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BUILDING A NEW GENERATION OF VENTURES

Building a new generation of ventures and leaders

Oxford Foundry

The Oxford Foundry gives all students and alumni at the University of Oxford, and wider communities, the entrepreneurial and technology skills they need to succeed in their chosen career, and to build and lead purposeful, sustainable ventures that benefit people and the planet.

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FMDQ

Oxford Foundry and FMDQ Global Partnership

The Oxford Foundry and FMDQ Private Markets Limited, Africa’s first vertically integrated financial market infrastructure group, have launched a global partnership to accelerate the growth of Nigeria’s start-up ecosystem and nurture a future generation of young Nigerian leaders in entrepreneurship, through knowledge exchange and collaboration.

Applications are open for the Innovate Nigeria programme and Young Entrepreneurs Leadership Programme. Deadline 31 January 2022. 

Cohort 4

OXFO Elevate Accelerator All Ventures Portfolio

Following the six month intensive accelerator programme, the 32 startups in cohorts 1-3 have raised £52.4m+, are valued at over £157m, are operating globally and have created over 250 jobs to help rebuild our economy, with cohort 4 due to complete the programme in early November. Meet these inspirational leaders who are driven by purpose, making the world a better and more inclusive place and using tech for good, preventing societal inequalities from widening and building back better. Explore our venture portfolio to meet the teams, see their traction and what OXFO Elevate has meant to them!

Fellows social

Impact of the Oxford Foundry's Entrepreneurial Fellowships

29 University of Oxford students from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic backgrounds have been awarded a Fellowship from our OXFO Entrepreneurial Fellowship Initiative, the first of its kind for the University of Oxford, which was announced in The Times in April 2021. Meet the Fellows and see the impact of the programme. 

Oxwash PPE

OXFO Covid-19 Action Plan

In response to the pandemic we launched the OXFO Covid-19 Action Plan. We built a new programme, the Rapid Solutions Builder to find and scale new innovations to secondary and tertiary challenges of the pandemic. 111 solutions were submitted by the Oxford University community and 4 scaled. Successes include Vatic which has now raised $6.4m to roll out its Covid-19 saliva test across the UK. Bringing together 180 volunteers, a global network of 60+ thought-leaders, entrepreneurs and CEOs, 17 private and public sector partners, and an £145,000 grant fund, we rapidly accelerated ventures including 13 of our OXFO Elevate portfolio working in healthcare, education and operations and logistics and a time when it was needed most. 

Launched in 2017 by Apple CEO Tim Cook, and established with support from leading entrepreneurs including Reid Hoffman (co-founder of LinkedIn) and Biz Stone (co-founder of Twitter), the Foundry is an entrepreneurship centre that is able to leverage the strong networks of world-leading academic expertise, established alumni entrepreneurs and industry leaders, and the talent and enthusiasm of Oxford’s exceptional students.

We support all 24,000 students at the University of Oxford, from undergraduates and postgraduates to DPhils and all alumni, to better society through entrepreneurship.

To date, the Foundry has also supported 42 ventures across its accelerator cohorts, generating 250+ jobs and raising over £52.4 million with ventures valued in excess of £157 million. It has launched a number of experiential, solution-focused programmes and initiatives which address global issues like climate change, the future of healthcare and fake news, and delivers practical learning opportunities to build skills and understanding in areas such as coding, blockchain and AI, with a particular emphasis on peer-to-peer learning and knowledge exchange across academia and industry - both globally and locally.

Later in 2021, the Foundry is also launching its Online Entrepreneurship School, the first of its kind across any Higher Education institution, which provides resources and delivers courses and masterclasses focused on critical training and knowledge exchange on idea development, technology and start-up growth, delivered by world-leading practitioners.

Discover more on how OXFO gives back to the community.