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/

LCCI: INTRODUCTORY WORKSHOP ON NON-OIL EXPORT

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry invites you to a National Workshop on Non-Oil Export. The program is scheduled as follows:

DATE: THURSDAY 30TH JULY, 2015
VENUE: COMMERCE HOUSE, 1, IDOWU TAYLOR STREET, VICTORIA ISLAND, LAGOS
TIME: 9.00AM to 3.00PM
PARTICIPATION FEE: N10, 000

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION FEE (Closes Friday 24th July, 2015): LCCI Members N5,000, Non-Members N7,500

Workshop Objectives

• To ensure that participants from the Private and Public sectors are aware of the strategic importance of developing Nigeria's Non-oil Export Sector at this critical point in our Nation's socio-economic history.
• To underscore the crucial role to be played by SMEs in accelerating the sustainable development of the Non-oil Export Sector in Nigeria.
• To inform participants about pitfalls, challenges, strategies and creative solutions.
• To give information to SMEs on business opportunities in the Non-oil Export Sector.
• To provide information about NEXIM Export Financing Facilities.
• To provide information about the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme and ECOBIZ.
• To promote Advocacy in support of SME Export Development.

Topics highlighted will include:

a) Product Development and Adaptation for Export
b) Competitive Advantage and Identification of possible Export Markets
c) Strategic Export Marketing Arrangements
d) Effective Trade Fair Participation

For further information, kindly contact Doyin on 07085513037, Ayo on 08032206527 or Kingsley on 08131048999.You may wish to send mail to ekundayo.adedoyin@lagoschamber.com, ayodele@lagoschamber.com or eze@lagoschamber.com

Kindly pay into the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s First Bank Account number 2007 7602 02.

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

Bellafricana - Bukky Bello #inthespiritofenterprise

Tell us about yourself

My name is Bukky Bello, I am the founder of Bellafricana. I studied Biochemistry at the University of Westminster in London. I love life, God, family and smiling. I am a woman on a mission, saved by Grace. I put God first in everything I do.

Tell us about your business

The name of my business is Bellafricana, and it simply means 'Beautiful Africa'. I started Bellafricana out of passion, drive and commitment to make a difference and to be innovative while creating what my target market wants; this of course happening alongside the intention of creating more jobs and development of local talents in these areas of creative expertise.
Bellafricana promotes local content by expressing the beauty of African textile in corporate gift items, souvenirs, interior decoration, casual and office wears.
We are also a marketplace where people around Nigeria (Africa) go to buy and sell unique Afrocentric and handmade goods to the world.

What was your inspiration for starting this business?

I moved back to Nigeria after my studies in the United Kingdom in September 2012 and commenced National Youth Service Corps (NYSC, a compulsory service for Nigerian graduates) which was were the main genesis of the company began. I soon fell exceptionally in love with African textile, but asides the regular use for fashion, I wanted to make a difference. You see, I always had a great passion for creative things and so I decided to carve a niche for myself by promoting local content whilst using local fabrics for gift items, interior decoration and wears.

I spent the whole of 2014 understanding my target market, but soon realised that I couldn’t achieve the vision for Bellafricana alone. The vision for Bellafricana is to be the largest online platform for Afrocentric and handmade products delivering around the world. Alongside this, I hope to promote local artisans, creatives and talents.

Now, from here on, I am planning towards the direction of my vision. I have seen a real need for this kind of community and have chosen to be the marketplace for Afrocentric (means: made from Africa) and handmade products. My three key ingredients to achieving my goal are Passion, Synergy & Growth

How did you get funding for your business?

ALLAWEE (NYSC Stipend), loved ones.

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

Partnership with various chambers of Commerce.
Mentoring program with Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
NO grants just yet, however I came 4th at the Creative Focus event last year.
I have been self funding the business thus far leveraging on technology and partnership.

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

- Lack of essential resources - staff strength, mobility, business support...
- Lack of sufficient fund/resources to get to a larger scope of our target audience and expand the business.
- Access to International market (Distributors), export opportunities to a large target audience.

I have been able to overcome them by understanding the ESSENCE OF GROWTH and how ROME wasn't built in a day. Slowly but surely, with determination and perseverance, partnership and collaboration, I will achieve my set GOALS.

How will you summarize the journey so far?

The Journey so far has been BEAUTIFUL and I am excited about the journey ahead.

Here is a link to my journey so far: http://digest.bellafricana.com/hurray-bellafricana-is-18-months-the-journey-so-far/

Given the Chance, will you do this again?

