Wennovation Hub Partners with Africa Leadership Academy to Launch Anzisha Prize in Nigeria

The Wennovation Hub (www.wennovationhub.com) has just entered into a partnership with the African Leadership Academy Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership (with a multi-year grant from a leading global foundation - The MasterCard Foundation) towards partnering to launch the Anzisha Prize Tour in Nigeria ( http://www.anzishaprize.org/

The Anzisha Prize is the premier award for Africa's young entrepreneurial leaders ages 15-20. Starting in March we will be holding summits to promote the prize and get youth in Africa excited about entrepreneurship. The Partnership was agreed to in a Memorandum of Understanding executed on February 24, 2012. 

According to the Program Director of the Wennovation Hub: Idris Bello, the Wennovation Hub "plan to hold two information summits in Lagos at the Wennovation Hub on March 17. The goal is to have a diverse audience of about 100 representatives of secondary schools, universities, and youth organizations (in the target age range) attend, and be enlightened about the process, and who can then act as ambassadors for the competition and get their friends and colleagues to register."

The Wennovation Hub operational team acknowledges the strategic synergy between the Anzisha Prize and the strategic objectives of the hub going forward to develop a robust pipeline of young entrepreneurs that will eventually feed the hub's incubation platform. The Africa Innovation Prize that focuses more specifically on higher education students further enriches this objective and is also set launch later this year by the Wennovation Hub in Nigeria.

ABOUT THE ANZISHA PRIZE:

The Anzisha Prize seeks to award young innovators who have developed and implemented innovative solutions to challenges facing their communities. Fifteen finalists from across Africa will win an all-expenses paid trip to South Africa to be a part of a week-long entrepreneurship workshop and conference at the African Leadership Academy campus on the outskirts of Johannesburg.  The grand prize winners, selected from these finalists, will share prizes worth $75,000 USD. The Wennovation Hub will also provide mentorship and support to selected Anzisha Prize finalist(s) based in Lagos

ELIGIBILITY:

·  Applicants must be between the ages of 15 and 20.

· Innovations in all fields (science and technology, civil society, arts and culture, sports, etc.) will be considered by the Prize Committee.

· Some projects are carried out by small groups or teams that see themselves as equal. Should this be the case with your project, the primary initiator who assembled the project team should apply for the prize on behalf of the group. Should the group be named a finalist, only the primary initiator of the winning group will attend the workshop in South Africa, though winnings may be shared amongst the group.

Email: prize@anzishaprize.org
Call:    +27 11 699 3000 

Nigeria: +234-805-951-7814

Download application form (500KB)

http://www.anzishaprize.org/export/sites/ala-prize/downloads/AnzishaPrize_Application_Form.doc

i for Inspiration & innovation...Steve Jobs Rules...

The man and the legend...just passed away. Steve Jobs was an inspiration to those of us that occupy the innovation complex. I know for sure that at LoftyInc, Steve Jobs particularly occupied a special place in our hearts. 

I remembered Wole (co-founder)  and I have had our Apple moments, discussing how Steve Jobs shaped his products and the company, we seeking how to adapt these lessons earlier on into ours. His focus on quality, user experience and perfection were simply impressive. Apple and Steve Jobs have consistently defied the adage that the customer knows best....Steve never shied away from creating a new need for his clients; that is what we aspire to be to our clients. Create a user experience the user never realized they even needed!

The height of my personal Steve Job moment came about exactly one and half years on the clock at LoftyInc. I was preparing for an epochal presentation at the World Bank ABCDE Conference at Stockholm, Sweden.  I had to turn to the master: Steve Jobs.

After reading the book, "The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs- How to be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience" by Carmine Gallo, I was turbo charged for this audience. At the end of it all, and after my 50 or so recorded practice presenting like Steve Jobs, I was at Stockholm selling our ideas which today is known as the Wennovation Hub. Yes, our strategic partner- the Africa Leadership Forum was part of that audience at  Stockholm...two weeks later I was on a plane heading to New York to sign us up. 

Everyone have their Steve Jobs story. His black turtle neck wears, his secret preparations and product releases, the perfection in product aesthetic and functionality, his ability to read your need and even his choice of product name, makes Steve miles apart from his peers. He was a showman, a presenter and above a special human being. His insistence on perfection, sometimes near dictatorial handling of product releases was also legendary. 

