Cartier Women's Initiative Awards 2016 for Female Entrepreneurs Worldwide ($USD 20,000 in Funding)

It's that time again. The Cartier Women's Initiative Awards 2016 for Female Entrepreneurs Worldwide ($USD 20,000 in Funding) is now open.

Application Deadline: August 31, 2016 10a.m 

https://goo.gl/Nn8Wxk

Since 2006, the Cartier Women's Initiative Awards has supported over a 100 female entrepreneurs worldwide. Each year, 18 finalists are selected, 6 of whom will become Laureates.

The Cartier Women's Initiative Awards is an international business plan competition created in 2006 by Cartier, the Women's Forum, McKinsey & Company and INSEAD business school to identify, support and encourage projects by women entrepreneurs.

Read the full report here 

The Cartier Women's Initiative Awards aims to encourage the most vulnerable category of entrepreneurs in their most vulnerable phase: women entrepreneurs starting up. Since inception in 2006, they have reviewed plans from over 140 promising female business-owners and recognized 44 Laureates.

Eligibility Criteria

The project to be considered for the Cartier Women's Initiative Awards must be an original for-profit business creation in its initial phase (2 to 3 years old) led by a woman.

The “for-profit” requirement: the business submitted for the Award must be designed to generate revenues. We do not accept non-profit project proposals.

The “originality” requirement: we want your project to be a new concept, conceived and imagined by the founder and her team and not a copy or subsidiary of an existing business.

The “initial phase” requirement: the project you submit should be in the first stages of its development with at least two years of operations and sales to account for but no older than 3 years. 

This means that in order for the business to be considered eligible, it must have been incorporated between August 2013 and August 2014.

Benefits:

Finalists get 

• Access to coaching
• Entrepreneurial workshops
• Media visibility

The Laureates receive a unique and comprehensive support package: 

• US $ 20, 000 of funding
• One year of coaching
• Networking opportunities
• Media exposure.
• One-to-one personalized business coaching

During the Awards Week, all participants will be exposed to 

• Entrepreneurship workshops
• Press conference
• Presentation to the jury members
• Networking opportunities

World Bank Scholarship for Women entrepreneurs program, Women X

The World Bank is awarding Scholarship to Female Entrepreneurs in Nigeria to learn at the Enterprise Development Centre.

The Enterprise Development Centre, Pan- Atlantic University in collaboration with The World Bank will

• Provide practical Business Education through a blended learning approach (online and in- class training)
• Help strengthen Female Entrepreneurs network
• Offer Mentoring
• Create linkages between financial institutions and Female Entrepreneurs.

Selection criteria will be as follows:

A. Company must be owned / managed by a woman

B. Should be a functional business (at least 6 months in operation)

C. The Enterprise must have high growth potential

D. High local content will be an advantage

How to Apply

Step 1 – Check Your Eligibility

Check that you are qualified to apply. See the selection criteria.


Step 2 – Register

Click here to register if you have not already done so

You will receive a confirmation email from "Women X" with all the details you will need to log in.

Step 3 – Complete Application

Once you have successfully registered, log in and click the “Start Application” button on the Start Application Tab on this page. To return to your application, click the “save and continue” button and come back to it at any time. Once you are done with your application, click on the “Submit” button at the end of the form to send it to us.

Step 4 – Keep Informed

After the closing date you will be notified if you have been shortlisted for the next stage of the competition. Constantly check the Women X Programme homepage for regular updates.

To be eligible for this program you need to:

1. Own a business in Nigeria.

2. Operate a business in a high-growth sector.

3. Business must be owned/managed by a woman.

4. Should be a functional business (at least 6 months in operation).

Application Process

To apply, please follow step 2 and 3 above

The deadline for application is January 30, 2016. We will evaluate applications as they arrive, and make decisions on a rolling basis. Thus, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

Selection process will start in January 2016

For questions, please contact Adeola on 08174583169 or send a mail to womenx@pau.edu.ng

Get 1 Million Naira grant in Prof Pat Utomi @ 60 Business Plan Competition

Three small businesses will be rewarded with a total of N2,250,000;

First Prize: N1,000,000
Second Prize: N750,000
Third Prize: N500,000

This is your chance to get funding for that business idea you have always had.

Winners will also have a unique opportunity to pitch their ideas to a group of potential investors at a luncheon to mark the celebration.

Click here to download the application form.

source: cfagbata.com

Franchise Opportunity in Nigeria - Spring Meadow Edutainment and Meadow Hall Branchise

A few weeks ago, I got a call from an old friend Moninuade Illuyomade, She wanted me to come and talk to some aspiring entrepreneurs that were looking to take advantage of the Meadow hall franchise. 

I was concerned about the distance and timing, but passion prevailed and I agreed. I was glad I was there because I didn't just get to share my 2 cents on entrepreneurship but I learnt about new opportunities available for investors in Nigeria.

I focused on my top five things you need to know before you jump into business, starting with your "why".