OH YES!

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

1) You won't make a million overnight, it takes growth.
2) You can achieve alot more through partnership and collaborations.
3) Never stop gaining knowledge, keep researching.
4) If one way doesn't work, try again!
5) NETWORK!
6) Remain consistent with what you do, be an expert at your field.

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

How can people connect with you

www.bellafricana.com / www.bellafricanadigest.com
www.facebook.com/bellafricana
www.twitter.com/bellafricana
https://plus.google.com/104047766419967967007/posts
08086363970, 08184457403
23, Ogudu Road, 2nd Floor Suite 23, Opposite Stanbic IBTC Bank, Ogudu, Lagos

NASME Lagos Quarterly Business Launcheon - 3rd Edition

Don't miss the NASME event this thursday holding at SheratonHotel and Towers, Lagos from 9:30 to 3:30pm. The details are as follows;

To register, send a mail to nasmelagos@gmail.com

It's 5,000 naira for registered members of the association and 8,000 naira for non registered members. For updates and information about the body like the facebook page here.

THEME: 

Challenges of High Micro Credit Interest Rates: Implication for MSME development in Nigeria.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

Dr. Mudashiru Olaitan, Director,
Development Finance, Central Bank Of Nigeria.

DATE:

Thursday, July 9th, 2015

TIME:

9:30 - 3:30pm

VENUE:

Sheraton Hotel and Towers
Mobolaji Bank-Anthony Way
Ikeja, Lagos.

See you there!!

THE LAND IS GREEN BUSINESS PROGRAM/BOOK LAUNCH

Entrepreneurs occupy a central position in a market economy. For it's the entrepreneurs who serve as the spark plug in the economy's engine, activating and stimulating all economic activity. The economic success of nations worldwide is the result of encouraging and rewarding the entrepreneurial instinct.

A society is prosperous only to the degree to which it rewards and encourages entrepreneurial activity because it is the entrepreneurs and their activities that are the critical determinant of the level of success, prosperity, growth and opportunity in any economy. The most dynamic societies in the world are the ones that have the most entrepreneurs, plus the economic and legal structure to encourage and motivate entrepreneurs to greater activities.

The mandate God gave us is to raise men and women of purpose in business that will have the understanding of seasons of opportunities, and know how to maximise it for the development of our great nation. I chronicles 12vs32.

The benefit of entrepreneurship development programme in any nation cannot be over emphasized.

1. Entrepreneurs reduce the rate of unemployment and provide jobs to the people.
2. Entrepreneurship, helps the economy of any nation to grow and flourish.

The Land Is Green Business Breakfast Meeting is a platform where

1. We empower people with information that will transform their business.

2. We provide the necessary platforms that will help people to maximize opportunities within the life time of the opportunities.

3. We connect them to the right network that will mentor them to help reduce business mortality rate.

4. We raise champions and men of influence in various fields eg- IT, Properties, Manufacturing, Media, Service and so on.

5. We raise leaders that will make change happen- The success and failure of a nation, business or organization can be traced to the kind of leaders they have or their system of government. No nation will grow beyond the quality of leaders they have (and we are not talking government only here).

Lastly, the wealth of a nation depends on the wealth of their entrepreneurs. When we have more entrepreneurs, more wealth will be created for the people.


Join us for The Land Is Green August Special/Book Launch

THEME: Growing The Nigerian Economy Through Entrepreneurship Development
DATE: Thursday, Aug. 13, 2015
VENUE: Education Hub, City Hall Lagos Island.
TIME: 10 am (Registration and Exhibition starts 9am)

Speakers are

– +Kehinde John Olagbenjo – Host/Founder

– Tomi Davies – Lagos Angel Network

– Taba Peterside – GM/ Head, Listing Sales& Retention The Nigerian Stock Exchange

– Ndidi O. Nwuneli (MFR) Founder/Director; LEAP Africa

Senator – Babafemi Ojudu – Ekiti Central Senatorial District.

Also Ecobank, Leadway, UBA, GTBANK, Heritage Bank, KBL, Cornerstone, Microsoft, Rise Network and many other great organizations will be around.

Register on www.kjoworld.com or http://thelandisgreenaugustspecial.eventbrite.com

For partnership, advert and exhibition pls. call 08083535857.

Www.kjoworld.com
Www.smebusinessplatformng.com
Www.enterpriseradiong.com

3 entrepreneurship events you don't want to miss this season.....

