What is YouWiN! The Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (You WiN!) Programme is a collaboration of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Communication Technology (CT), the Ministry of Youth Development and the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development that will launch an annual Business Plan Competition (BPC) for aspiring young entrepreneurs in Nigeria, in line with the Federal Government’s drive to create more jobs for Nigerians. The programme will be implemented in partnership with Nigeria’s private sector, who will be requested to provide funding support.

Objectives of the programme

The main objective of the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (You WiN!) Programme is to generate jobs by encouraging and supporting aspiring entrepreneurial youth in Nigeria to develop and execute business ideas that will lead to job creation. The programme will provide aspiring youth with a platform to show case their business acumen, skills and aspirations to business leaders, investors and mentors in Nigeria.

Specific Objectives of the Programme include to:

Attract ideas and innovations from young entrepreneurial aspirants from Universities, Polytechnics, Technical colleges, and other post-Secondary institutions in Nigeria; Provide a one time Equity grant for 1,200 selected aspiring entrepreneurs to start or expand their business concepts and mitigate start up risks; Generate 80,000 to 110,000 new jobs for currently unemployed Nigerian youth over the three years during which the three cycles will be implemented; Provide business training for up to 6,000 aspiring youth entrepreneurs spread across all geo-political zones in Nigeria; Encourage expansion, specialization and spin-offs of existing businesses in Nigeria; and, Enable young entrepreneurs to access a wide business professional network and improve their visibility.

PLEASE NOTE!!!

YouWiN is an equity contribution to your business. It is therefore NOT A LOAN but a grant. Award recipients will be paid according to the needs of the business and specific mile-stones stated in the business plan. Award recipients must be registered with CAC before disbursment of funds even though they do not need to be registered to apply. You/wiN will support the registration process. Award recipients will opperate accounts using their registered companies with any of the participating commercial banks prior to disbursment. Award recipients must sign a grant agreement with the managers of YouWiN before disbursment of funds.

Culled from: [url]cvshore.com/blog[/url]