You want to demo?  do it in your office...those are not for his users. Your release product must be bug free, and plug and play: that was the Steve Philosophy. Here was a technology visionary, an astute entrepreneur, an entertainer, a designer and above all an innovator. Steve will be missed, but he lives with us all. 

As I shut down my MacAir writing this, I'm amazed how beautifully functional it is: and grateful I have it to fittingly pay this tribute to the man who can proudly say of this product in the words of Wole Soyinka's Bambulu: "this is the child of my brain; the product of my endeavors....the materialization of inventive genius". Genius...that is Steve. Inspiration..that is what he left us. 

Wennovation Hub Launches WennoCamp 1.0 for Mobile Apps Development

Seven of the thirty students trained by the partnership between LoftyInc and the MIT Accelerating Information Technology Innovation (AITI) , to incubate student launched local businesses around mobile application developers at the University of Ibadan this summer, have been selected by the Wennovation Hub to herald the first cycle of the Wennovation Camp this Fall. 

The product enhancement and development process will be supported by business & technology mentors sourced from among the associates’ rank of the Nigeria Leadership Institute, and technical assistance will be rendered by Google Africa.

Since the MIT-AITI program ended in August, the process of Wennovating begun in earnest as these entrepreneurs were screened and carefully selected for fit into the incubation model, and allowed to reshape their teams accordingly around the best ideas. 

The seven "wennovators" selected were from four teams at MIT-AITI program (InveniQ, Ting Mobile, Compass and Pluss) with very exciting products which may be enhanced or entirely remade during the WennoCamp. The Camp will span six weeks of product enhancement and business development leading up to seed funding and operations using the Hub as their space in the first few months of beta product launch. 

The Wennovators are organized into two inter-disciplinary entities (teams):

Team 1 (Opacus Technologies Limited)- Alpha Product: Location Awareness & Transport Finder App

 

TL-R: Wennovators 1.0:  Dara Adeyemo,Diji Adeyemo,                          Ibrahim Abiola, Adetayo Rabiu

Team 2 (Business Name Pending CAC Approval) - Alpha Product: Enterprise Expense & Recruiter App

L-R: Oluwatosin Adesanya, Onitilo Oluremi, Oghenekhowo Tega

During the Camp, the seven "wennovators" aim to coalesce around redesigned and fused products from their initial pass at their ideas, and eventually launch into the market at least two mobile technology products focused companies in Nigeria. The greatest promise of these teams is to optimize their existing products, build newer ones and truly bring Nigeria Mobile App development into the business mainstream.

The "business bootcamp" heralding the six-weeks WennoCamp 1.0 is scheduled to begin in earnest on November 2, 2011. Exciting activities including engagement of notable CEOs, Technology gurus and bandstorming sessions are planned during the program. 

This program further enhances LoftyInc's continued focus on enhancing Nigeria's innovation eco-system specifically focusing on areas like mobile technology where our impact can be most felt. It also validates the unique business incubation model designed by LoftyInc.

Our thanks to all our partners for helping us bring this program to fruition. 

MobiQube Joins Wennovation Platform

Mobile platform application developer and indigenous social networking operator, MobiQube Nigeria Limited recorded a milestone when it officially became the newest member of the Wennovation Platform on August 15th, 2011. MobiQube was represented by Chief Executive Officer, Mukhtar Oyewo; signing on behalf of LoftyInc was Wole Odetayo, Managing Partner.

MobiQube have a number of products in the pipeline, including Yarnable: a micro-discussion social site focused on Africa currently undergoing major revamp after MobiQube late May 2011 takeover. Due for release soon are beta versions of FoneRecharge and GreetingCards, as well as suite of free-apps for various smart phone platforms. Major development of the suite is already ongoing at the Hub facilities where MobiQube's top flight team are working towards a mid fourth quarter release in time for the holiday season. 

The Wennovation Platform is one of three flagship programs being run by the Wennovation Hub, the other being WennoConsulting and WennoCamps, focused on offering robust support to start-ups with products in advanced development or in the market. MobiQube joins PrimeCoHall within this program, as well as the three legacy companies for which LoftyInc have always provided ongoing support since 2008. 

LoftyInc & MobiQube sign the dotted line...

Dr. Wole Odetayo reaffirmed at the signing that, "For the Wennovation Hub, this new member is particularly synergistic with our focus on mobile application development or linked companies in 2011; coming off the intensive training  phase of WennoCamp, organized in partnership with MIT-AITI for mobile application development at the University of Ibadan in early August". That training being a precursor for the WennoCamp incubation phase which will soon take off at the Hub. 