I have a vlog series ongoing on this, if you haven't visited my vlog please click here to watch and subscribe.... thanks! 

Hehe... I was in my element! 

If you have been to Meadow Hall in Lekki, or met the Group CEO, Mrs. Kehinde Nwani, you would immediately feel all the excellence packed into this vision. I was given a tour round the facility and oh my God!! If I wasn't living so far away and of course if I had that plenty school fees money (hehe...Good things don't come cheap, let's face it) I would move my boys there immediately. 

Mrs. Kehinde Nwani, Group MD/CEO

I realized there is so much to gain from having healthy conversations with people, sometimes you catch a revelation that changes your whole life. This is what happened with Mr. Nwani, one minute she is discussing with a friend about expansion plans for meadow hall and her friend says, why don't you consider franchising? That was the aha moment and she dug up her legal notes and launched a full research on the possibilities.

With the current economic situation, running with an existing, tried and tested business model is the way to go! No kidding. No point spending money on trial and error. The franchise model is a win win, where the school gets to expand through you and you gain leverage. Don't get me wrong though, there will be challenges, but many of the basic hurdles will already be eliminated. 

Mrs Moninuade Iluyomade, breaking down the franchise benefits

I promised to share summary of the opportunity to a lot of people, below is an overview of the Meadow Hall Branchise and what it offers;

Cheers

Introduction

Meadow Hall Branchise is a subsidiary of the Meadow Hall Group. The aim of the Company is to manage the business expansion of the group by setting up branches for Meadow Hall School.

Who we are:

• Meadow Hall Branchise is a subsidiary of Meadow Hall group. 
• Branchise is a fusion of the words branch & franchise. 
• Our aim is to create opportunities for our stakeholders.

What We do:

• We set up branches for Meadow Hall Education, 
• (A subsidiary of Meadow hall group). 
• We oversee the franchising of different Meadow Hall Centres. 
• These Centres are operated and managed by Spring Meadow Edutainment (A subsidiary of Meadow hall group) on behalf of Meadow Hall.

Our Vision:

To build and nurture a network of innovative and creative entrepreneurs who in turn will spread best practices in the education industry while simultaneously creating wealth in the economy.

What is franchising?

This is a relationship between the franchisor (Meadow Hall Branchise) and the franchisee (You) where the franchisor grants the franchisee the right to use a developed concept, including trademarks and brand name, service & marketing methods and the entire business operation model, for a fee.

What we Offer to Prospective Franchisees  

An Opportunity to:

• Be associated with a reputable Brand name.
• Access a quality trademark.
• Use an established and proven operating system.
• Operate a successful Business model.

Your success is our success therefore we will provide strong operational, training & Marketing support to our franchisees.

What we offer the children

An opportunity to:

• Harness their imagination
• Unleash the endless potentials of their creativity
• Gain mastery of their skills 
• Develop their physical & artistic skills to its highest potential. 

Franchise Offering

1. Meadow Hall Music Academy
2. Meadow Hall STEM Centre
3. Meadow Hall Language School
4. Meadow Hall Art Centre
5. Meadow Hall Dance School
6. Special Education Needs Centre
7. Meadow Hall After School Centre
8. Meadow Hall Book Cafe

Selected Territories

Lagos:

• VGC/Ajah 
• Victoria Island 
• Surulere 
• Ikeja 
• Gbagada 
• Anthony/Maryland 
• Magodo/ Ogudu

Outside Lagos:

• Abuja 
• Ibadan 
• Port Harcourt. 

For further enquiry or registration & application please contact:

t: 0705 119 0415

e: miluyomade@meadowhallbranchise.com

w: www.meadowhallbranchise.com

tw: Meadowhall Branchise@mhallbranchise

Ignite Ideas Contest..... Apply now

Will 100,000 make a difference to your business? Is that the amount you need to jumpstart your business? If yes, this is for you. If no, hurry over to the previous post, but think deeply about this first. An over funded business can be as toxic as an under funded business. 

Many times people raise the issue of funding, they complain and blame the banks, the family members that dont assist, the government and so on, then you ask them that critical question, how much do you need? Er.... there you go. So before you go shopping for funds, be clear on exactly how much you need and what you need it for. 

The application for N100,000 interest-free loan for micro, small and medium scale enterprises as well as individuals with a viable business idea is still open.

Apply before the deadline and stand a chance to be one of the 1,100 great business ideas to access an interest free loan of N100,000 powered by Mrs Ibukun Awosika, +FirstBank Nigeria and the Lagos state government. You not only get to win this interest free loan but you also get access to capacity building programs from the Ignite Ideas team led by Mrs Ibukun Awosika.

The loan is not only interest free but comes with a 3 month moratorium after which payment is spread over a period.

