By Editor
As all attention will be focused on the lucky winner of N1.5m 2024 Ekiti Enterprise Challenge this weekend, one of the organizers of the business initiative which is targeted towards empowering young Ekiti enterpreneurs has shed more lights on the life changing business opportunity.
Mr Olufemi Edwards, the boot camp Director of EEC in an exclusive interview with our correspondent said:
“The aim of the Ekiti Enterprise Challenge is that we want to make Ekiti State not to be too economically dependent on civil service. So the idea is that we identified businesses in Ekiti State owned by Ekiti indigenes that are doing well, though struggling but with some little financial push, more trainings, exposure and network they would be able to scale through and survive, sell well in Ekiti and outside the shores of Ekiti. That was the idea” he stated.
According to him, the idea was the brain child of the Chairman Ekiti Enterprise Challenge, Engr Dare Ojo who hails from Iworoko Ekiti in conjunction with a team of people sat down together in 2020 to organize the maiden edition won by an Ekiti young lady , Freedom Shoes.
Edwards added that the organization did an analysis of her business one year after she won the award and felt proud that the Ekiti Enterprise Challenge has been able to make an entrepreneur out of the lady and the two runners up whom he said were doing well.
Speaking further, Edwards said the module for selection of new winners commenced since yesterday.
His words: “The camp opened yesterday and we have today 15 finalists out of over 100 people that submitted their applications and we took them to some virtual screening process and physical interviews before we came up with the 15 finalists comprising 15 young Ekiti enterpreneurs with great ideas and the winner will go home with N1.5m grant, second N750,000 and third, N500, 000. It’s a grant, not a loan and not payable to anybody”
On their motivation for floating the laudable program, Edwards said; “Our success and joy is that they would make use of the trainings they have received to multiply the money given to them. That is why it’s an intensive one week training camp where we bring in professionals like the MD/ CEO of Ideas, Consult-the owner of Ideas Center who took them through business plans, Mr Olusegun Oke taking them through Start-up business and entrepreneurship as well as Dr Marvelous taking them through marketing, branding team building strategies to mention but a few”
Continuing, the spokesperson declares that EEC is not only about giving out money; “The idea is not about just giving them money but we want to empower them with necessary business sckills they would need to multiply the money given to them. The idea is that value has to come from Ekiti State” he concluded
On possible collaboration with the state government in the area of local content and shared prosperity agenda, Edward said; “We are open for partnership as long as we are not deviating from our original intention which is to identify young Ekiti enterpreneurs who needed a push to make their business thrive