As an entrepreneur, the quest for knowledge never ends, beyond that, the power of networking cannot be underestimated. What do you spend your time doing? Take one day off from the hustle and come out to meet with other entrepreneurs so you can exchange ideas, form alliances and just relax (hey, nothing wrong with that!)

In case you are wondering what events to attend, here's a list of some of the upcoming ones that I know would be worth attending.

Thank me later :-)

1. iaspireblog Business Seminar, July 18th 2015

This is a paid event, but they have 8 free exhibition slots for the first 8 people to complete their registration. The event will have top bank executives and angel investors in attendance. Entrepreneurs will get to listen to success stories of other entrepreneurs as well as get the opportunity to share their ideas one on one with potential investors.

The event is hosted by +iaspireblog. Visit www.iasplireblog.com to register.

2. TeamfestAfrica, August 7-9 2015

I bet you have heard of Copa Lagos, or maybe even attended. Well, the organizers are hosting their premier festival to connect entrepreneurs, and help job seekers get hired. It's a 3 day long bumper package and trust me, It will be fun!

Guess what? Yours truly, mumpreneur Mofolusade has five tickets to give away too!! Yaaay. Here's what you have to do.

- Resgister at www.teamfestafrica.com
- Tweet 3 benefits of attending the event to @sonaike, using the hashtag #teamfestafrica.

All the best.

3. The Land is Green Business Seminar, August 13 2015

The Land is green project is a network support system for entrepreneurs. The convener, +Kehinde John Olagbenjo has been hosting free monthly business meetings for some time now and is set to take the project a notch up! You really don't want to miss this event. Save the date and ensure you register at www.kjoworld.com or http://thelandisgreenaugustspecial.eventbrite.com.

For more information about the event, visit here.

Strike the Anvil....... Entrepreneurship as it really is

A few years into my entrepreneurship journey, I was really tired, it was as though, nothing was moving, I was stagnant and this close to giving it all up. I sat in front of my computer and started this blog, (I can't believe its been about two years ago now).

I poured out my heart a couple of times and felt better, it strengthened my resolve to keep going. What was even more surprising and encouraging to say the least was the feedback I kept getting! Alas, I was not alone. It struck me then that sharing is caring. The journey of an entrepreneur is a long and lonely one, somewhat. It was then that I decided to start networking, sharing and connecting. I poured myself into it. I have met people and heard stories, some of failure (many I must say, lol) and some of success that is never really a destination by the way but a continuum with more failure along the line. This is why I totally love the quote by Jay Z that I stumbled on recently;

"The genius thing we did was that we did not give up" 

I am telling you! Nothing sums it up better. I have seen the best and the brightest fall, In fact I have come to find that too much education and pre conceived knowledge can be a stumbling block. You have to be hungry and eat humble pie. Nobody has all the answers, we learn and grow everyday. I can't even begin to document all that I have experienced and learnt along the way. But I know someone needs it. I haven't experienced all this for nothing. 

I have been in arguments with people as to whether Entrepreneurship can be taught in a classroom or can only be experienced. I am for the latter, there is no book or classroom that can really capture the essence of entrepreneurship. We can only try and this is what Strike the Anvil seeks to achieve. To spark conversations that matter, to bring to fore the true struggle of an entrepreneur using this blog, the radio show and this TV web series I just launched. Yes! lol. I have failed so many times so I am so not afraid to try. What's the worst that can happen? 

I had this idea in my head forever, even before the radio show debut, but I just couldn't figure out where or how to start. I even met +lanre aina at the google DBM training and thought, yaay this is it, but I have never met anyone busier than this man! hahaha. Anyway, I thought to myself one day, wait a minute, why am I waiting for perfection, it doesn't have to be perfect. I will start where I am with what I have. So during the build up to the elections, I picked up my boys and we went on a road trip to Obafemi Awolowo University to work with some students from the creative arts department and some others who are not students of the department but are passionate about arts. Together we put together our first few episodes of strike the anvil!! Whoop Whoop!!

I'll share my OAU experience in another post, but for now enjoy the first video, like, comment, share and most importantly, subscribe to the +YouTube page.

Thanks Fam!

Banke @bank3h

We also got an amazingly talented duo to do the theme song for the series. Banke and Dayoslides, both students of the Obafemi Awolowo university ... They've got talent in that school though, almost as much as we got in unilag (pun intended, hahaha).

Dayoslides @dayoslides

listen here

or try here if hulkshare is having one of their bad days... free things! sighs.