The Enterprise Challenge set for second cycle 

Four corporate giants British Council, Virgin Atlantic, Zenith Bank and Samsung have partnered in the launch of the second cycle of the Enterprise Challenge (#ECNG2016).  The new session of the competition designed to test the business skills of young Nigerian entrepreneurs aged 18 and 35 years, was launched on February 3, 2016 in Lagos.

Made up of three tasks, the competition provides a platform for young, brilliant entrepreneurial minds to further develop their business skills and bring their innovative ideas to the fore for possible future development.

For the first stage of the competition, over 10,000 submissions were made by young entrepreneurs nationwide with a wide variety of ideas and solutions for economic diversification in Nigeria. In all, 88 young entrepreneurs made it through to the second stage of the competition submitting video pitches for their ideas/solutions.

Speaking at a media chat held recently at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, Tomi Soyinka, director, education and Skills, British Council, noted that recognising that skills and knowledge acquisition are critical components to developing successful entrepreneurs and their ventures, the Enterprise Challenge has introduced a ‘Boot Camp’ style event delivered by The Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship. “On March 4, 2016, we officially launched our three-day boot camp which has been put together specifically for our 20 finalists who were successful in the first two tasks of the Enterprise Challenge. The three-day event is designed to provide a core grounding in business principles in theory and practice. It will also explore synergies within local and global business contexts and promote networking opportunities for the top candidates with established, successful Nigerian entrepreneurs”, Soyinka said.

After the boot camp, the finalists will face the final panel of judges. The winners will receive a financial grant worth N1.5 million and N1 million for the first and second respectively, and will all benefit from continued support from the initiative’s partners. In addition, the overall Enterprise Challenge champion will receive a fully-funded scholarship to attend a five-day entrepreneurship foundation course at the Branson Centre for Entrepreneurship in South Africa plus a mentoring session in London with Sir Richard Branson, world renowned entrepreneur, founder  and chairman of Virgin Group.

Also speaking at the media chat, Justin Bell, Airport Manager, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Lagos, commended the passion and drive of the Nigerian people for entrepreneurship, noting that Virgin Atlantic is committed to helping aspiring entrepreneurs to realise their dreams and contribute to the development of the country, hence the synergy with other corporate organisations in the Enterprise Challenge.

In 2014, Eseoghene Odiete and Nasir Yammama were named winners of the inaugural Enterprise Challenge, beating more than 1,881 entrants to the coveted title. Ese founded and runs Hesey Designs (www.heseydesigns.com), an online store selling African-inspired accessories, through which she empowers and mentors young African women. Nasir created a remarkable mobile phone app called Verdant (www.yammama.com), which aims to help crop farmers across Nigeria.

Since winning, both Ese and Nasir have successfully developed their businesses; investing in technology, machinery and marketing to support their commercial and ideological aspirations. Hesey Designs is no longer seen as a local company but a credible and growing international brand. And Verdant has successfully graduated from the design and development stage, into a fully functional pilot running in Kastina State ahead of its nationwide launch.

OBINNA EMELIKE