Entrepreneurship is alive and well in Nigeria, driven by the lack of jobs and high levels of poverty. But there remains a void of resources and guidance, leaving many entrepreneurs to turn to business development organizations for help.
One such organization is the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (You WiN!), a collaboration of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Communication Technology, the Ministry of Youth Development and the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.
You WiN! created an annual Business Plan Competition for aspiring young entrepreneurs in the country after which it provided a one-time equity grant for 1,200 selected aspiring entrepreneurs to start or expand their business concepts.
The goal of the program, which is done in partnership with Nigeria’s private sector, is to generate 80,000 to 110,000 new jobs by encouraging and supporting aspiring entrepreneurial youth in Nigeria to develop and execute business ideas that will lead to job creation.
The program wants to give Nigerian youth a platform to showcase their business spirit and skills to business leaders, investors and mentors.
AFKInsider interviewed YouWiN! coordinator, Dr. Olasupo Olusi, about the program.
AFKInsider: Why did YouWiN! begin?
Dr. Olasupo Olusi: Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YouWiN!) program is an initiative of the Federal Government to support and encourage youth entrepreneurship and innovation through the provision of access to finance, training and mentoring with a view to create jobs for other young people.
The main component of YouWiN! is a series of three annual Business Plan Competitions (BPCs) that was launched in 2011 among Nigeria’s aspiring youth entrepreneurs from the six geo-political regions. The BPCs have been open to Nigerian citizens, who are aged 45 years and below, and have a promising new business idea or expansion plans for an existing small business that would result in creation of jobs. Each competition follows a process of multiple stages that ends with a final selection of 1,200 award winners spread across the country to receive financial and technical support to grow their businesses.
Two editions of the BPC have been conducted resulting in the emergence of 2,400 winners who are growing their businesses and have so far created 27,000 jobs as of November 2013.
AFKInsider: Why is a program like YouWiN! necessary?
Dr. Olasupo Olusi: Access to finance is one of the major challenges faced by Nigerian enterprises, but businesses owned by young people (under 30) are more severely affected, largely due to their lack of collateral to secure funding from credit institutions, according to the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey in 2010. So a program like YouWiN! is aimed at bridging this market failure and also support job creation.
AFKInsider: What is the process for YouWiN!?
Dr. Olasupo Olusi: Each edition of YouWiN! consists of two parts; the pre-award (or competition phase) and the post-award phase. The pre-award phase comprises the planning and sensitization for the application stages up until the final selection of winners is concluded. The post-award phase consists of support given to award winners (awardees) through disbursement of award funds, additional training, monitoring and mentoring programs.
After the application period, entries are assessed by the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) of the Pan Atlantic University using a standardized score card. A total of 6,000 applicants are selected based on their scores to advance to the next stage of the competition. Reviews of applications are anonymous – reviewers are not able to link any particular business concept with any candidate names or identities. To ensure that all selections are based on merit, the process is validated by the UK-based Plymouth Business School.
These 6,000 applicants are notified and invited to attend training to prepare them for the second round of the competition. Participants are taught basic business planning and management skills, and equipped with the requisite skills to prepare a business plan, conduct market surveys, market testing, prepare for business registration, and learn public speaking and presentation skills. At the end of the training, all participants receive a certificate in entrepreneurship.
During and after the training, all second round entrants are asked to prepare and submit a more detailed business plan. The Enterprise Development Center again reviews the business plans in detail again using a standardized assessment tool.
Up to 1,200 award winners identified. YouWiN! awardees are supported to either start or expand their business over a period of one year through the disbursement of award funds, participation in comprehensive training, monitoring and mentoring programs coordinated by the Secretariat.
AFKInsider: What are some goals for YouWiN! for 2014?
Dr. Olasupo Olusi: To provide business training for 6,000 of the best concept note submissions and also register 6,000 businesses; select 1,200 winners, support the 1,200 winners to grow their businesses through funds disbursement; post award training on small business management, monitoring and mentoring programs.
AFKInsider: How do you promote YouWiN!?
Dr. Olasupo Olusi: YouWiN! is promoted all over the country through mass media campaigns in traditional (radio, television, nationwide newspapers) and electronic (Twitter, Facebook etc.) media, special workshops and establishment of support centers to encourage the participation of eligible youth. We also showcase some of the beneficiaries at various fairs.
