This is a huge chance for agritech startups across Nigeria. The FCMB-Wennovation Agritech Incubation Programme, in conjunction with Wennovation Hub, has launched a bid to guide early-stage AgriTech Start-ups across Nigeria so that they can test and validate their ideas as well as gather their first set of customers or pivot if need be.
This will be done through a combination of financial support, guidance, and training. The secondary objective is to prepare these start-ups for acceleration.
Here Is All You Need To Know
The goal of the 2019 incubation is to:
Expose 10 teams across Nigeria to the root of the pre-defined problem statement by merging an in-depth problem definition strategy with an immersion process.
Support at least top 10 teams with a demonstrable Minimum Viable Product to build a sustainable business model by taking them through a design thinking workshop and subsequently a 3 weeks incubation program.
Support at least tops 2 Agritech startups in Nigeria with seed investments and grants.
Offer access to experienced mentors and a cohort structure that encourages peer learning and support.
Provide opportunities to connect with potential customers and investors.
What Are Expected of Prospective Applicants
Applications should focus on four problem statements, namely Input, Production, Processing and Storage, and Marketing and Sales, with Wennovation Hub looking for MVP-stage startups with some form of market validation.
The programme commences with a one-week immersion component where selected startups get to interact with community members through Wennovation Hub immersion partners. Startups who successfully complete the immersion programme and the required reporting commitments will be invited to a two-week Bootcamp in Lagos.
It all concludes with a demo day in September, with all successful startups to be taken into a six-month post-Bootcamp aftercare programme
At the end of calls for application, 10 Agritech start-ups will be selected for the incubation program.
The program will be concluded with a pitching competition at the demo day where 2 Agritech startups will win a total of N3million in Grants.
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.
With the rumors that the federal government may spike on the fuel subsidy as new refineries come on stream early next year, UR Fuels, an on-demand app-based fuel delivery startup for both business and individual customers has launched in Nigeria, aiming to streamline the process of purchasing and obtaining fuel.
Incorporated in early this year, the Lagos-based UR Fuels allows B2B and B2C customers to order and pay for petrol, and get it delivered to their office or work. The goal is to help solve Nigeria’s downstream petrol supply challenges.
According to the founder and CEO of UR Fuels, Mr. Ugo Nwobodo, every home in Nigeria has a generator as a backup for the inefficient supply of electricity the country is known for. These generators are mostly powered by diesel or gasoline. People have to go to petrol stations every day to buy diesel in jerry cans, which could be a very inconvenient and daunting task.
To bridge this gap and help solve the problem, UR Fuels brings the diesel directly to customers’ homes and offices in its customized delivery trucks. The startup sells a minimum of 15 liters at a time, with the self-funded startup claiming to be the first of its kind in Nigeria.
“We are currently operating in the Lagos metropolis area. We plan to expand our operations to other major cities across Nigeria in upcoming months,” said Nwobodo.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.
When Byju Raveendran left classroom about seven years ago, he had no idea that he would soon be included in the list of India ’s billionaires. Now, that has happened and he has got a lot of credit for his persistence. Today, he has joined India’s billionaire list after his Think & Learn Pvt secured $150 million in funding earlier this month.
Here Is The Deal
The deal conferred a value of $5.7 billion on the company in which the founder owns more than 21%.
This brought the total valuation of the company developed by the former classroom teacher to almost $6 billion in about seven years.
This closing coincided with the announcement that the company’s Byju’s app — named after the founder — will team up with Walt Disney Co and take its service to American shores by early 2020.
In Byju’s latest funding round, the entrepreneur bought shares to maintain his equity level. Along with his wife and brother, the Raveendran clan now holds a total stake of about 35%.
Byju’s own fortunes have climbed alongside the market. Its revenues are expected to more than double to Rs 3,000 crore ($435 million) in the year ending March 2020, Raveendran said. That pace of growth has already caught the eye of some of the industry’s biggest investors from Naspers Ventures and Tencent Holdings Ltd. to Sequoia Capital and Facebook-founder Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan.
Byju’s Strategy
The Byju’s founder grew up in a village on India ’s southern coast where his parents were school-teachers. He was a reluctant pupil, playing hooky to frequent the football field, then learning on his own at home.
He became an engineer and then began helping friends crack entry exams to top Indian engineering and management schools.
The classes swelled until he finally began teaching thousands in sports stadiums, becoming a celebrity tutor who commuted between multiple cities during weekends.
Byju’s approach is simple — captivate kids by transforming the content to fit short attention spans. Raveendran has always harbored ambitions to crack English-speaking countries and has flown in YouTube stars to feature in his videos.
The 37-year-old entrepreneur — who has said he wants to do for Indian education what the Mouse House did for entertainment — is taking his biggest step yet geographically and creatively.
Online learning is booming, perhaps nowhere more so than on Byju’s home turf, where internet usage is exploding because of the ubiquity of cheap smartphones and cut-price wireless plans. India’s online learning market is expected to more than double to $5.7 billion by 2020, according to the government-backed India Brand Equity Foundation.
