Of the lot, 300 successful applicants have emerged based on three criteria namely; feasibility of the business proposal, scalability of the business in its ability to create additional jobs and continuous positive impact in its community.
The Boot Camp which is designed to train shortlisted applicants on profitable business management, is a rigorous 3-day capacity building intervention that will expose the young entrepreneurs to course contents that will aid them in managing their businesses in their respective communities. The 3-day Boot Camp training boasts of a robust curriculum which comprises of courses on introduction to entrepreneurship; business plan development; customer service; leadership and team building; introduction to marketing; business laws & taxation; and business accounting 101 among others. Participants will also receive the enterprise tool kit from the Enterprise Development Centre of Pan Atlantic University.
The training will take place in three designated venues in Lagos, Abuja and Anambra states to aid easy access for youths who applied across Nigeria.
According to Otunba Michael Daramola, Legal and Corporate Affairs Director “Worldwide, mentorship, training and start-up capital are three vital pillars of success in business. Over the years, the statistics of business failures have confirmed this to be true. This is the reason we take this phase very seriously and have carefully selected our faculty members who will build the capacity of these young entrepreneurs with the necessary skills and knowledge to make a difference in their businesses and their respective communities by extension” he noted.
Having become a national empowerment programme, this year’s edition received more applications from the agricultural sector closely followed by manufacturing and production. Others are ICT related businesses, crafts, education, circular packaging among others.
In her own words, Country Lead, Sustainability and Stakeholder Management, International Breweries Plc, Temitope Oguntokun said, “We are very happy and satisfied with the turnout for this year’s edition which has gone national. 42% of the applications emerged from South-West while South-South and South-East had 17% and 16% respectively. The Northern region comprising North-East, North-West and North-Central accounted for 25% of the applications received. As a company, we will continue to support Nigeria’s attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular Goal 8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth. Kickstart was introduced in 2016 to empower young entrepreneurs with the wherewithal to kick-start their business ventures in recognition that the growth of Nigeria increasingly depends on the ability of its enterprising youth population to unlock their entrepreneurial potential” She added.
The Boot Camp training is also designed to give the participants the much needed knowledge on how to further develop their proposed business ideas especially for the participants who require funding for such ideas and gives them the opportunity to participate in the next stage of the initiative known as Pitch Fest wherein participants will defend their business proposals and a final selection of successful beneficiaries who will be awarded grants will emerge.
To benefit from Kickstart, young people have to apply, stating the nature of their prospective entrepreneurial ventures. The applications are assessed, and the most promising business cases are identified. Thereafter, the beneficiaries go through an intensive training programme at the bootcamp. Upon completing the training programme, seed capital, up to N3M each, is made available to successful applicants while IB Plc continues to provide guidance and mentorship, helping these young entrepreneurs to establish a strong foothold in the world of business.
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