Francis Sani

Technical Adviser (Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Capital)

2023 - Current

Portfolio: Technical Adviser on Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Capital for the Honourable Minister National Coordinator, 3MTT (3 Million Technical Talent) Programme, the largest technical talent accelerator in the world.

Principal, Global Operations

2021

Investor

2021 - 2021

MAGIC Fund is a $30M early-stage venture capital fund built by founders for founders. We back founders solving daunting challenges across the globe at their earliest stages (pre-seed/seed). We've backed 200+ tech startups around the world: Bank Novo, Payfazz, Frubana, Retool, CafeX, Py, KiwiBot, Muxy, Chronus Health, Mono, Oxygen, and many more.

Member

2021

Strategy Manager (CEO's Office)

2021 - 2023

Africa’s #1 healthtech provider. Committed to accelerating the continent’s transition to a data and technology-driven healthcare system. Backed by $12M+ from Tencent, Draper Associates, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, World Bank GEMS, etc.

Startups Team Lead (Interim)

2020 - 2021

In this role, I was responsible for managing the startup support team across the continent.

Accelerator Programmes Manager, NG_HUB from Facebook.

2018 - 2021

I managed acceleration programs at NG_HUB, a partnership between Facebook and CcHUB. In this role, I managed the Facebook Accelerator Nigeria, the first deep-tech focused accelerator in sub-saharan Africa. The 6-month research and mentorship-driven program was designed for innovators building solutions that leverage advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Internet of Things, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. I managed the tailored support we provide to the startups accepted into the accelerator. I worked with our partners and experts to help the teams transform their cutting-edge ideas/prototypes into solutions that solve real problems today and create sustainable business structures. Across two cohorts, we supported 26 teams (startups & students) : cchubnigeria.com/fbstart

Accelerator Programmes Manager, CcHUB

2017 - 2021

I managed Acceleration programs at CcHUB. In this role, I led the design and implementation of our acceleration programs. This involves working with early-stage and growth-stage startups to refine their products, business models and position them from growth. Some of the Accelerator programs I managed include; Africa4Future Accelerator: We are implementation partners for the third cohort of the #A4F accelerator; Africa's first aerospace accelerator by Airbus BizLab and GIZ. I led the design and implementation of this accelerator which supported 10 entrepreneurs from 7 African countries with 50% of them proceeding to the PoC phase with Airbus and GIZ. EFInA Fintech Accelerator: I led the design and implementation of this FinTech focused accelerator for 3 startups in partnership with EFInA. Make-IT Accelerator: I managed the support and growth of 13 startups from different African countries in the Make-IT Accelerator; https://cchubnigeria.com/make-it/. The accelerator was a part of the Make-IT in Africa initiative by GIZ (German Development Corporation) and was executed in partnership with Endeva. Next Economy Accelerator: I managed the end to end process of selecting and supporting 10 startups in the Next Economy Accelerator, executed in partnership with Enviu and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I also worked on a range of internal & external projects/initiatives executed by the Startup Support Unit and other practices at CcHUB.

Incubation Analyst

2017 - 2017

Engaged in the growth and development of startups in the Incubation and Pre-Incubation Units of the premier social innovation center in Nigeria. As Incubation Analyst, I was responsible for managing the startups in our pre-incubation program and providing advisory to startups in our Incubation program.

MASHAV Fellow

2019 - 2019

I was selected as one of three Nigerian ESO experts to receive training at MCTC across a two week period. The training focused on exposing ESO managers in Africa to the renowned Israeli technology ecosystem and facilitate knowledge transfer.

COO/Co-Founder

2016 - 2017

STUN Africa is focused on Enterprise Growth and Investment Engineering for startups and Enterprises. Our flagship initiative was an investor-startup meetup event focused on connecting startups with angels in their local communities while exposing the investors to business opportunities they could explore. I was responsible for identifying strategic partners and investors.

YALI West Africa Alumni

2016 - 2016

In October 2016, I became a YALI RLC fellow. Alongside 150 young leaders from 8 West African countries, I was selected for the first YALI West Africa Emerging Leaders Program Cohort. We experienced a breathtaking 5 weeks training on Leadership, Ethics and Entrepreneurship and I gained a lot of friends that have been critical to my journey and shaping my outlook on life & the search for purpose.

Senior Consultant

2015 - 2016

After running 4 businesses as a student, I decided to shift my focus to helping entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses. 3 months before I graduated from the university, I got a job as a junior consultant at Raylinks Group, a boutique management consulting firm. Together with my team, we supported entrepreneurs [SMBs] building ventures in the retail, fashion, entertainment and services industries. This provided me with hands-on experience on business development, business process engineering, organizational development and performance optimization.