Two CEOs get $8,000 to boost businesses

The RevUp Women Initiative, a flagship programme funded by the Visa Foundation in partnership with AfriLabs and RAD5, has empowered two female entrepreneurs with $5,000 and $3,000, respectively.

The ‘Demo Day’ and Awards Ceremony of the event concluded in Aba over the weekend with Rita Obi of Fendol Limited walking away with $5,000, and Utibe Akwa of Utytrends Global Ventures Limited going home with the runner-up prize of $3,000.

It featured pitches from the 10 finalists, who presented their business models to judges in five minutes and sought financial support to scale up their businesses.

AfriLabs Director of Finance and Operations, Abdulrasheed Shuaibu, explained in a statement AfriLabs’ role in the initiative, adding that the programme aligns with organisation’s overall goals and targets in the African Continent

Shuaibu said the ‘demo day’ of the RevUp Women Initiative Nigerian edition is an initiative was born out of a clear need to redeem the ecosystem and empower women-led businesses across Africa.

He said, “AfriLabs vision is largely to build a thriving innovation economy driven by our community of entrepreneurs across the continent. We do this by providing access to research and data, market policy, advocacy and capacity building, amongst other initiatives.

“I will like to welcome everyone to the ‘demo day’ of the RevUp Women Initiative Nigerian edition. This initiative was born out of a clear need to redeem the ecosystem and empower women-led businesses across Africa

Speaking, the Abia State Commissioner for Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr David Kalu, expressed excitement at the growing number of women entrepreneurs in the state.

Kalu noted that the statistics favours women, as women-led businesses reportedly have a higher success rate than those founded by men.

He explained further that the statistics give an insight into why more women starting businesses is a good thing for the state.

“This event is something that really excites me, and I want to be here to encourage this for more of it to happen. Let this just be a start, a beginning of a shift in dynamics in Abia state,” Kalu added.

The Abia State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Dr Maureen Aghukwa, represented by the Director of Women Affairs, Ngozi Nkuche, expressed delight at the event, stressing that the days when women were relegated to the back of society are long gone.

Mobile accessory giants Oraimo, the official partners of the event, also had an impact, gifting the eight runners-up packages of their products as consolation prizes.

The pitches from the 10 women finalists were examined by three judges – Dr Paschal Etien, Founder of Smart As revenue tool, Mrs Irunna Ejibe, CEO of Etnocentrique Limited, and Mr Nnamdi Ajah, an award-winning educator.

The judges had five minutes to quiz the contestants after their five-minute pitch. The majority of their questions focused on the financial projections for their ventures and the Product-Market fit.

The 10 business pitches from the 10 contestants were largely problem-optimised. The pitches all solved a clear problem or exploited an untapped market.

The winners of the competition were the two companies with the most traction.

Winner of the competition, Fendol Limited, by Rita Obi, is a maker of dry and wet fish products. They had several thousand fish in their reservoirs as of the time of her pitch. The company also has a thriving market share already serving a significant number of Nigerians

The runners-up, Utytrends Global Venture, by Utibe Akwa, is actively in talks with makers of Golden Morn. Both entities are working towards a distribution deal if their numbers align. The breakfast food makers are projecting 50,000 units of their products if they successfully procure an automatic sealing machine. Projected financials stand at N60 million annually, following the company’s sale of 16,000 units in 2024.

The winners of the $8,000 non-equity financing will still undergo vetting by AfriLabs and the Visa Foundation. This is the final compliance check before funds are credited to the winners.

The RAD5 Tech Hub team, official partners, and event hosts provided training to participants prior to demo day.