Application Deadline

Apply to join the 2024 Accelerating Black Leadership and Entrepreneurship cohort four! Deadline: Apply by Wednesday, June 21, at 11:59 PM PST. 

ADN Accelerating Black Leadership and Entrepreneurship (ABLE2024) Application Terms & Conditions 

By submitting the requested information (“Application”) as part of ABLE24 you, on behalf of yourself and/or your company (“Applicant”), agree to abide by these Application Terms (the “Terms”), the terms and conditions of our vendor, SurveyMonkey, and the decisions of African Diaspora Network (“ADN”), ADN’s affiliates or partner on ABLE24, which shall be final and binding in all respects.

By submitting an Application, Applicant warrants that no information provided as part of the Application is, or can be deemed, confidential or proprietary, or considered a trade secret or privileged. The Applicant undertakes to indemnify ADN against any losses and/or claims that may arise from a breach of this clause.

Applicant acknowledges and agrees that a confidential relationship is not established or implied by ADN’s acceptance or consideration of an Application. All submissions are voluntary and submitted on a non-confidential basis only. Applicant acknowledges and agrees that ADN, ADN’s affiliates, or partner to ABLE24 shall have the right to consider all information disclosed in the Application as non-confidential and have the right to disclose all such information to its internal employees and consultants and, to any third party, at any time and for any purpose.

ABLE24 will be announced via email, press release and/or a social media post (collectively, the “ABLE24 Announcements”). An ABLE24 Announcement will include how to apply, the application deadline, and the program benefits for ABLE24. All information contained in an ABLE24 Announcement is incorporated herein by reference. To the extent that there is a conflict between an ABLE24 provision of the ABLE24 Announcement and these Terms, these Terms shall prevail with respect to such provision.

Applicants are responsible for complying with any company policies related to participating in programs of this nature, including, but not limited to, obtaining any necessary consents from their company to participate and to submit the information required for the Application.

WHO CAN APPLY? 

Black entrepreneurs and African Diaspora leading startups and small businesses based in the United States. The target audience is those who are early-stage and revenue-generating (seed to Series A) for-profit enterprises.

The third cohort of ABLE will be composed of 15-20 entrepreneurs. Applications are welcome from all industries, with a preference for those that are impact-oriented.

HOW TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION:  

Visit https://africandiaspora.smapply.io/, select the Accelerating Black Leadership and Entrepreneurship (ABLE) program, and follow the directions provided to complete and submit the Application. You represent that all information provided as part of the Application is truthful and accurate. All Applications become the property of ADN. All Applications must be received by the deadline stated.

By submitting an Application, Applicants represent and warrant that:        

• all information contained in the Application is original to the Applicant or the Applicant has secured all rights to submit the Application; 

• no information is or can be deemed confidential or proprietary, considered a trade secret or privileged;

• neither the Applicant’s Application nor ADN’s use of the Application (or information contained therein), in whole or in part, violates the rights of any third party;         

• all activities of an Applicant’s business initiative are lawful;         

• the Application does not contain offensive or libelous material, is truthful and not misleading; 

• the Applicant has considered and complied with all contractual and/or confidentiality commitments that may be applicable to the Application, including compliance with (local) privacy laws and regulations, business privacy policies, data use policies, policies governing disclosure of company information, agreements with third parties, and any other company policies or commitments that may be applicable; and   

• Applicant has submitted the Application in accordance with these Terms. 

• Applicant is not prohibited by local law in any manner from receiving the Award in full or in part.

If you participate in ABLE24 on behalf of your company or organization, you are authorized to undertake obligations mentioned herein on behalf of your company or organization.

Applicant understands and agrees to be responsible for applying for any necessary intellectual property protections in connection with any information provided as part of the Application, including, but not limited to, any patents, prior to submitting the Application. Applicant acknowledges and agrees that ADN is not responsible and will have no liability for any claims or actions associated with Applicant’s failure to do so. 

Each Applicant understands and acknowledges, to the extent permitted by law, that: 

1. ADN has wide access to ideas, designs, protocols, methodologies, and other materials (collectively, “Ideas”), and those new Ideas are constantly being submitted to it or being developed by their own employees; 

2. many Ideas may be competitive with, similar to, or identical to content in the Application and/or each other in concept, approach, format, or other respects; 

3. Applicant will not be entitled to any compensation as a result of ADN’s development or use of any such similar or identical material that has or may come to ADN, or any of them, from other sources.