Apply at http://www.igniteideas.org

Follow ignite ideas on Twitter: @IgniteContest

#MillionaireBossin15seconds – Win 1 Million Naira for your Legit Hustle from Charles Okpaleke

Stumbled on this yesterday and thought to share. Many more people are coming up with innovative ways to support young entrepreneurs. Everyday, there is one new opportunity or the other, don't let any opportunity pass over you. Rehearse your pitch and make sure the main points are captured within 15seconds, then upload to instagram, you're always there playing anyway! lol. The full step by step information on what you need to do is below. 

All the best!

They say, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step“. My name is Charles Okpaleke, and I’m here to inspire a young entrepreneur by providing him/her means to take that ‘first step’ in starting and growing a successful business.

By God’s grace, I’m an entrepreneur today. I am one of the directors of  +Play Entertainment Network  and its subsidiaries.

I am aware that raising start-up funds is one of the most challenging aspects of starting a new business. I am here to strengthen your motivation and desire to succeed by offering 1,000,000 naira business grant to a young entrepreneur with the best business idea. All you need to do is pitch it to a team of judges in 15 seconds. Yes, 15 seconds.

You must not necessarily have a grand proposal with an intricate business plan; a small lucrative idea that addresses a real and demonstrated public need is what I am looking for. We all hustle to get to the next level. “Realizing that anyone can do it is the first step. The next step is figuring out how you’re going to do it”.

How to Enter:

• Follow @playnetworknigeria on instagram
• Make a 15seconds instagram video summarizing your business plan
• Post the video on your own instagram page with the hash tag#millionairebossin15seconds and tag @playnetworknigeria
• Your video will be reposted on @playnetworknigeria instagram page and you will be tagged
• If your video (business summary) makes the top 5 videos with the highest number of likes (not paid likes), you will be invited to Abuja to meet with the judges
• If you’re invited to Abuja you will be given the opportunity to explain in detail your business plan, and if yours is the best you’re taking the 1,000,000 naira home

Contest begins TODAY and ends on October 31st! (Well, it began yesterday actually)

Source: Bellanaija.com

PROJECT FUNDING BY THE US CONSULATE IN NIGERIA

The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Consulate General Lagos works with non-government organizations (NGOs), academic institutions and individuals to increase cooperation on issues of mutual interest. Contingent upon availability of funds, through small grants of less than $9,000, the U.S. Mission in Nigeria is able to provide financial support to a specific program or initiative that supports shared goals. Funded projects typically range from 5,000 to 9,000 USD.

Each year, the Public Affairs Section in Lagos accepts applications until August 10, 2015 for projects being implemented the following calendar year. Proposals submitted after August 10, 2015 will not be considered for funding. All grants must be signed before the end of September 2015.

Grants may be awarded to support the following goals:
• Mutual Understanding – culture, art, higher education, understanding American society and government
• Global Issues – environment, energy independence and sustainability, counter-terrorism, immigration, and economic prosperity
• Democracy and Human Rights – minority integration, human rights, transparency in government, freedom of media, empowerment of women and youth, and citizen participation in entrepreneurship
• Regional Security – transatlantic cooperation

The criteria for these grants are as follows:
• Applicant should be a local Non- Governmental Organization (NGO) registered or individuals based in the following states: Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Enugu, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, and Cross River.
• Applicant must give a project description and implementation plan.
• Grants generally cover up to 12 months of activity.
• Proposed projects should be innovative, have objectives that are sound and well-thought-out, and clearly indicate the target audience.
• Proposed projects should have clearly defined outcomes and evaluation methods.
• Funding cannot be provided to pay ongoing salary costs. Cost-sharing by the requesting organization is an important factor in evaluating grant proposals.

Eligible proposal shall consist of:
• Applicant should fill application form (SF424)
• Organization/company profile, project description, detailed budget, activity timeline, discussion of the target audience, detailed expected outcomes. The budget must be comprehensive and specific. No block awards can be issued. The organization must have access to a bank account, as funding will be dispersed to grantees in installments by electronic bank transfer.

Public diplomacy grant proposals received will be reviewed and/or selected according to program needs and funding availability. If you or your organization would like to apply for funding for a specific project, please send a detailed description of your project along with a budget to:

Public Affairs Section
U.S. Consulate General Lagos
2 Walter Carrington Crescent, Victoria Island, Lagos
Email: culturallagos@state.gov

Projects selected for funding will be provided with SF-424 form as part of the funding requirements at the second stage of the grant process.

Please direct your questions and/or concerns to culturallagos@state.gov.

Source - http://www.smebizinfo.com/

Opportunitiesforyouths.com - Ademulegun Olowojoba #inthespiritofenterprise

Tell us about yourself

My name is Ademulegun Olowojoba, A Recruitment Consultant and Social Entrepreneur. I'm a native of Nigeria and a citizen of the world. I was originally trained as a Mining Engineer from The Federal University of Technology, Akure. I have a philosophy that regardless of your social or economic status, there's a solution lying deep on the inside of everyone.

Tell us about your business

Currently, I lead the team at opportunitiesforyouths.com, we post information about internships, scholarships, fellowships, grants, contests, and other emerging global opportunities for youths from all over the world.

