The Enterprise Challenge” was a competition by Virgin Atlantic Airways in partnership with the British Council and Zenith bank in Nigeria. Our aim was to target Nigerian students interested studying in the UK, as well as Nigerian students with a poteienal of doing so.
It was an online competition seeking to give young entrepreneurial minds the opportunity to present their innovative ideas with the possibility of winning a mentoring meeting with Richard Branson amongst other mind blowing prizes.
The competition proved very popular with almost 2,000 applications received in the first week. Two winners were selected – one based in Nigeria and one Nigerian already studying in London.
The winners undertook several stages of task in order to win the competition, including a short article about their entrepreneurial aspirations, a business plan in video format (see winning links below) and a pitch to a panel of judges from Virgin Atlantic and the British Council Nigeria.
At the end of an 8hrs presentation, two candidates emerged winners of the 5weeks competition. The prizes won includes, an opportunity to meet Sir Richard Branson in London, a fully-funded scholarship to attend an entrepreneurship foundation course at the Branson Centre for Entrepreneurship in Jburg South Africa, a grant from Zenith Bank in Nigeria to further develop their proposed business idea and 2 economy class return tickets to the United Kingdom.
Eseoghene Ise Odiete, a 24 year old Creative Director, Hesey Designs and Nasir Abdulquadi, a 24 year old Postgraduate Student (MSc Creative Technology) Middlesex University, London had the privilege of meeting with Richard Branson in London on the 1st of July.
Congratulations to ESE and Nasir and we wish them all the best in their careers.
Richard Rocks sneakers made by Ese Odiete, winner of the just concluded Enterprise challenge in Nigeria Ese Odiete, creative designer of Hesey designs and Nigerian winner of the enterprise challenge presented Richard with a sneakers made out of our Nigerian local fabric called “Ankara” .
The sneaker was an instant hit as Richard took off his shoes to wear the sneakers made by our winner. As fate will have it, the pair of sneakers made it to the Uniform launch event where Richard introduced Ese and invited her on stage showing off his new pair of sneakers.
Ese has named that collection an exclusive and called it “Virgin Red”
Detail of winners
Nasir Abdulqadir is doing a master’s degree in creative technology at Middlesex University in London. Having identified that Nigeria’s agricultural sector is massively underfunded but has great potential to boost the country’s economy, he has developed a mobile app for Nigerian farmers. His app helps Nigerian farmers to make informed decisions based on what is available to them in their local environments. For example they can receive info about the best soil types for their products, weather and its effect on crops etc. The app is still in the developmental stages.
VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIJsPZdBkAM&app=desktop
Eseoghene Ise Odiete is the Creative Director of Hesey Designs – a fashion line that specialises in African inspired fashion accessories. Because the materials are locally sourced and handcrafted, she is creating jobs, but also imparting her knowledge to empower other African women to develop similar businesses of their own. She has a passion for what she does and in 2 years has gained global recognition for her brand and put it on the international stage, with distribution in Nigeria, the UK, the US and France.
VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9SoWq7WCO8&app=desktop
