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Tuesday, 5 May 2015

Life Continental Lager Beer Boosts entrepreneurship in South-East with N12.5 million

Life Continental Lager Beer, a brand of beverage from the stable of Nigerian Breweries, has initiated an entrepreneur empowerment scheme of N12.5 million for budding and talented businessmen and women within the South-East. The innovative talent hunt and mentoring programme is dubbed Progress Booster.

Speaking to teeming distributors, retailers, bar and entertainment spot operators (trade partners of Nigerian Breweries Plc.) representatives of different market associations at the launch of the project in Onitsha recently, Emma Agu, the Marketing Manager, Lager & Stout stated that Progress Booster is a radio reality project meant to re-launch and reinvigorate Life Continental Lager Beer in the South East market where it pioneered regional brewing and has maintained leadership of the region’s booming market. He added that the empowerment scheme programme would run from May to December.

He noted that the programme was meant to empower 50 budding entrepreneurs that have submitted sound and workable business proposals to the brands outlets in the South-East.

The lager and stout category manager at the nation’s biggest brewer noted that a winner, whose proposal must have been approved by business experts, would be given N250,000 to start-up his or her business idea that won him the money while being supervised by business experts for the next three months.


He noted that while being supervised for three months if the business of the budding entrepreneur is still doing well in the practicability of his business; he would be given another N250,000 added to the initial seed-money capital given to him or her.
Agu said that the winner would be announced each week via a weekly radio programmes on the scheme in four regional radio stations in Onitsha, Enugu, Owerri and Aba.

The manager noted that the business proposal could be on trading, handicraft, small scale manufacturing and provision of social services, which must have ways of yielding money and pulling the recipients of the cash grant out of poverty to being employer of labour later on.

He explained that the criteria for participating included: participants must be above 18 years; must come from the South-East and must reside within the South-East.

“The empowerment project tagged, Progress Booster is a radio reality project designed in the manner of global entrepreneurial reality series like The Executive, The Entrepreneur etc.

“Where young and aspiring entrepreneurs conceive and present business ideas and projects in a competitive atmosphere to panel of experts, business executives and professionals who will guide them to realise their dreams.

“Progress Booster will see young and aspiring entrepreneurs especially from the South East competing with each other for various prizes as the project will challenge them to draw on their Igbo heritage of doggedness, industry, enterprise and progress as a people, to conceive, package and present business ideas to a carefully selected panel of judges made up of successful business owners and entrepreneurs, accomplished professionals and academics, especially of Igbo extraction.

“Winners will emerge at the State levels in each of the five South-East states where the project is targeted at. A final and overall winner of the project will emerge at the end of the finals.

“Weekly winners will go home with N250,000 to boost their businesses while the most promising business owner will get an additional N250,000 three months after.
“The Life Booster project is a reinforcement of the heritage embedded in the Life Continental Lager Beer, its essence and connection with the South-East consumers,’’ he said.

Agu also noted that the programme was designed to rejuvenate and celebrate the quintessential Igbo culture that places emphasis on individualism and competitiveness as essential ingredients of industry, enterprise and spirit to succeed and excel.

“The project is Life Beer’s own way of reconnecting and rejuvenating the illustrious and enterprising spirit the average Igbo is known for. Progress Booster is not just coming to recognise the undying adventurous spirit of the Igbo and the average will to not just survive, but succeed in everything he/she does, the project is a celebration of the of the essential Igbo spirit of industry, will to succeed, enterprise and passion in the world of business,” he said, adding that the invention of Progress Booster by Life Continental Lager Beer is a reinforcement of the heritage embedded in the Life Continental Lager Beer, its essence, connection and affinity with the people and heritage of South-East.

“Life defines the Igbo in every Igbo consumer. That’s our beer. It was Life Beer that gave the Igbo the sense of ownership for the first in Nigeria’s brewing history. Every Igbo beer consumer and aspiring beer consumers has a heritage tied to Life Continental Lager Beer. It is the beer that has taken care of the needs of the Igbo from time immemorial,” he enthused.

In same vein, Funso Ayeni, Snr. Brand Manager, Stout and Life Lager says Life Continental Lager Beer is using the new and innovative platform of Progress Booster to renew its age-long contract with Eastern consumers, communities and people. ”Progress Booster is designed to rejuvenate and celebrate the quintessential Igbo’s spirit and culture that places emphasis on change, individualism and competitiveness as essential ingredients of industry, enterprise and the will to succeed and excel in any field of endeavour, no matter how herculean the challenges are.”

Ayeni who described Progress Booster as ‘unique and an exciting’ disclosed that the radio reality show “is designed as an Entrepreneurship Support Initiative (ESI) and is aimed helping young people who reside within the South East geo-political region to get a head-start in their desire to start up business ventures of their own.”

It would be recalled that Nigeria’s pioneer region most indigenous beer brand - Life Continental Lager Beer - is the first Nigerian beer locally brewed and domiciled in the South East.

Life Continental Lager Beer has been dominantly consumed in the eastern part of Nigeria for over three decades.

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