It's a social venture and what we do is to create sustainable youth related solutions with a specific focus on Education, Unemployment and Economic Empowerment. Apart from our job fairs and employability trainings, we currently have 2 mobile apps in the google playstore: The Scholarships Finder Mobile App and The Nigeria Jobs Finder Mobile App. The former help connects youths from around the world with undergraduate and postgraduate opportunities, while the latter connect young Nigerians with job opportunities.

It was founded out of a passion to help youths especially from developing nations to access more opportunities.

What was your inspiration for starting this business?

I have always had this passion of connecting people with opportunities like jobs, internships, scholarships and other life changing opportunities which developed into a habit and I also had a very strong passion for youth development so I was looking for an uncommon model that would enable me combine these three things in a way that was sustainable and scalable. So a web developer friend of mine advised me to start a job board but I didn't want to go that route as I felt I would be lost in what was an already crowded industry in Nigeria so after a a while I thought of the idea of starting opportunitiiesforyouths.com which was going to be first among a series of innovative youth solutions that I plan deploying, shortly after I started ivolunteernaija.com, Scholarships Finder Mobile App and Nigeria Jobs Finder App.

Basically It's that urge to proffer sustainable solutions to social issues like Education and Unemployment that motivates me. The death of my late boss, Kunle Olaifa who happened to be a change maker across Africa and the globe was also a major occurrence that spurred me into action when I did.

How did you get funding for your business?

I run on personal funds till date. Due to the fact that it's a social venture and it usually takes some time to attract funding and profit.

What opportunities have you been able to leverage on in your business so far?

Until recently, I haven't applied for a lot of opportunities as I felt I needed to get it right first by putting in place proper structure and culture so that I wouldn't blow the opportunities when they show up.

Though, I was recently selected as a Fellow of The Project Social Impact Institute in Masachusetts, USA and I expect a couple of others to follow before the year ends.

What Challenges have you faced so far and how have you been able to overcome them?

Just like a lot of startups in this part of the world, raising funds has been a huge challenge and the only way I have dealt with this till date is to use personal funds.

Getting passionate team members has also been a challenge. It's been tough getting committed team members who are deeply passionate about what we do - proffering practical solutions to social problems. The only way we have been able to overcome that is by sticking to our standard and not compromising, meaning we have a very lean team.

Also combining this with my paid job since it hasn't grown enough to employ the team members on a full time basis has been tough and the only way we have been able to overcome this is to work extra hard and just be ruthless in our executions. It's as if I am working two jobs, one during the day and the other at night.

How will you summarize the journey so far?

Tough, Interesting, fun and faith filled.
I wake up on certain days and feel so excited about my journey and I also wake up some days and feel so discouraged about the whole thing but its been an interesting journey. It takes a lot of faith to carry on at times but i'm enjoying every bit of it.

Given the Chance, will you do this again?

A resounding yes, though I would do a lot of things taking a different approach and i would start earlier.

What lessons have you been able to learn from your journey so far that others should know.

Failure is never final, the failures of today is a lesson for tomorrow. Learn from failure and get up fast.

Passion is good but sustainability is also very good if you would go far.

Surround yourself with people who are already where you desire to be and get as much details of the way they live their lives including the movies they watch, the places they hangout and the people they follow on social media. It could serve as a huge leverage.

Entrepreneurship is very vital for Economic Growth. Once must at least have an entrepreneurial mindset.

How can people connect with you?

opportunitiesforyouths.com
Twitter - @adeolowojoba
Facebook: Ademulegun Olowojoba
Email: olowojobade@yahoo.com

Funding Opportunities for SMEs in Nigeria and Africa - June 2015...

There is no better time to be an entrepreneur than now. The only thing though is, you need to plug in to the available opportunities for growth by getting the right information. I have gone through my sources and compiled a small list of the some of the opportunities available currently.

All the best.....

1. YBLN Aspiring Entrepreneurs programme

The YBLN initiative is a mandela washington fellows and the Atlanta business league to reduce unemployment rate by 3% before December 2016.

The Aspiring entrepreneurs program is an 8 week residential entrepreneurship training and development program that would select and train a large cohort of young people with viable business ideas.

This year 30 promising and aspiring entrepreneurs will partake in the program and would get the opportunity to start their own businesses. The intention is for them to employ a minimum of four people each before December 2016.

to apply, click here

Read more about the program from our friends at +EntrepreNEWS  here

2. GEMS4 Enterprise Challenge Fund

The GEMS4 Enterprise Challenge Fund is a £3.5 Million private sector development matching grant fund

The objective of the Fund is to catalyse private sector investment in innovative, commercially viable, and inclusive business models that result in improved performance of the Wholesale and Retail sector, jobs and improved income opportunities for poor men and women engaged in the sector.

By improving private sector perceptions of the associated costs and benefits of innovating and adopting pro-poor models, it will encourage replication.

