Unity Bank Plc’s entrepreneurship development initiative, Corpreneurship Challenge, has doled out N10 million grant to 30 winners.
The grants were given at the ninth edition of the programme, targeted at empowering fresh graduates and corps members on one-year compulsory national youth service.
The winners emerged after a business pitch presentation held across 10 states – Rivers, Delta, Sokoto, Edo, Abuja, Akwa-Ibom, Osun, Kano, Bayelsa and Enugu – with each state producing three winners who went home cash grant of N500,000, N300,000 and N200,000 each.
The winners focused on developing entrepreneurship in renewable energy, fashion, beauty, agro-processing and confectionaries
Some of the winners at the Rivers State NYSC Orientation camp at Nonwa Gbam Tai included Muoneke Gift, whose business plan was on renewable energy, took home the grand prize of N500, 000. Ilesanmi Olamide (with a business proposal on beauty services) claimed a N300,000 business grant for the first runner-up position.
Ekanem Moses Idoreyin’s confectionery business proposal won a N200,000 grant.
The winners emerged after their business plans were assessed by a panel looking out for business ideas that demonstrated originality, marketability, future employability potential of the product and knowledge of the business.
The Unity Bank Corpreneurship Challenge has gradually joined the league of some of the most impactful, youth-focused entrepreneurship development initiatives, which has empowered no fewer than 100 young entrepreneurs over the past three years.
Recently, one of the beneficiaries in Sokoto, Beulah Yusuf, who emerged as second runner-up in one of the editions successfully launched her recycling business with the grant received from the bank. She unveiled her products widely acclaimed for addressing environmental pollution and waste management inefficiencies, underscoring the bank’s motivations to sustain the initiative.
Speaking during the finale at Rivers State NYSC Orientation Camp recently, the Group Head, Retail, E-Business and SME Banking, Olufunwa Akinmade, said the bank was delighted with the impressive records the Corpreneurship Challenge has pulled so far.
“When we launched the initiative in 2019, we set out to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs that will disrupt the job market by creating much-needed jobs across all sectors. Today, we have come a long way and the Corpreneurship Challenge has lived up to its billing,” he said.
