Over the course of the last five years, Unity Bank’s Corpreneurship Challenge, an effort to promote entrepreneurship, has helped no fewer than 400 recent graduates. This demonstrates the Bank’s dedication to fostering economic expansion by assisting the upcoming generation of Nigerian business owners.The NYSC Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development, or SAED, is collaborating with the Corpreneurship Challenge initiative, which was started in 2019 with pilots in four states: Lagos, Edo, Ogun, and Abuja. In 2020, the program will be expanded to ten states. During the initiative’s business pitch presentation, participants—the majority of whom are recent graduates completing the one-year mandatory NYSC service—present their business concepts and compete to earn funds for their businesses.
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In contrast to previous editions, where winners of the Corpreneurship Challenge received awards of N500,000, N300,000, and N200,000, the Bank recently increased the prize money to 16 million Naira per stream, enabling participants who win in the business pitch to win N800,000, N500,000, and N300,000 Business grants for the first, second, and third positions, respectively. The pioneer team that created the program and started the pilot, led by Mr. Olufunwa Akinmade, Divisional Head, Digital Banking and Fintech Partnerships at Unity Bank, reflected on the program’s effects and stated: “The Corpreneurship Challenge has proven to be a viable enterprise development and empowerment initiative due to its high-level of success in supporting budding entrepreneurs in the target demographic, as well as the size of the problem it is designed to solve for the Nigerian economy”.
Olufunwa expressed happiness about Corpreneurship Challenge’s increasing recognition as one of Nigeria’s top sector-neutral business incubators and stated that the Bank is dedicated to continuing the program to achieve the even greater impact necessary to increase job creation, with young entrepreneurs at the forefront. “We have seen the positive impact of the Corpreneurship Challenge over the past five years because of its innovative approach to youth empowerment and job creation, including a holistic strategy of supporting budding entrepreneurs with mentorship, and skills development, in addition to the financial backing,” stated Mrs. Adenike Ambimbola, Divisional Head of Retail and SME Banking, who was also speaking.
The Corpreneurship Challenge train has traveled around Nigeria since its inception, stopping in ten States per stream to turn the dreams of fresh graduates and aspiring entrepreneurs into reality, thus supporting the growth of the SME sector in Nigeria.In ten states—Taraba, Kogi, FCT, Lagos, Yobe, Ogun, Ebonyi, Enugu, Adamawa, and Imo State—the most recent edition was held. Three winners were chosen from each state to total thirty victors.