Except where prohibited by law, each Applicant acknowledges and agrees that ADN does not now and shall not have in the future any duty or liability, direct or indirect, vicarious, contributory, or otherwise, with respect to the infringement or protection of the Applicant or any third party’s copyright, patent or other intellectual property right in and to the submission. Finally, to the extent permitted by law, each Applicant acknowledges that, with respect to any claim by Applicant relating to or arising out of any ADN’s actual or alleged exploitation or use of any Application or other material submitted in connection with the ABLE24, the damage, if any, thereby caused to the applicable Applicant will not be irreparable or otherwise sufficient to entitle such Applicant to seek any injunctive or other equitable relief or in any way enjoin, otherwise interfere with, delay, or interrupt the production, distribution, exhibition, or other exploitation of any production based on, or allegedly based on, the Application, and, to extent permitted by applicable law, Applicant’s rights and remedies in any such event shall be strictly limited to the right to recover reasonable and documented out-of-pocket costs associated with entering the ABLE24, if any, in an action at law.

ACCOUNT, PASSWORD, AND SECURITY: 

As part of the registration process required to submit an Application, you will create a password and account. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the password and account and are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your account. You agree to (a) immediately notify ADN of any unauthorized use of your password or account or any other breach of security, and (b) ensure that you exit from your account at the end of each session. ADN cannot and will not be liable for any loss, damage, or other liability arising from your failure to comply with this section or from any unauthorized access to or use of your account. In the event of any dispute between two or more parties as to account ownership, you agree that ADN shall be the sole arbiter of such dispute in its sole discretion and that ADN’s decision (which may include termination or suspension of any account subject to dispute) shall be final and binding on all parties.

PRIVACY: 

ADN is committed to protecting the privacy of Applicants. Please see ADN’s Privacy Policy and SurveyMonkey’s Privacy Notice for more information.

ADN and its ABLE2023 partners shall use and take care of any personal information you supply to it in accordance with their respective privacy policies and in accordance with data protection legislation. By submitting an application, limited personal information about your Application, such as your name and your basic business contact details as a representative from the applicant company can be requested for the evaluation of your Application and award handling only. By submitting an Application, the Applicant agrees to this transfer. The collection, retention, usage, and distribution of any personal information included in the Application in order to process and contact the Applicant for the purposes are outlined in the paragraphs below. 

Your personal information will not be shared with 3rd parties nor will it be used for any other purpose, unless you gave your explicit consent or did opt-in to receiving (marketing) communications from ADN, affiliates, or partners. 

Your personal information may be stored and processed in any country where we have facilities or service providers, and by providing consent to us (where required by law), your information may be transferred to countries outside of your country of residence, which may provide for different data protection rules than in your country. Appropriate contractual and other measures are in place to protect personal information when it is transferred to our affiliates or third parties in other countries

APPLICANT SCREENING AND SELECTION:

Initial Application Review: Applications submitted for the ABLE24 may be transmitted to/from the United States and will be reviewed by representatives of ADN, affiliates, or partners. Eligible Applications received during the ABLE24 Period will be reviewed for eligibility and eligible Applications will be judged based on the following criteria, weighed equally: project for which the Applicant proposes to use the award, strategic fit, and Applicant’s proposal for how the award will be utilized for the Applicant’s project. Finalists are invited to present their proposals during the interviews before representatives of ADN, affiliates, or partners. All details of the presentations will be provided to Selected Applicants at the time of notification, including, without limitation, date and time of presentation and any guidelines with respect to what must be presented and how.

No part of the presentation should contain information that is or could be deemed confidential or proprietary, considered a trade secret, or privileged. The “ABLE24 Award Recipients” will be determined by ADN, affiliates, or partners. Decisions of ADN are final and binding in all matters. ABLE24 Award Recipients will be announced on the date specified in the ABLE24 Announcement. Potential ABLE24 Award Recipients will be required to execute and return an Applicant Agreement and Release and other documentation within a time period specified by ADN. If such documents are not returned within the specified time period, a potential ABLE24 Award Recipient cannot be contacted within a reasonable time period or is not in compliance with these Terms, such potential ABLE24 Award Recipient will be disqualified and another Applicant may, in ADN’s sole discretion, be selected and the award awarded to another eligible Applicant in accordance with these Terms.  