It is intended that the impact of funding given to an individual project will be multiplied by the resulting and recurring changes to perceptions and practices in the Wholesale and Retail Sector.

Read more about it here

3. Building Entrepreneurs Today (BET5) programme

This year’s BET programme has been streamlined to focus mainly on

• Fashion and Lifestyle
• Agriculture and Information 
• Communication Technology

Pointing that the ripple effect of increased economic activity on these sectors has remained monumental on the economy.

Tagged “Pitch In 60 Seconds’’, the programme expects MSME operators who are applying to be considered for the training and grant, to submit a 60 seconds video clip showing them ‘’pitching their business idea’’ to the public. For objectivity, the audience or viewers will be invited to vote for their favourite business idea(s). The businesses with the highest votes qualify for the next round of selection.

Application for this year’s edition of BET is scheduled to commence on June 16, 2015 and is open to the general public. To apply, please visit: www.diamondbankbet.com for more information.

4. Demo africa pitch

The deadline for applications to DEMO Africa 2015 has been extended. The application window which was scheduled to close on 30th May 2015 has been extended for a month with the new deadline set for June 30th 2015.

Applications are still being accepted in the 12 application categories which include: Agriculture, Health, Education, Manufacturing and Retail. Others are Media and entertainment, Communication, Transport and Logistics, Energy, Finance and Banking, Water and Sanitation, Waste Management and recycling.

Over the past few years various angel networks have emerged across Africa. The African Business Angel Network is a new initiative to connect and strengthen all these networks. On Wednesday September 23, the African Business Angel Network, Lagos Angels Network, DEMO Africa and VC4Africa, will jointly present “The African Opportunity: Angel Investing in Africa” Investor Summit at DEMO Africa 2015 in Lagos, Nigeria.

H. Tomi Davies (or TD as he is popularly known) is a co-founder of the Lagos Angels Network (LAN), a prominent figure in Africa’s early stage investor scene, and the President of the newly founded African Business Angels Network (ABAN).

The main DEMO Africa event is slated for 24th and 25th September 2015 at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, Nigeria. Following a successful run last year, an Investor Summit is taking place September 23rd: various investors including Cairo Angels, Lagos Angels Network, Ivoire Business Angels, Viktoria Angels, Ghana Angel Investors Network, Africa Angels Network, Cameroon Angels, Silicon Cape, VC4Africa Investor Network, and others will come together to discuss the “Africa opportunity” as well as discuss best practices, share lessons learned and set the road map for the future.

See this post on how you can register for the DEMO Africa Innovation Pitch.

source - http://www.smebizinfo.com/

5. She leads Africa Pitch competition #slapitch2015



The She Leads Africa business pitch competition provides a platform for the most promising female entrepreneurs in Africa to connect to prominent mentors, business funding and new market opportunities.

They are looking for businesses:

- With at least one female member on the founding team between the ages of 18 and 35
- Have received less than $50,000 in funding?
- Less than than 3 years old
- Focused on the African market or diaspora
- Have already begun operations. Entrepreneurs at the idea stage are not eligible to apply

The top applicants will be invited to Lagos to pitch their business ideas in front of a panel of notable business personalities for the chance to win cash and in kind prizes as well as exclusive meetings with angel investors, prominent venture capitalists and other leading professional mentors and sponsors.

Applications close on June 30, 2015. Questions can be sent to info@sheleadsafrica.org with "Pitch Competition 2015" in the subject line.

Go here to apply.

STOP DREAMING, GET YOUR DREAM STARTED with NESCAFE

The last one of this series of opportunities is from Nescafe...... 

Details

Do you have a dream? Can your dream make the difference for your community, your country or even the whole world? Enter the NESCAFÉ Get Started challenge and show everyone how powerful your idea is.

All you need to do is to submit your dream here. If you find it published on the website the following week, it means that it’s passed the preselection. This is the time to get as many votes as possible, so make sure you get all your friends to vote for your dream.

The 4 most impressive dreams will receive support from inspiring African mentors to pitch their ideas to the grand jury. The ultimate winner’s dream will get started by NESCAFÉ.

Check out the winner of NESCAFÉ Get Started 2014

2014 Winner

Muazu, Nigeria

5 GOLDEN RULES TO GET STARTED


1. Your dream must not be of material benefit to oneself.


2. Your dream should focus on one of these categories: Technology, Arts and Culture, Community Development, Environment or Health.


3. Your dream must have an action plan.


4. Your dream must start something big for you and people around you.


5. Make us fall in love with your dream and we’ll help you to get it started.

You can also watch +Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr. CFA s inspiring video for the project here

All the best fam!

Huawei - She Leads Africa Fellowship Application

Hello Fam,

You must forgive me. I have been lazy and maybe quite tired a bit too. Health is wealth, so I had to slow down a bit, I can't come and die on this hustle. Lol.

