Our mission.
Enabling an inclusive Just Transition by empowering entrepreneurs with access to funding, resources and expertise for a better, fairer world.
Here are some of the companies we're proud to work with.
Meet our team
Meet our team
Meet our team
Meet our team
Mandy Nyarko
CO-FOUNDER
Mandy is an innovation consultant who has built various acceleration and incubation programmes across the UK. She has coached and helped raise investment for over 200 startups in various sectors such as FMCG, Fintech, Cleantech, biotech and more. Her core skills are strategic growth, investment readiness, investment execution, and operational management. Startups that she has supported have raised over 15M in pre-series A investment and turned over 20 million-plus.
She is a venture scout at Ada ventures, a 30M seed-stage fund investing in underrepresented founders. Mandy also sits on the UK Department of Business and Industrial Strategy’s SME Engagement Group.
This group regularly meets with Ministers and has provided strategic support to the Government in formulating business support policy during Covid-19 and beyond.
Gosbert Chagula
CO-FOUNDER
With entrepreneurship in his blood, Gosbert has spent the last 10 years working across the startup ecosystem in both Europe and Africa. Prior to Startup Discovery School, Gosbert worked for Exeter Velocities, a Business Accelerator focused on sustainable solutions to the challenges of urbanisation. In this role, he worked with more than 40 startups and focused on building and managing a network of early-stage investors.
He has also worked for the Africa Technology Business Network where he played a key role in launching ‘Her Future Africa', an Accra-based innovation camp focused on enabling innovative solutions to the continent’s challenges and providing access to under-served communities in Ghana Gosbert also sits on the UK Department of Business and Industrial Strategy’s SME Engagement Group.
This group regularly meets with Ministers and has provided strategic support to the Government in formulating business support policy during Covid-19 and beyond.
Ankshita Chaudhary
OPERATIONS DIRECTOR
Ankshita takes the lead in conceptualizing, developing, and executing a diverse range of programs at SDS. She also manages relationships with stakeholders across the UK and Africa.
Her objective is to accelerate the entrepreneurial ecosystem by providing avenues for knowledge, networks, and investment/partnership opportunities, all while championing sustainability and inclusivity. Her previous involvement with a policy think tank in Nepal triggered substantial shifts in the startup landscape, culminating in the establishment of a startup committee and challenge funds.
Carly McNally
CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER
With over a decade of leadership experience in operational strategy and financial management, Carly McNally excels in driving sustainable growth and operational excellence. As COO of Startup Discovery School, she develops key financial and operational frameworks to support the organisation’s mission of empowering startups that address global challenges like climate change through innovation.
Previously, as CFO and COO at Capital Enterprise, Carly led teams through growth and transition, crafting strategic initiatives that enhanced financial sustainability and operational efficiency.Passionate about fostering an inclusive workplace culture, Carly is committed to shaping the future of entrepreneurship at SDS and beyond.
Stefanie Mulder
Accelerator Manager
For the past 6 years, Stefanie has worked with various players across the startup ecosystem. From the King’s20 Accelerator to VC at Antler and crowdfunding at Seedrs, she is passionate about enabling founders to execute ideas and solve global challenges.
Her entrepreneurial journey kickstarted when she wrote a book at 16, from which she set up her own startup consultancy to support founders. Now based in London, she has lived and worked in Amsterdam, the US, and Singapore.
Samantha Kidjo
Incubator Manager
Samantha is a material science engineering graduate and she started her career in corporate management consulting at Renault in Paris. She has since worked as a business developer and founder associate for various entrepreneurs and worked on her own BeautyTech startup. For the past 3 years, she has been supporting more founders through the Google Digital Garage, OneTech and Hatch Enterprise.
At SDS she hopes to empower more founders to build thriving green businesses. She recently also joined the ADA Ventures scout programme looking to empower more diverse founders through access to finance.
Jordan Fletcher
INVESTMENT PARTNER
Jordan is passionate about using venture capital and innovation for sustainable development and to drive positive social and environmental change. Over the last 7 years, he led Early Metrics commercial development and product strategy in the UK, scaling from pre-revenue to millions in revenue, working with FTSE100 corporates, funds, and government.
Recently, he led Innovate UK’s work in establishing their climate investment activities, helping climate-focused companies raise equity and grants. He’s made 8 angel investments into UK and African early stage climate companies.
Sylvia Awuah-Gyan
Project Officer
Sylvia plays the role of a Project Officer at SDS, where she offers support in the administrative and operational aspects of the company. She also plays a crucial role in coordinating administrative duties across various programmes run at SDS.
With previous experience as an Executive Assistant, Sylvia's role at SDS has further strengthened her passion for and understanding of the start-up ecosystem.
Taz Latif
Head of DEI and Community
An ex-teacher on a mission to reform education and entrepreneurship, Taz harnesses the power of community to build sustainable systems for change. The former Global Head of DEI at M&C Saatchi Group, Taz is an educator and leader, inspiring future generations through activism to create social impact. Her work is two fold; building new ecosystems with entrepreneurs at a grassroots level as well as relearning and restructuring at a corporate level.
She dubs it as working at the intersection of People, Planet and Prosperity. Over the last decade, Taz has partnered with forward thinkers like Samsung and GoogleForStartups as well as powerhouses including the Ministry of Justice, JPMorgan, the Financial Times, Macmillan Cancer and Expedia, to co-create a more equitable future.