EVALUATION PROCESS: 

To identify top ideas and candidates for the ABLE program, ADN will work with a variety of external experts from within the priority communities as well as experts with diverse backgrounds and experiences to ensure innovations come to life across all sectors mentioned in the application.

PUBLICITY GRANT: 

By submitting an Application, each ABLE24 Awardee agrees to the use by ADN and its designees of Applicant’s name, company name, trademarks and logos, city and province/state of residence, images and/or likenesses for advertising and publicity purposes, in any manner, in any and all media, now or hereafter known, worldwide in perpetuity, without compensation (unless prohibited by law) or additional consents and without prior notice, approval or inspection, and to execute specific consent to such use if asked to do so.

RELEASE OF LIABILITY:  

By submitting an Application, to the extent permitted by law, Applicants agree to release, discharge, hold harmless and indemnify ADN, its affiliates, subsidiaries, and advertising and promotion agencies, SurveyMonkey, partners of the ABLE24 and the respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees, agents and representatives of the foregoing (collectively, “Released Parties”) from any and all injuries, liability, losses and damages of any kind (including, without limitation, arising from claims based upon invasion of privacy, defamation, or right of publicity) to persons, including death, or property resulting, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from Applicant’s participation in the ABLE24 and/or the use of the award or any Released Party’s use of any information provided as part of the Application.

DUE DILIGENCE REVIEW: As an Applicant of this ABLE24, you may be asked to participate in a due diligence review. The purpose of the review is to ensure that you comply with all applicable anti-corruption policies and anti-corruption laws, which is a requirement for any Award Recipient. This process may require relevant personal information about your management, key staff, agents, and other individuals (collectively referred to as “Individuals”), which may include their names, job titles, criminal and judicial background, and connections to government officials, as permitted by applicable law. Where necessary or appropriate information you provide may be combined with other information provided by ADN, its affiliates, partners in the ABLE24, or designated due diligence providers. Your provision of personal information about Individuals is voluntary, but failure to provide requested information may make you ineligible as an Applicant. As part of its review and approval process, ADN and partners of this ABLE24, and/or its, or their affiliates, subsidiaries may make the information available to their authorized employees or partners. Personal information may also be made available to external due diligence providers. In addition, personal information may be disclosed to a governmental authority, only as required or permitted by applicable laws, regulations, or court orders or pursuant to a valid request. Accordingly, personal data may be transmitted or transferred to countries which may have different privacy or data protection regimes than in your country and outside the European Economic Area, which the European Union has determined currently lack appropriate privacy laws providing an adequate level of privacy protection. Parties will apply adequate privacy safeguards, such as intercompany arrangements or such other safeguards required by applicable law to protect such personal data. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS: 

To the extent permitted by law, Released Parties are not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, damaged, inaccurate, stolen, delayed, misdirected, undelivered or garbled Applications; or for lost, interrupted or unavailable network, server, Internet Service Provider (ISP), website, or other connections, availability or accessibility or miscommunications or failed computer, satellite, telephone or cable transmissions, lines, or technical failure or jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected transmissions or computer hardware or software malfunctions, failures or difficulties, or other errors or difficulties of any kind whether human, mechanical, electronic, computer, network, typographical, printing or otherwise relating to or in connection with the ABLE24 or the Application process, including, without limitation, errors or difficulties which may occur in connection with the administration of the Application process or in any Application and ABLE24-related materials. Released Parties are also not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by site users, tampering, hacking, or by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Application process or the ABLE24. Released Parties are not responsible for injury or damage to any person’s computer related to or resulting from participating in this Application process or downloading materials from or use of the website. Persons who tamper with or abuse any aspect of the Application process or website, who act in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or who are in violation of these Terms, as solely determined by ADN, will be disqualified. ADN reserves the right at its sole discretion to suspend, modify, or terminate the Application process at any time and for any reason.

DISCLAIMER: Should an ABLE24 Applicant receive any financial award as part of the program, the Applicant is responsible for any tax liability arising from the financial award.

CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE APPLICATION PROCESS MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, ADN RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES AND OTHER REMEDIES (INCLUDING ATTORNEYS’ FEES) FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION. Void where prohibited by law. ABLE24 is subject to all applicable federal, provincial, state, and local laws.