Startup accelerator Founder Institute, Lagos Chapter, is building capacity for entrepreneurs to build and scale up their businesses. The institute organised a forum that provided an opportunity to catalyse innovative ideas and provide entrepreneurs with the tools and resources needed to launch their business ventures, DANIEL ESSIET reports.
International pre-seed startup accelerator, Founder Institute, Lagos chapter, during the week organised a forum aimed at encouraging innovation and enabling aspiring entrepreneurs to begin their business startups.
The forum, which brought together young prospective entrepreneurs and a range of high level speakers, who shared their experiences and offered guidance, was an opportunity for aspiring startups wishing to develop their business ideas into thriving businesses.
The Director, Founder Institute, Eze Ifedy Ralph, set the ball rolling by stressing the vital role mentoring plays in grooming successful entrepreneurs. He said it was extremely important for would-be entrepreneurs to be properly trained.
Ralph stated that the institute’s mentors are highly experienced professionals who have worked in numerous startups and are looking to share their experiences with others. According to him, the mentors focused on educating, mentoring and coaching aspiring entrepreneurs on the challenges of business startups.
The director added that the mentors are advisors who can help innovators and entrepreneurs match their business interests and needs with the resources available to them.
On his part, the Chief Executive, Wave3 Wireless, Wande Adalemo, pointed out that forming successful partnerships and growing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) was one of the institute’s goals.
While stating that the institute encourages creativity and innovation and supports people to create their own businesses, Adalemo added that the institute has a long history of nurturing entrepreneurial talents, ideas incubation and enabling startup growth.
He explained that Founder Institute, which is a business incubator, entrepreneur training and startup launch programme, maintains chapters in over 180 cities and more than 65 different countries across the globe.
The institute is said to have raised up to $800 million in funding for over 3,500 graduates, and even helped the graduates in getting accepted into seed-accelerators programs, generate traction, as well as build teams and products.
Adalemo said the Founder Institute’s comprehensive step-by-step programme provides the structure, mentor support, and global network of entrepreneurs needed to start an enduring company.
He said Founder Institute Graduate companies include fast-rising startups across six continents like Udemy, Realty Mogul, Travelcar, Goplaceit, Appota, and many more.
One of the speakers, Chief Executive, Crestsage Limited, Charles Emembolu, said running a small or medium-sized enterprise comes with a lot of challenges. He said to grow a startup, one must make sure that everything is properly planned.
Adalemo said the forum provided an opportunity to catalyse innovative ideas and provide entrepreneurs with the tools and resources they need to launch their ventures.
According to him, the pitching segment offered new entrepreneurs an excellent and safe stage to refine their business presentations.
One of the alumni and Founder/Chief Executive Officer, Growsel, Mr. Jerry Oche, said the institute was the only programme of its kind that focuses on people versus ideas, accepts founders with day jobs, and shares equity with all participants.
Read Also: Advancing women entrepreneurship
Oche runs an agritech startup that works with farmers to simplify activities from farm to table using Information Communications Technology (ICT).
The startup is also involved in peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding to create opportunities that will empower and support local farmers.
The agtech startup also connects under-financed and underserved smallholder farmers with supporters through peer-to-peer lending and access to markets.
Oche said one of the lessons he learnt from the programme was that focusing on the customer requires a total and unwavering commitment.
The course, according to him, taught participants about each step of the venture creation process and challenges them to apply those lessons as teams in a company-building project.
The experience, he added, was as demanding as it is rewarding. He also said the basic tenets of the programme were simple, requiring a robust and disciplined lifestyle to be effective.
Most of the assignments, Oche explained, involved moving around and a lot of readings. He said the programme helped people to become better founders and better leaders, equipping them with skills on ideation, pitching, developing and growing business, hiring, etc.
The Founder Institute is a part-time, four-month programme, where promising entrepreneurs can “learn by doing” and launch a company through structured training courses and expert feedback from business mentors.
Besides, trainees are not required to quit their day jobs to participate, so they can begin building a business around their ideas without putting their livelihoods at risk.
Leave a Reply