Orange Corners Innovation Pitch Competition awarded €120,000 (about N196.05 million) to five Nigerian entrepreneurs.
The Punch stated that Deluxe Creation Studios, Film Anatomie Manufacturing, Tquart Food, Klay Functional Foods & Production Limited, and Nutrition4Kids NG are among the startups that received funds.
The entrepreneurs would have access to a €120,000 startup capital made up of a 75% grant and a 25% loan from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, according to a statement released by the event organizers on Thursday.
The organizers stated, “With this support, these promising entrepreneurs will be able to grow and expand their businesses, contributing to economic growth and job creation in Nigeria.”
The FATE Foundation is in charge of carrying out the Kingdom of the Netherlands’ Orange Corners programme, which was introduced in Nigeria in 2019. It is presently found in 22 Middle Eastern and African nations.
“We are excited to support these budding young Nigerian entrepreneurs with early-stage funding. Our assistance will help them create a strong business plan and organizational framework in addition to facilitating the ideation, development, testing, and prototyping of their innovations.”
According to Executive Director of the FATE Foundation, Adenike Adeyemi, “this strategic approach aims to position them for successful business expansion and readiness to attract additional investments.”
Odije-Fajusigbe declared, “Our objective is to contribute to an enabling entrepreneurship ecosystem that will ensure business success, reduce unemployment, and increase National wealth.”
The Orange Corners Incubation Programme helps twenty entrepreneurs expand their firms by providing them with cash, market access, mentorship, and expertise in enterprise development.
The scheme has provided approximately N807 million in funding for prototype creation, market testing, and growth capital to 180 entrepreneurs so far.
Approximately 45% of these companies are run by women. In the meantime, the incubation program’s 10th cohort is now accepting applications.
