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Key people at Fast Forward.
Fast Forward is a San Francisco, California-based nonprofit organization that operates an accelerator program dedicated to scaling technology-focused nonprofits addressing global social challenges. Operating as a 501(c)(3) entity, the organization provides a three-month program offering seed funding, mentorship from over 100 professionals, and community support to nonprofit startup builders. To date, the accelerator has supported more than 100 organizations whose collective portfolio has impacted approximately 415 million lives globally. With fewer than 25 employees and annual revenue under $5 million, the organization has helped its cohorts secure $1.4 billion in follow-on capital. Beyond its core accelerator, the group manages a tech nonprofit directory, a volunteer board, and an AI for Humanity initiative, while receiving grant funding from various external philanthropic sources. Fast Forward was founded in 2014 by Kevin Barenblat, Shannon Farley, and Mike Hymas.
Fast Forward is an early-stage venture studio and fund focused on empowering African tech entrepreneurs to build transformational companies. Its mission is to unlock Africa's technology potential by backing audacious founders who leverage tech for economic prosperity and social impact, targeting ventures that impact 10 million+ lives and generate over $10M in revenue within 3-5 years[1][2][3]. The investment philosophy emphasizes hands-on partnership beyond capital, including co-founder recruitment, engineering, product strategy, growth execution, and operations, often taking up to 20% equity for $100K initial investment[2]. Key sectors span fintech, e-commerce, education, and health, with portfolio impacts including 250,000 students educated, 1,500+ jobs created, financial access for 2M unbanked Africans, and $500M+ in transactions[1]. In the startup ecosystem, it accelerates African innovation through its studio model—building 10 ideas yearly with a 3-5 success rate—and a syndicated fund investing $20K-$50K pre-seed in external deals like Bumpa, Casava, Convoy, Odiggo, and Reliance Health, boasting a 64x MOIC overall[2].
Fast Forward's leadership has partnered with African entrepreneurs since 2009 to build transformative companies, evolving into a formal early-stage venture studio and fund[1]. Key partners include founders and operators with global experience: building Jobberman (Africa's leading job site), exits like Clearbit and Reliance Health, a 16x MOIC, and products for Meta, Indeed, and Jumia (Africa's first unicorn IPO)[1]. The studio model emerged to address gaps in traditional funding, starting with impact-focused ideas scalable to $10M ARR and 10M+ users, then pairing them with experienced operators as CEOs while providing comprehensive support as a "co-founder"[2]. Early traction includes portfolio successes in education, jobs, fintech, and e-commerce, with the fund incorporating prior partner deals[1][2].
Fast Forward rides the wave of Africa's tech boom, where demographic growth, rising smartphone penetration, and underbanked populations create massive opportunities in fintech, e-commerce, edtech, and healthtech[1][2]. Timing is ideal amid Africa's projected $180B+ digital economy by 2025, with ventures like Jumia proving unicorn potential despite infrastructure challenges[1]. Market forces favoring it include increasing LP interest in emerging markets, demand for impact-driven returns, and the studio's de-risked approach yielding higher liquidity than seed funds[2]. It influences the ecosystem by scaling "tech for good" models, creating jobs, financial inclusion, and education access, while mentoring operators to build globally competitive companies from Lagos to worldwide[1][3].
Fast Forward is poised to expand its studio cohort and fund deployments, targeting more $10M+ ARR ventures amid Africa's accelerating VC inflows and AI/tech adoption. Trends like mobile money proliferation, climate tech, and cross-border e-commerce will shape its trajectory, amplifying impact to tens of millions. Its influence may evolve toward larger follow-on rounds and global exits, solidifying as a cornerstone for African innovation—empowering entrepreneurs to not just build companies, but transform the continent's tech destiny[1][2].
Key people at Fast Forward.