So this opportunity is urgent, if you haven't seen it. It closes on thursday, if you want to give it a shot, please hurry and submit before thursday. All the best....

Details...

The Huawei-She Leads Africa Fellowship is the first program of its kind to provide female tech entrepreneurs from across Africa the opportunity to visit China to receive a behind the scenes experience at the technology giant, network with peer entrepreneurs and develop relationships with investors and companies interested in doing business in Africa.

Eligible applicants must be women between the ages of 18-40 who are building a technology business focused on Africa.

Applications close on April 30, 2015.

Questions can be sent to info@sheleadsafrica.org with Huawei Fellowship in the subject line.

Click here to apply.

Also, please email a pitch deck to info@sheleadsafrica.org with the subject line: Huawei Fellowship - First Name, Surname by April 30th.

A pitch deck is a presentation, usually powerpoint, that summarizes your startup idea and business model for potential investors. 

For more guidance, you can find examples at http://www.pitchenvy.com/ and http://bestpitchdecks.com/. 

Other useful articles: + How to pitch your startup in 3 minutes: http://on.mash.to/1npHqR5 + 3 simple ways to pitch your startup today: http://linkd.in/1rlVrA3 + 5 practical tips to perfect your startup pitch: http://on.mash.to/107mdR9

Calling all entrepreneurs – CcHub’s Call for Ideas is open!

Remember +BudgIT NG ? In my early blogging days, I made quite a bit of noise about them, hehe. It was their success story that made me fish out the +CcHub Nigeria in Yaba. They recently graduated from the incubation centre and are doing great.

In case you haven't noticed, collaboration, co-creation is the new cool. Let's face it, if we want more companies to last, we need to work together, to find synergies, to build teams, to leverage on each other's strengths. This is why you can't afford to keep your idea to yourself. There are tricks and tips for protecting your idea though and you can listen here, to what Wunmi and I had to say about this on the episode before the last of strike the anvil. At the end of the day, you are better off sharing.

Anyhoo, so the Hub is calling for ideas again and if you have been looking for a platform to leverage on, here's your chance........

Read all about it;

Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) is a launch pad for start-ups, transforming ideas to sustainable ventures that solve real Nigerian problems. To date CcHub has supported the development and launch of more than 50 innovative technology startups solving social challenges in Nigeria.




Will the next golden idea come from you?

You can submit an innovative idea that solves a real Nigerian problem to the CcHub Call for Ideas for up to $25,000 in investment as well as networks and market entry support to get you kick-started.

The aim of the programme is to encourage the development of Nigerian led solutions for real Nigerian problems, focusing on six key areas – Governance, Transportation, Healthcare, Education, Food Security and the Environment.

We believe that by engaging a community of progressive stakeholders (end-users, subject matter experts, government agencies, businesses, academics, civil societies etc.) who bring their creativity and knowledge to play we can co-create solutions to social challenges faced by the average Nigerian.

These are our 5 tips for creating innovative solutions

• Solve ONE clear problem: focus on one problem and not many
• Understand the problem: observing the environment, infrastructure, culture and lives of people by being there.
• Think creatively: start big, use constraints as a filter and find the simplest solution.
• Identify a service gap: is there a service that isn’t being provided or not being provided to a satisfactory manner
• Deliver value: what are the benefits for people using the end product, does it improve a persons life?

Submit an Idea

Ideas should be submitted here by Sunday 31 May 2015. Ideas will be assessed by a panel, and those whose ideas are selected will be invited for an interview. Following this, the most viable ideas will be taken into the CcHub Pre-Incubation and Incubation Programmes.

1000 ideas have walked through our doors but is yours the one that will make it through and stick?

From Passion to Empire with Microsoft Lumia #opportunities

Do you have an idea? Do you believe in that idea? Need funding? Here's your chance!

Be one of 5 people to win up to 3.5 million Naira to bring your business and ideas to life. That's not all, you also stand a chance to get mentored by top successful entrepreneurs which include, Nigerian beauty entrepreneur, Tara Fela-Durotoye, entertainment mogul and founder of the Chocolate City Group, Audu Maikori and founding partner of leading careers and jobs website, Jobberman, Opeyemi Awoyemi.

As part of its commitment to supporting the development of entrepreneurship in Nigeria, Microsoft Mobile Devices and Services would be awarding N3.5m to 5 Nigerians with brilliant business ideas in its +Microsoft Lumia 535  Dual SIM activation, tagged from “Passion to Empire”, which would run from February 16, 2015 to March 31, 2015.

Meet the mentors:

http://commons.wikimedia.org

Tara Fela-Durotoye is a trained lawyer who pursued her dream of becoming a successful make-up artist is the CEO of House of Tara International and designer of the Tara “Orekelewa” Beauty range, Inspired Perfume and the H.I.P Beauty range.

