Startup North-East 2020 Virtual Incubation Program For Nigerian Startups

The Ventures Platform Hub is calling for applications for the Startup North-East 2020 Virtual Incubation Program. This a 4-month entrepreneurship program designed to help startups solve prevailing problems that affect aid distribution and data management in the NorthEast.

So, tech-focused startups with solutions to the problems in North-East Nigeria, Apply now. This project seeks to identify and support innovative and technology-focused startups whose activities can create solutions to the problems in northeast Nigeria, and especially address gaps in areas of aid distribution and data management.

Basically, successful participants will be supported to deploy their applications to increase the availability of solutions that will support community, government, and donor initiatives in rebuilding the region. By participating in this program, some of the things the participants would gain include;

• Grant; Business equity-free funding up to $3,000 each for 6 startups
• Business Advisory; Get access to a pool of mentors and business experts
• Partnerships; Access to a network of partners

If you have solutions, your applications should focus on these areas;

Poor Data Management; This blindsides the aid organisations from knowing the actual gaps in the northeast, which mitigates the efforts of aid distribution and hampers accountability in the region.

Insecurity; Fewer organisations are willing to move outside the capital cities of the northeastern states, to deliver aid to other areas. As a result, it poses a challenge for many organisations to find implementing partners and delivering programs outside of the city.

Poor coordination and lack of good communication; There are poor coordination and lack of good communication among disaster management stakeholders.

Misappropriation of relief materials and funds; Local leaders sometimes divert and sell these relief materials, are nepotistic, and bring only their family members to benefit from the aid provided by development organisations.

Unqualified personnel; The lack of trained personnel in handling aid distribution

Poor data collection; Poor identification of households that require these relief services

Lack of Insight; Non-consultation with local communities to determine actual need

Extortion; Sex for cash, food items and non-food items with vulnerable women and girls in the IDP camps

Mishandling of equipment; Physical cards provided to IDPs for identification, sometimes get missing or are reprinted so many times to enable them to collect the relief materials multiple times.

To apply, and qualify for funds, you must meet the following criteria;

1. You must be operating in Nigeria
2. Your startup is in idea-stage or early-stage
3. Can demonstrate the potential for future scale
4. The solution must be solving a problem around the key area of interest
5. Your startup has a well-rounded complementary team. i.e. in-house capacity for product vision (What to build), technology (how to build it), and business (how to make money from it)
6. As a founder, you should have some unique insight or compelling worldview deep domain expertise and/or a strong grasp of the landscape, an eye for detail tenacity, high conscientiousness, and a bias towards execution
7. Your solution should leverage technology.

The deadline for application for the Startup North-East 2020 Virtual Incubation Program is 2nd December 2020. So, if a brand or individual meets up the eligible criteria, apply immediately using this link; http://startupne.venturesplatform.com/