Friends of Bata is expanding its partnership with LettsGroup VentureFactory to give young founders the tools, structure and expert support to turn early ideas into real ventures.
At Friends of Bata, we believe entrepreneurship is best learned by doing.
Our programmes bring young people together to test ideas, pitch, receive feedback from experienced founders and build connections across countries, universities and industries.
But a good idea, or a good pitch, is only the beginning.
The harder part comes next: turning it into something real.
That is why we are expanding our partnership with LettsGroup VentureFactory, an AI-native venture-building platform designed to help founders move from idea to execution, traction, fundraising and growth.
From learning to building
VentureFactory gives founders a structured system for building a company rather than leaving them with a blank page and a collection of disconnected AI tools.
Its platform brings together a step-by-step venture-building framework, Venture Intelligence and AI Co-Founders alongside tools covering product, go-to-market, finance, operations and fundraising. The objective is simple: help founders understand what they need to do next and execute it.
For the Friends of Bata community, that creates an important bridge between learning about entrepreneurship and actually building a venture.
What the partnership means for young founders
Through the expanded partnership, VentureFactory will become part of the support ecosystem around key Friends of Bata programmes, including Founders of Tomorrow and the Pitch Lab podcast.
Selected winners will receive:
- 99% off the VentureFactory Build plan for 3 months
- Three months of premium expert support
- Access to VentureFactory's structured venture-building system and AI tools
- Support across areas including strategy, product, go-to-market, finance and fundraising
VentureFactory's Build plan also includes Investor-Connect, alongside its venture-building framework, Venture Intelligence and AI Co-Founders.
The Friends of Bata community will also have access to a special 50% VentureFactory offer during the current partnership pilot, extending access beyond programme winners.
Tested with a FoB founder
Adam Badar, founder of Bavlio and a previous Pitch Lab winner, was the first Friends of Bata founder to receive VentureFactory access and premium support.
His experience became the pilot for the next phase of the partnership: combining the exposure and feedback founders receive through Friends of Bata with practical tools and continued support once the programme itself ends.
As Adam continued building Bavlio, VentureFactory became part of his venture-building process, helping him stay focused on products and customers while bringing more structure to the rest of the business.
His progress helped shape the decision to extend the same combination of platform access and premium support to future FoB winners.
Building the next generation of founders
The world of entrepreneurship is changing quickly.
AI is making it easier than ever to create, test and launch. But having access to technology does not automatically mean knowing what to build, how to validate it, what to prioritise or how to turn an idea into a sustainable company.
That is where we see the value of this partnership.
Friends of Bata brings together people, entrepreneurial knowledge, real-world experiences and a global community.
VentureFactory adds structure, technology and ongoing execution support.
Together, we want to give the next generation of founders something more useful than inspiration alone:
A real opportunity to start building.
