Dell has appointed Uganda’s Ashish J. Thakkar into the Entrepreneur-in-Residence Global Advisory Board after expanding its Center for Entrepreneurs globally starting in UK in celebration of the Global Entrepreneurship Week.Thakkar founded Mara Group the pan-African multi-sector investment group at 15 years and this year won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award at the World Entrepreneurship Forum. With his experience, Thakar and the Mara Group Mentors have been helping build startups in Africa. His presence on the Global Advisory Board will help shape young business leaders globally.
“Entrepreneurs are the innovators and job creators of tomorrow, so we should do all we can to support and nurture their growth, particularly in developing nations like Africa,” said Thakar.
The Entreprenuer-in-Residence Global Advisory Board will work alongside the Dell Founding Entrepreneur-in-Residence Advisory Board to serve as a collective voice for entrepreneurs worldwide and lend strategic insight to Dell’s entrepreneurial initiatives.
Through the Center for Entrepreneurs, Dell is opening up its resources to start-ups in unprecedented ways to help fuel innovation and global growth, including giving select founders direct access to business feedback from Michael Dell via the Tech Innovation day: Pitch Slam taking place during Dell World 2013. Dell is kicking off an online contest today to locate the final technology startup to participate in the event.
The Dell Center for Entrepreneurs launched last year and includes the Dell Founders Club, a network for recently funded companies with immediate technology needs to scale quickly, with over 150 members and the Dell Innovators Credit Fund, a $115M debt capital financing program through Dell Financial Services for U.S. and U.K.-based venture and angel-backed startups that provides financial and technology resources to bolster speed-to-market and create jobs.
Thakar will be joined by Ido Leffler, co-founder of Yes To Inc., the No. 2 natural beauty brand in the U.S; Marcelo Sales, founding partner of 21212, a digital business accelerator headquartered in Rio de Janeiro and New York City; Catherine Graham, president and co-owner of RIGHTSLEEVE, and co-founder and CEO of commonsku, and Elizabeth Gore, resident entrepreneur at the United Nations Foundation.
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