She emphasizes the role of passion in attaining success in these words: “When you want to succeed as much as you want to breathe, that’s when you will be successful.”

http://www.oxfordafricanetwork.org

Multi-talented Nigerian entrepreneur, Audu Maikori, is famous for his globally acclaimed record label, Chocolate City, which represents a number of international artistes. Also a trained lawyer, Maikori is an entrepreneur, social activist and poet. An example of one that has transformed his passion to a business empire. One of his abiding aspirations is to build the biggest entertainment empire in Africa.

http://www.bellanaija.com/

Opeyemi Awoyemi is the co-founder of Nigeria’s leading job search-engine, Jobberman. The groundbreaking job search site began as the dream of young Awoyemi and a couple of friends. Dream turned to reality for him during the 2009 industrial action of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). 

An eloquent testimony to the empire Awoyemi has made of his passion is that the Forbes Magazine has listed Jobberman as one of the Top 20 Tech Startups in Africa.

Lumia, An entrepreneur's phone:

Lumia smartphones and tablets, including the Microsoft +lumia 535 Dual SIM, specifically, provide business tools every entrepreneur needs to achieve the extraordinary. The Lumia 535 Dual SIM offers five great integrated Microsoft experiences, a wide-angle 5 megapixel front facing camera, and a spacious 5 inch display protected with Gorilla Glass 3, unique selling propositions that make it a perfect device for #entrepreneurs who want to do more on the go.

‘From Passion to Empire’ initiative is aimed at testing the viability of young entrepreneurs’ ideas, sharpening their skills and expanding their frontiers through intensive business coaching aimed at helping them transform their business ideas to empires.

At the end of Passion to Empire, five people with the most brilliant business ideas would be awarded the sum of N3.5m each, in addition to being mentored by these successful entrepreneurs. They will also undergo three days of training at the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) of the Pan Atlantic University.


How to Participate:

To participate in “Passion to Empire”, interested entrepreneurs need to buy the Microsoft Lumia 535 Dual SIM or any other Lumia smartphone or tablet, 

1. Make a video detailing how you plan to grow your business (You can do this on your phone)

2. Label the video with your name and IMEI number

3. Upload to www.microsoft.com/mobile.

All the best guys......

Funding and Business Development Opportunities For SMEs in Nigeria

Does your business make impact in the following space?

• Agriculture and Agricultural Processing
• Manufacturing: Production of affordable products/services with high relevance for women, youth and (or) small holder farmers 
• ICT and Media 
• Recycling and Renewable Energy

Nextzon has been commissioned by Oxfam to implement an Oxfam funded business development service platform for SMEs in Nigeria.

Objective:

The Objective is to identify qualifying SMEs (with specific impact objectives) that can be structured and made bankable for potential funding. This will include Expanding SMEs and Early Growth Enterprises with difficulty accessing finance.

Selected SMEs will have the opportunity to be funded by an Oxfam supported impact fund (in either equity, quasi-equity or debt and as the business case may justify).

Areas of Interest:

SMEs across the listed sectors impacting women, youth and small holder farmers through job creation, improved incomes and the availability of affordable products and services of high relevance (to the target groups).

Your business could be eligible for the Oxfam Impact Investment based on the following criteria:

• Your business is a few years in operation and has started generating revenues
• You are socially committed and are willing to take on social and environmental responsibilities.
• You are committed to meeting environmental, social and corporate governance standards.
• You have a proven track record in your line of business.
• You are supported by a strong management team with a proven track record.
• Your business model is attractive and you have a clear value creation strategy.
• Your business is well positioned to benefit from market growth.
• You are looking for an investment size of between € 100,000 and € 1,000,000.

If you think your business is an ideal candidate to receive an Inclusive Impact Investment, proceed to application stage.

Follow this link - APPLY

Please have your financials and financial projections handy for this process.

Note: if you do not receive an email notification confirm the receipt of your application, contact the below:

Visit: http://www.inclusive-investments.com/

Email to: ventures@nextzon.com , nextzonventures@gmail.com , infonigeria@oxfamnovib.nl

Call/Text: 08166452418, 07017726747 or tweet: @smecapex

SNEPCo LiveWIRE Nigeria Programme 2014

A friend sent this to me. I think you might find this useful too if you qualify.....

Hurry! It closes on Thursday, 30th of this month

All the best!

SNEPCo LiveWIRE Nigeria Programme 2014

Applications are ongoing for the SNEPCo LiveWIRE Nigeria Programme 2014 for Lagos State. The programme is however not limited to the state alone as it encompasses the whole nation. Interested and qualified applicants should follow the guidelines below to register and apply.

About the Program

The Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) and her co-ventures announces the commencement of the 2014 SNEPCo LiveWIRE Nigeria Programme for Lagos State.

SNEPCo LiveWIRE Nigeria Programme is a youth enterprise development programme which aims to inspire, encourage and support young people aged 18-35 to start up their own businesses through the provision of finance and training for young entrepreneurs.