He set up Think & Learn in 2011, offering online lessons before launching his main app in 2015. The business has signed up more than 35 million of whom about 2.4 million pay an annual fee of Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000, helping it became profitable in the year ending March 2019. That’s when Raveendran began courting long-term investors such as pension funds and sovereign wealth funds — his latest backer is the Qatar Investment Authority.
In his new app, Disney staples from The Lion King’s Simba to Frozen’s Anna teach math and English to students from grades one through three. The same characters star in animated videos, games, stories and interactive quizzes.
“Kids everywhere relate to Disney’s Simba or Moana, who grip kids’ attention before we take them through the loop of learning,” said Raveendran, also chief executive officer.
India is going through a dramatic period of wealth creation — and destruction. A new breed of self-made entrepreneurs is joining the ranks of the well-heeled, helping the country’s ultra-rich population grow at the world’s fastest pace. Raveendran, at least on paper, assumes his place among those parvenus thanks to his effort in internet education.
Education technology for kindergarten through 12th grade is one of the fastest-growing segments of the country’s internet market (India), said Anil Kumar, chief executive officer of Redseer Management Consulting Pvt.
“Indian education startups are well set to seize the global opportunity given that they already cater to a large English-speaking base and have created unique education content,” he said.
Those big-name backers buy Raveendran’s vision.
In Disney, he may have found a ready-made audience. All the lessons on the new service with Disney are set in the context of the entertainment giant’s classics and stay true to the narrative.
To explain temperature, the app sets up a scene where Frozen’s Elsa falls ill because she constantly plays with snow.
Anna gets out the thermometer to gauge her fever and a little story is then built around heat and cold. Or, to learn shapes, young learners dive into the story of Cars where they have to sort items like tires, traffic cones, and billboards into buckets to learn about round, triangular and rectangular shapes.
“We are customizing Disney Byju’s to the American and British school curriculum,” Raveendran said. “The characters have universal appeal.”
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.
Engen Ghana Limited, one of the leading players in the petroleum downstream sector has opened a new station to its existing network of 22 stations nationwide. The station is located in Ayikai Doblo, a suburb of Amasaman in the Ga West municipality and operates a 24-hour service delivery for fuel.
Mr. Henry Akwaboah, MD, Engen Ghana in a statement, said that this latest addition to the network was an assurance to customers that the company was here to stay. The company’s mission is to act more responsibly by ensuring that there are the right skills set of forecourt staff.“With the right skills and knowledge, customers will be better served at this new station and have value for money spent on fuel and lubricants,” he explained.
He said as an international brand, Engen goes the extra mile to produce only the best fuel and lubricants. Ms. Nana Ama Larbie, Retail, and Property Development Manager, at Engen, said the Engen Dynamic Diesel and Primax Super have been purposely produced with the vehicle engines in mind to protect, clean and maintain the engine. This is available at all Engen Service Stations across the country.
“At Engen, we are committed to selling high-quality fuels and lubricants to our customers and the consuming public. We are mindful of the harmful effects of low-quality fuels on vehicles, equipment, and the environment hence, our supply and distribution processes ensure quality assurance right from the loading depot until delivery at our service stations and bulk consumer facilities,” she intimated. He said: “Engen Ghana Limited hopes to continuously improve and expand to meet the needs of their patrons nationwide.”
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.
OFID’s highest policy-making body, the Ministerial Council, held its 40th Annual Session in Vienna, Austria, and approved the general principles of OFID’s new Strategic Framework. The new strategy affirms OFID’s commitment to providing support to developing countries – especially low-income countries – in an increasingly complex and challenging development landscape.
At the Ministerial Council meeting, OFID Director-General Dr. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa said: “OFID’s vision is to be a relevant, agile and efficient development finance institution that can deliver maximum development impact to its partner countries while becoming self-sustainable in financing its operations.”
Over the coming months, OFID will embark on a journey to diversify its financial resources and to implement a coherent and consistent set of actions aimed at creating greater efficiency throughout the institution and equipping it with more innovative and responsive operational and financial instruments.
As part of its new strategy, OFID will renew its focus on partnerships. OFID works closely with organizations such as the World Bank, regional development banks and the bilateral and multilateral agencies of OFID member countries, as well as specialized agencies of the United Nations. In addition to strengthening existing partnerships, OFID aims to form new relationships to revitalize the global partnership in support of sustainable development.
In keeping with previous years, a highlight of the Ministerial Council’s public session was the presentation of the OFID Annual Award for Development. The 2019 Award was bestowed on Vida Duti – Country Director of the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre in Ghana – in recognition of her remarkable work and engagement in ensuring sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services for the population of Ghana (see press release PR14).
The Ministerial Council also considered and approved OFID’s financial statements and 2018 Annual Report, which shows cumulative commitments to global development exceeding US$23.4 billion.
OFID aims to continue to support the global efforts to overcome development challenges, as it has done since 1976, by extending concessionary financial assistance; participating in the financing of private sector activities in developing countries; contributing to the resources of other development institutions.
Since it was established, the organization has improved its capabilities and operational reach to support South-South development and socioeconomic growth in partner countries around the world. Public Sector lending, including to low-income countries, will continue to represent the largest portion of OFID’s loan portfolio, going forward.
The Ministerial Council comprises the finance ministers and other high-level representatives of OFID Member Countries. It meets once a year.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.
