
Economic Development agencies boosting growth where it’s most needed
Generating local economic opportunities through entrepreneurship training and youth development in 6 African countries
IDEA App
400 Teams over 2 years
6 countries in Africa
6 countries in Africa
Building the capacity of local incubators and accelerators in Bangladesh to run high quality business support programs and improve the quality of support offered to impact enterprises locally
10 Local Incubators
200 startup teams in 3 years
Bangladesh
200 startup teams in 3 years
Bangladesh
Foundations and Entrepreneurship Support Organizations providing proper support
A COVID 19 economic recovery initiative to support startups across Nigeria that are creating solutions to rebuild sectors most affected by the COVID19 outbreak and create new jobs
50 Startups
Nigeria
Nigeria
Supporting innovation for both entrepreneurs with disabilities and entrepreneurs with solutions for people living with disabilities
Global Entrepreneurship Challenge
17 Entrepreneurs
Spain
Spain
Universities challenging the status quo
Re-engaging & creating opportunities for the University Alumni community to start their own businesses through a virtual university incubation program
10 Projects of Alumni Students
Spain
Spain
Supporting young entrepreneurs through undergraduate programs in Entrepreneurial Leadership and Innovation as well as developing FoodTech Startups in the Basque Culinary Center (BCC)
Global Entrepreneurship Challenge
162 Entrepreneurs Supported
4 Programs
4 Programs
Is she or is she not?
We support 40% more female entrepreneurs than the average business incubator as we make gender balance a priority in our day to day. Our flexible program structure allows founders to work at their pace and combine their training with their day to day responsibilities, an important value for female entrepreneurs. Sadly, that’s not the rule of thumb for the entrepreneurship support ecosystem.
0
Women founders
0%
of our supported founders
0
of those women are working in teams entirely led by women
0%
of our solo-founders are women solo-founders
0%
of female mentors
Some of our partner programs have been solely focused on bridging the gender-gap
Working with Coca-Cola for the past 3 years on their mission to train and mentor women founders that are developing businesses in the food & beverage or Tourism sectors in rural areas in Spain
Gira Mujeres
No. of entrepreneurs: 30
Location: Spain
Type of program: CSR
Location: Spain
Type of program: CSR
Building a stronger community for women social entrepreneurs locally allowing them to find the right support to reinvent their businesses during times of crisis
Women Together for a Better Normal
No. of entrepreneurs: 40
Location: Philippines
Type: Social Innovation
Location: Philippines
Type: Social Innovation
Training & equipping female founders in Senegal to grow their ventures in order to access corporate and investor partnerships
Kinaya Labs
No. of entrepreneurs: 20
Location: Senegal
Type of program: Social Innovation
Location: Senegal
Type of program: Social Innovation
Support and scale technological solutions to tackle the digital gender gap and increase the sustainability of women’s livelihood in vulnerable communities
Global Tech Challenge by World Bank
Location: Global
Type of program: Economic Development
Type of program: Economic Development
Newsflash! The seed investment gap is widening
Investment has increased for companies in later stages of their maturation and decreased for those in the seed or pre-seed phase. Those for whom financiation is critical for survival are not on the run. This behaviour is widening the gap and preventing startups from reaching the market before they’re able to set their operations.
80%
of our founders who have been able to access funds are based in Europe
$95k
Average ticket size
Bridge for Billions Investors Network
In 2020 we launched a network to support early-stage founders in investment readiness and networking opportunities so that more entrepreneurs are able to access the necessary funds to start their businesses.
Our impact is our community’s impact
55% of our enterprises are working towards at least one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
Distribution of our entrepreneurs per SDGs
0%
Decent Work & Economic Growth
0%
Responsible Consumption & Production
0%
Good Health & Well-Being
0%
Quality Education
Check-out what the community is up-to
Neutral Flight
The first winner of Bridge for Billions’ Fellowship they’ve won 50 000 USD in funding to neutralize air travel carbon footprint while benefiting rural communities across latin america.
Izabela Serowik
While mentoring Community Solutions Aid, Izabela and her mentee Peter developed an inspiring relationship. Today as a member of the Advisory Board, she helped them set a fundraising strategy that has allowed them to secure donations this year.
Blooders
Blooders already saved 6000 lives in Mexico. In 2020 they’ve partnered with giant Uber to offer free rides for those donating blood during the COVID19 pandemic.
Yonah Welker
While mentoring Community Solutions Aid, Izabela and her mentee Peter developed an inspiring relationship. Today as a member of the Advisory Board, she helped them set a fundraising strategy that has allowed them to secure donations this year.
Developers in Vogue
After 3 years training African women in the latest technologies, they have now opened their first in-person training center in Accra.
Hearts Radiant
They promise to increase seniors' healthy lifespan. Within their first year of existence they’ve secured 450k Eur in funding and approved their clinical trial.
Litro de Luz Brasil
Providing electricity and food to vulnerable communities, since 2018 they increased their annual revenue by 40% and moved from 10k to 16k impacted people.
Mayte Varela
Mayte is a world-class business mentor who has mentored over 22 project teams with Bridge for Billions over the past 2 years.
Our moonshots for 2021
Now that we’ve gone over 2020, let us tell you what’s in store for 2021 as we have great aspirations for our role in mobilizing innovation support worldwide
In the meantime
UN Environment Program
SOFIA
IN-HABIT
Transforming industries through innovation
AI, Genomics for Medtech Innovation by Elaj Group
Middle East and North Africa
Construction Tech Innovation with CAC-ASPROCON
Location: Spain
Maritime & Shipyards Innovation with PYMAR
Location: Spain
Coming up in Latinamerica...
Reactivamos Centroamérica
Will bring together leading players in the Central American ecosystem in a joint incubation & capacity building program to diversify the entrepreneurship ecosystem and support 120+ teams across 6 countries.
Universidad Panamericana
Mexico’s Xponential program will be training students to become agents of change and create new solutions for social change.
You didn’t hear it from us
Esther Oulo, Young Entrepreneur from Kenya: “I inspire girls to be their own bosses”
Bridge for Billions arrives in Central America with the mission of building bridges to innovators
This is what they did: 10 female entrepreneurs share the keys (and mistakes) to their success
Eight top European accelerators for female founders to know
This incubator supports seven times more entrepreneurs than the national average
The Visa Foundation Commits $4.8 Million To Women Owned Small Business Initiatives
Do you want to create your own entrepreneurship program?
Talk to us, landing pages don’t make for great listeners.