Our Story
We are bridging the gap between youth innovation and global capital to build a more equitable future.
According to American physician and researcher, Dean Ornish, “no one has a monopoly on truth, and science continues to advance. Yesterday’s heresies may be tomorrow’s conventional wisdom.” Likewise, there is no monopoly on genius or innovation. Intellect and creativity are not the sole preserve of any one group of people, whether defined by race, gender, socio-economic status, educational level, or age. Brilliance can be found in the most diverse locations and forms, waiting only for an opportunity to flourish.
This belief was first kindled in the classrooms of Lincoln University, a Historically Black University in Pennsylvania, where I began my career as an Assistant Professor. Since then, my path has led me through the distinct worlds of public service, private enterprise, academia, global advocacy and community development. Each step has reinforced that core lesson: brilliance is everywhere, and the most critical work we can do is to build bridges between raw talent and the resources it needs to thrive.
History often reminds us of this truth. Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg were just 19 when they launched ventures that would redefine our world. Steve Jobs was 21. Today, a new wave of innovation, driven by artificial intelligence, is seeing founder ages drop even further, with the average for billion-dollar AI startups now just 29. Research affirms that while one kind of genius comes from decades of experience, another—the conceptual, paradigm-shifting kind, often peaks in our twenties.
By 2050, one in every four people on Earth will be African with Nigeria leading this growth; followed closely by India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia in Asia; Iraq and Yemen in the Middle East; and Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras in Latin America. These countries, and several others, are home to the globe’s youngest population, a demographic wave of talent, ambition, and ingenuity. They are not just the future; they are a present-day force, ready to build, create, and solve some of the world’s most pressing problems.
Yet, we are systematically failing them. For all this undeniable potential, the path for a young innovator in these economies is fraught with peril. A staggering 70-80% of startups fail, not for lack of talent, but for lack of early-stage support.
This is the challenge the Enterprise Succession Project (ESP) was created to solve. We see these early-stage founders as the primary engine for long-term, inclusive economic growth, and we use a blended finance model to de-risk their journey, using grants to absorb initial shocks so that commercial equity can come in to fuel genuine, youth-driven agency.
Our goal is to move the sector from simply writing checks to truly transferring control, building platforms that allow a young founder, irrespective of where they are – Lagos, Managua or New Delhi – to exert influence on a global scale.
The future is already here, being coded in dorm rooms and built in co-working spaces across the global majority. We invite you to join us in backing the world’s most vital and vibrant source of innovation.
In partnership,