Our story
DiaGlocal Collective began as a bridge between diaspora and home-based investors and founders of African descent. Working with both sides made one thing clear: the gap wasn't only capital. Too many promising founders reached investors before their startup was ready to be examined.
So we built the Investment Readiness Programme around the POEM Framework®, the evaluation model experienced angels use to judge whether a startup is investment-worthy, and turned it into a structured, verified path founders can actually follow. Our first cohort completed in September 2026. Three cohorts a year now run from our base in London with founders of African descent across Africa and the diaspora.
So founders can produce auditable metrics and documentation, and be ready for accelerators, angel networks, syndicates and investment.
How we think
Only auditable metrics, structured documentation and validated data count. A good story is the start, not the proof.
Founders move through a defined 12-week sprint that builds accountability, metrics and the documentary proof diligence requires.
DGC does not guarantee funding. Our job is to make sure founders meet readiness standards, not to promise capital.
A consistent readiness signal that partners across the ecosystem can read the same way.
People
Founders work with DGC's resident advisors through weekly live sessions and bookable one-to-one advisory, matched by sector, stage and need.
Chief Executive, DGC · creator of the POEM Framework®
Four decades in technology and entrepreneurship. President Emeritus of the African Business Angel Network, co-founder of the Lagos Angel Network, Collaborator-in-Chief at TVC Labs and author of Investment Worthy Startup. Leads the DGC curriculum.
Partnerships, platform & verification, DGC
Leads DGC's partner relationships and the platform behind the programme, including the verification infrastructure and Business Readiness Scorecard that turn founder progress into a standardised readiness signal.
Founder & CEO, Sheafam & Tam
International executive in organisational development and capacity building across public, private and development sectors. Former President of Social Venture Partners Delaware; Salzburg Fellow and one of the Top 100 Women CEOs in Africa (2019).
Founder & CEO, Intentfin Ventures
Chartered Accountant with over a decade in corporate finance, M&A and sustainable finance at JP Morgan Chase, EY and Bankers without Boundaries. Builds investor-ready finance functions for startups and scaling companies.
CEO, BuySimply
Leadership experience across consulting, energy, government and not-for-profit, in engineering, supply chain, strategic planning and risk. Engineering valedictorian at OAU and INSEAD MBA.
International management consultant
Over 20 years in ESG investment, portfolio management, frontier-market trade and investment facilitation, advising governments, DFIs and private firms across six African countries. MBA, George Washington University.
People systems for founders
Works with early and growth-stage founders to move from "everything runs through me" to clear structures, capable leaders and teams that can execute.
Entrepreneur · telecoms, IT services & BPO
Repeated success developing companies in telecoms, IT-enabled services and BPO, with a focus on emerging technologies capable of tangible socioeconomic impact.
Director, Innovation & Strategic Projects, PBR Lifesciences
Over ten years with startups. Runs the full innovation lifecycle for health-tech products, from scouting and rapid prototyping to scaled implementation, and mentors at TVC Labs, Futurize Academy and Village Capital.
Founder, Catalyst Experience Solutions
Helps organisations build leadership as infrastructure: repeatable ways of thinking, prioritising and executing. Salzburg Global Fellow and MIPAD Global Top 100 (2023).
Programme operations
The programme is run week to week by a dedicated operations lead: onboarding, accountability sessions, Data Room reviews, masterclasses and Demo Day.
Contact
Founders, investors, partners, advisors and press. If you're applying to a cohort, use the application form. For partnerships and everything else, use the form and the team will come back to you.