SNEPCo LiveWIRE Nigeria Programme 2014

Objectives

• Enable youths to establish businesses through provision of business planning and management guidelines and skills through the Become a Successful Owner Manager Course.
• Run awards for candidates with the best business plans. The award provides access to micro-credit facilities, through third parties like banks, NGOs and allied financial institutions.
• Provide a volunteer monitoring programme for those who have completed the training course and decide to pursue starting their own business

Programme Content

• Bright Ideas and Becoming a Successful Business Owner
• Manager workshops
• Business Awareness Forum
• Young Business Leaders Awards
• Business Incubation and support services
• Business Information and Enquiry Service

Applications are invited from

• Male and female applicants from any part of the country aged between 18-35years
• Male and female applicants resident in Lagos state
• Male and female applicants with desire to establish or have existing business in Lagos state
• Male and female applicants with an innovative business idea
• Male and female applicants with higher education

Duration for Application

Thursday October 23rd – Thursday October 30th 2014.

Interested and qualified candidates should fill an application form at

http://www.livewire-nigeria.org/home/application-form

Power Sector Opportunities For SMEs– Lessons from Telecommunications Deregulation by Bukky Imoyo

Introducing Bukky Imoyo, our guest blogger for today; She shares insights on how SMEs can tap into the opportunities in the power sector.

Enjoy....

About 15 years ago, the likes of MTN took the risk and paid huge, (what some referred to at that time, as overvalued) sums for GSM licenses in Nigeria. Today, the rest history. The risk paid off not just for the initial investors but many others. The hitherto dead industry took flight on a scale that was unprecedented in Nigerian history and unimaginable at the time.

Let’s just think about it, the industry has birthed all sorts of service providers to the telcos, recharge card sellers, trade partners, mobile phone sellers and repairers, bulk SMS businesses. The list is endless. It has also provided access and opportunities in other sectors like banking through mobile banking and we are yet to see the end of value added services in telecoms.

Since we are always told to learn from history, the question is “What can we copy from that experience to our newly deregulated power sector? What are the opportunities for an SME in this sector? In my opinion, here are a few that small businesses should be thinking about.

Scratch / Recharge Cards: Nigerians are very comfortable with recharge cards. It is strongly believed that Distribution Companies (DISCOs) may go this route eventually. Postpaid billing which requires meter reading and generation of bills, often leading to unpaid bills, dispute over bills, and other time and money wasting effort, will definitely be a thing of the past. Given the huge amounts sunk into and still to be sunk into the power sector in the nearest future, no operator would wait to collect his money after providing services. Though electricity credit which is currently bought at former PHCN offices and at agents and are tied to specific meters, the scratch card model will eventually hold sway because power is required on the go. Consumers must be able to top up even at 10 pm in the night. This is possible through readily available scratch cards. Scratch card printing and selling are services that can easily be outsourced to small enterprises. There won’t be tolerance for the days of no MTN scratch cards because there will be competition.

Branding, Marketing & Communications: I recently read that operators will not be focusing on Marketing/Communications in the nearest future. The thinking is that power is a necessity that we have all been deprived of for so long. Since distribution is also localised to a particular area it is thought that all consumers around the area can have only one provider. Therefore, it is believed that consumers will always be available in abundance and no marketing per se will be required. While this thinking may be true for some time, eventually, the competition will become intense and the war will be fought via marketing communications. The truth is that competition, no matter how minimal is an integral part of a deregulated market. Also, National Integrated Power Project (NIPPs) and other private independent power projects will spring up all over the landscape. So, while there will always be consumers for electricity, they will not always be shackled to one provider. In the end, we may see a scramble for consumers and the media will be a key vehicle to use to woo consumers. We all know how our advertising landscape has been taken over by the telcos.

Meter Sales & Installation: This is a lesson from the DSTV model. Recent publication of the Federal Ministry of Power released recently shows that about 25 million Nigerians still require prepaid meters. These meters are the only conduit for DISCOs to secure payment. While the DISCOs are busy with their core business, which is distribution of power, meter sales and installation will be an opportunity for SMEs. Even if capital constraints make it difficult for an SME to sell meters, installation is definitely a low cost, low entry barrier business.

Sundry Services: Like every other business, the DISCOs and Generating Companies (GENCOs) will require a myriad of services. Of course, technical services will require technical expertise and all the big boys that invested in the companies will get a large chunk of the contract for technical services, but what about the non-technical services? For instance security and surveillance of assets, whether manual or automated, will be required as well as asset auditing and revalidation especially in the remote parts of Nigeria. I understand that there is currently an urgent need for people to help clear bushes and grass in order to create access to some assets.

Link to ICT: I haven’t quite worked this out but I believe there must be a link between ICT and the Power Sector, which can lead to big businesses. Consumers of power will definitely have GSM lines. What is the connection? Electronic recharges, customer interaction via the phone, social media, etc. Also, utility providers have always been carriers of big data including customer details. Somehow, all this data can be used to create some business for power sector operators and you. Figure it out and let me know.

I believe the opportunities are endless. Let us tap into it.