Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YouWiN) Business Plan Competition for Women

YouWiN! Business Plan Competition

Competition Subjects: Any business plan
Competition Level: Any level of business plan
Provider: Federal Government of Nigeria
Country to Study in: Nigeria

Scholarship Description
The Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YouWiN!) Programme is an annual Business Plan Competition (BPC) for aspiring young entrepreneurs in Nigeria.

In line with the Federal Government’s drive to create more jobs for Nigerians, the programme aims at job creation by encouraging and supporting aspiring entrepreneurial youth in Nigeria to develop and execute business ideas.

On Monday September 3rd 2012, President Goodluck Jonathan launched the 2012/2013 Edition of the YouWiN! Business Plan Competition tagged “YouWiN! Women”.

The first round of the entrepreneurship competition was held last year, open for aspiring entrepreneurial youths in Nigeria. The second edition of the business plan competition aims to empower women.

The competition is open for aspiring entrepreneurial Women.

Eligibility
To be eligible for the Business Plan Competition you must satisfy the following criteria

• You must be a proven citizen of Nigeria and a woman no older than 45 years (proof of identity: International passport/Drivers License/National ID/Voters card required)
• You must have a post-secondary school qualification
• Your proposed business venture must be within the national borders of Nigeria, and with the intention of employing Nigerian citizens.
• Your proposed venture must not entail the production or distribution of weapons, alcoholic beverages, tobacco or/and gambling, or any activities in contradiction with the Nigerian constitution
• You must prepare an innovative business concept summary

You must choose to participate in one award pool. There are 6 regional pools on the basis of geo-political zone as identified by market in which you want to do business.

Eligible groups
Aspiring entrepreneurial Nigerian Women

Participating Institutions
Please NOTE:

• YouWiN is an equity contribution to your business. It is therefore NOT A LOAN but a grant.
• Award recipients will be paid according to the needs of the business and specific mile-stones stated in the business plan.
• Award recipients must be registered with CAC before disbursement of funds even though they do not need to be registered to apply. YouWIN will support the registration process.
• Award recipients will operate accounts using their registered companies with any of the participating commercial banks prior to disbursement.
• Award recipients must sign a grant agreement with the managers of YouWiN before disbursement of funds.

Number of awards
Several. There were 1,200 YouWiN! awardees on the first competition

Scholarship benefits
The main objective of the You WiN! Programme is to generate jobs by encouraging and supporting aspiring entrepreneurial youth in Nigeria to develop and execute business ideas that will lead to job creation.

The programme will provide aspiring youth with a platform to show case their business acumen, skills and aspirations to business leaders, investors and mentors in Nigeria.

Method of Application
Step 1 - Check that you are qualified to apply. See the section "Who can apply?" on the YouWiN! website via the link below

Step 2 - Register Now at the YouWIN website. You will receive a confirmation email from YouWIN! with all the details you will need to log in.

Step 3 - Once you have successfully registered you need to Log in and click the New Business Application button on the right hand-side. You can save your application form as you go along, and come back to it at any time. Once you are happy with your application use the Submit button on the form to send it to us. You can submit only ONE application.

Step 4 - STAY INFORMED
After the closing date you will be notified if you have been selected for the next stage of the competition. You can join the discussion on the forum, or on Facebook and Twitter. We will also post news on the YouWiN! homepage.

DEADLINES:

• Mon. Sep 3, 2012 -- First stage business concept submission starts after launch by President Goodluck Jonathan.
• Sun. Oct 14, 2012 -- First stage business concept submission closes. No entries accepted after this date.
• Mon. Dec 10, 2012 -- Training of the 1st set of second stage candidate starts. Trainings will be held in sets on 10 - 21 December 2012 and 2 - 11 January 2013.
• Mon. Dec 10, 2012 -- Submission of second stage business plan starts on 10 December 2012 and ends 8 February 2013. Please note that only entries from candidates who attended the training and had their biometrics information collected are eligible and will be reviewed.
• Wed. May 1, 2013 -- Winners are notified and published on website and major national dailies.

PLEASE NOTE:
This competition is a collaboration of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Communication Technology (CT), the Ministry of Youth Development and the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development that will launch

The programme will be implemented in partnership with Nigeria’s private sector, who will be requested to provide funding support.

Contact
If you have any trouble registering please contact us

Application Deadline: Oct 14, 2012 (1st stage); 8 February 2013 (2nd stage)
Open to International students: No (ONLY Nigerians)

More Scholarship Information and Application

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