Posted Wed, Aug 14, 2019 10:41 AM

The NESG Start-up Pitch Competition

The 25th Nigerian Economic Summit (NES25) startup pitch competition is now open for entries. The competition is organized by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) in partnership with Sterling Bank, Venture Garden Group and its startup investment/acceleration arm GreenHouse Capital. This collaborative effort seeks to empower Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across Nigeria with funding and mentorship.

It all started in 2017, when the NESG introduced a Startup Pitch Competition as part of the Annual Nigerian Economic Summit. The pitch competition created an avenue through which, young, innovative Nigerian startups could engage with the wide array of stakeholders drawn to NES. Additionally, startups participating in the competition had the opportunity to win catalytic funding to help them scale their businesses. Beneficiaries over the years include: Gerocare, Jand2Gidi, ColdHubs etc. For the 25th anniversary of the Nigerian Economic Summit, NESG seeks to make the Startup Pitch Competition bigger and better than ever, with the key strategic words being BOLD, INFORMATIVE, and ENTERTAINING.

The build up to the startup pitching competition commenced in the first week of August 2019 and the engagement with startups is expected to occur in 4 phases: applications & selection, bootcamp & pitch prep, pitch competition, and ongoing mentorship.

Applications will be open all through the month of August and at the end of the application period, 10 finalists will be chosen to participate in the bootcamp and competition.

The final 10 startups will take part in a 1-week bootcamp in conjunction with the GreenHouse Lab accelerator. During the bootcamp they will receive tailored pitch coaching and mentorship. The Startup Pitch Competition will be the culmination of the weeklong bootcamp, after which the 10 finalists will have the opportunity to present their startup to a curated audience of distinguished members of Nigeria’s private sector, including investors, accelerators/incubators, entrepreneurs, development agencies, government agencies, and corporate leaders.

Top 3 winners will win cash prizes ranging from US$2,500 to US$15,000 and all Finalists will receive ongoing support from NES and its partners through the NESG Innovation Fund.

The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) a non-profit, non-partisan private sector think tank with a mandate to promote and champion the reform of the Nigerian economy into an open, private sector-led globally competitive economy organizes the Annual Nigerian Economic Summit (NES) in partnership with the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning. The NES is the flagship event of the NESG and has become an annual dialogue which has consistently provided a widely recognized platform for top policy makers and corporate leaders.