Following the successful completion of the Sustainable Solutions Africa 30Under30 Project, an initiative launched by WeForGood International and its partners to promote skills for sustainable development, the organisation held a pitch and wrap-up event to announce its fellows and grant awardees. Earlier in the year, in commemoration of the United Nations’ World Youth Skills Day, WeForGood International, in partnership with IHS Nigeria, had hosted leading experts and entrepreneurs at the Sustainable Solutions Africa Conference which took place on Monday 15th July, 2019 at Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Delivered as a blended fellowship and accelerator programme, the initiative was targeted at youths who have developed skills with which they create opportunities for themselves and others. With the 30under30 project, WeForGood worked directly with select 30 young founders aged 18-29 with great initiatives from all over Africa, empowering them to amplify their impact through training, coaching, community and financial support.
Over the period of three months, from August to October 2019, these founders were coached in different areas including Business Management; Strategy; Communication; Personal Branding; The Sustainable Development Goals; Business Development; Innovation; Managing Finance; Fundraising; Customer Experience Management; Understanding Competitive Advantage; Emotional Intelligence; Digital Marketing; Leveraging Technology for Business Success; Creating Shared Value; Sales and Marketing; Negotiation; The Future of Work; Legal Aspects of Business and Tip for Accessing Sustainable Funding.
The project had a line up of exceptional coaches including Seyi Akinyoyenu; Adebola Adeyinka; Adedoyin Jaiyesimi; Temitayo Ade-Peters; Dominic Odunuga; Ayo Jolayemi; Zainab Olisamah; Abosede Alimi; Fola Onasanya; Enahoro Okhae; Modupe Ogunyemi; Emmanuel Ukpong; Cima Sholotan; Martin Abraham; Kemi Afesojaiye and Natalie Beinisch.
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Speaking about the project, Temitayo Ade-Peters, CEO WeForGood International said, “We are very honoured to be a part of the success journeys of these young African founders and social entrepreneurs who in spite of the challenging environment, continue to push through to provide sustainable solutions on the continent. We are very grateful to our coaches, industry leaders who served as mentors over 3 months, from August to October, with the aim of empowering the fellows to amplify their impact.
Also commenting on the partnership with IHS, she stated, “Words are not enough to describe the positive effect of IHS Nigeria’s support in the lives of these young African founders. The impact of the training and coaching on the fellows over the 3 months period was immediately noticeable, with the new level of confidence and commitment to growth that the fellows displayed even as they pitched for the grant and a share of the prize money.
Furthermore, the fellows were overjoyed by the announcement regarding the N3Million grant for each of them, and we strongly believe that just like the CEO, Mr. Mohamad Darwish stated, the funds will serve as a great push to help them scale their ventures, a backing for which I am personally grateful.”
According to the CEO of IHS Nigeria Limited, Mr. Mohamad Darwish, “As an organisation which champions economic development, IHS Nigeria Limited has been at the forefront of youth empowerment in the communities where we serve. Our support for this project is a further demonstration of our commitment to this cause.”
In addition to the N3M seed grants awarded to the fellows who pitched, $5,000 was also up for grabs as reward for the pitch. Subsequently, post collation of the results as assigned by the judges, points allocated to the community development initiatives carried out by the fellows during the course of the project and their attendance, the winners were announced: 3rd Place Winner ($1,000) was Sarah Kuponiyi of Adolescent Reproductive Health and Rights Initiative; 2nd Place Winner ($1,500) was Emele Augustina Chidinma of CHAIS Health Initiative; and 1st Place Winner ($2,500) was Babajide Oluwase of RenewDrive.
This initiative is part of WeForGood International’s agenda to champion the emergence of a new crop of African leaders committed to its sustainable development.
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