Five Nigerian start- ups get € 120,000 grants

DELUXE Creation Studios, Film Anatomie Manufacturing, Tquart Food, Klay Functional Foods and Production Ltd and Nutrition4kids NG emerged first to fifth place winners at the Orange Corners Innovation Pitch Competition held to mark the end of the ninth cohort of the Orange Corners Nigeria Incubation Programme. The enterprises ha ve access to a € 120,000 startup capital of 75 per cent grant and 25 per cent loan provided by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, following the emergence.

The support would enable the promising enterprises to further develop and scale their businesses, contributing to economic growth and job creation in Nigeria, Orange Corners said.

Orange Corners is an initiative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands la unched in Nigeria in 2019 and impleme nted by FA TE Foundation. It is currently present in 22 countries within Africa and the Middle East.

Its incubation programme supports 20 entrepreneurs with enterprise development knowledge, mentoring, access to market, and funding to grow their businesses.

Till date, the programme has supported 180 entrepreneurs with funding valued over N807 million for prototype development market testing and growth capital with 45 per cent being female- owned businesses.

“We are enthusiastic about providing earlystage funding to empower these aspiring young Nigerian entrepreneurs. Our support will facilitate the ideation, development, testing, and prototyping of their innovations, while also assisting them in establishing a robust business model and structure. This strategic approach aims to position them for successful business expansion and readiness to attract additional investments," Executive Director, FATE Foundation, Adenike Adeyemi, said.

For the current cohort, 20 businesses were assessed by a jury made up of Sonia Odije- Fajusigbe, Economic & Trade Adviser, Netherlands Consulate General; Gift Iyere, Ecosystem Partnership, Sterling Bank Plc; Gbenga Abogan, Investment Manager, VEROD Capital among others.