In the next few weeks, LoftyInc will partner closely with MobiQube to ensure timely and effective release of products in the fourth quarter, while helping the MobiQube team identify strategic options to enhance the company's viability. LoftyInc will also gain one board sit as a result of this strategic addition to our portfolio firms.  

Wennovation Day as MIT-AITI Trains Nigeria's Next Tech Entrepreneurs

Next Generation Afropreneurs?

It was a day full of Wennovation and potential "wennovators", on July 13 at the site of MIT-AITI ongoing training of top notch mobile application programmers on the campus of the University of Ibadan. The program which began in earnest in June, devoted a full day to a compendium of speakers from the LoftyInc operated Wennovation Hub.

LoftyInc's Michael Oluwagbemi & Wole Odetayo 

First, during the morning session LoftyInc Partners- Wole Odetayo and Michael Oluwagbemi, and Hub Operating Director, Ayo Akinrotimi introduced the concept of Wennovation. Through the interactive session, attendants were familiarized with the opportunity of a lifetime which will see at least two teams qualifying into the incubation program at the hub to be known as Wennovation Camp starting in September, 2011. The introductory session which was lively and well received, was followed up with an introduction to the concept of Business Process and Legal Aid by Barrister Kamar Raji a seasoned legal practitioner

Top Notch Consultant, Niyi Sanuth Discusses
 Bureaucratic Survival Strategies

The afternoon session focused first on bureaucracy and strategy of navigating the complex web of government regulations, rules and procurement. Led by the insights provided by business process consultant, Mr. Niyi Sanuth- the session was riveted with relevant questions on how to operate within a large public sector led economy focusing especially on strategies that will be useful to start-ups to survive in this arcane world of rules.

The day's session ended with riveting expose by Michael Oluwagbemi on Apps Monetization and Financing Alternatives for Small Growing Businesses in Nigeria. An afternoon of engaging discussions, questions and hopefully recruitment of the next generation of Wennovators began thereafter.

The exciting part of the day were discussions surrounding some exciting projects that are being developed by MIT-AITI participants, two of which will eventually be admitted into the WennoCamp program. Projects ranging from emergency locator phone app to geo-locators as well as mobile job finders, messaging and social congregation platforms were among interesting projects these young minds are working on at the MIT-AITI lab. Read more about these exciting projects

Barrister Raji Discuss Legal Options for Start-Ups in Nigeria

The MIT-AITI program will come to a close in early August, when winners scheduled to join the WennoCamp program will be chosen at an August 2nd meet at Ibadan.

• Invenio
• TING MOBILE JOB FINDER®
• Compass®
• EasySoft
• NaviGate
• Pluss

LoftyInc & MIT-AITI Collaborate to Float Mobile Apps Start-Ups in Nigeria

Press Release on Wennovation Hub’s Collaboration with MIT-AITI

LoftyInc Allied Partners Limited, the operators of Nigeria’s premier business incubator- The Wennovation Hub- are pleased to announce a new collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Africa Information Technology Initiative (MIT-AITI).

The signing event where the memorandum of understanding (MoU), codifying the relationship between the two entities, was held on Wednesday, June 22nd  2011 at the Wennovation Hub – Plot C, Obasa Road, Ikeja-Lagos. Mr. Soji Awe of MIT represented the MIT-AITI program with Wole Odetayo (Managing Partner) & Ayokunle Akinrotimi (Associate) representing LoftyInc Allied Partners Limited.

Under the terms of the agreement, LoftyInc will provide some facilitators and materials specifically focusing on business incubation for the six-week pioneer training and mobile application technologies’ product development program of MIT-AITI in Nigeria beginning on June 21st through July 29th, 2011. In like manner, LoftyInc will also send representatives to serve on the project panel to award honors to top developers during the MIT-AITI program being held at the University of Ibadan’s (UI) computer science department.  More than thirty students and future entrepreneurs will be in attendance.

MIT-AITI's Soji Awe signs MoU on Wednesday, June 22

LoftyInc's Wole Odetayo Signs MoU at Signing Ceremony

Top market oriented mobile application developers will be selected by LoftyInc from the MIT-AITI program at UI, to graduate onwards into the pilot Wennovation Hub program to be known as WennoCamp. One of the key backers of the program is Google Africa.

The four weeks of WennoCamp incubation program will be held on site at the Wennovation Hub, Lagos; and will be focused exclusively on product refinement and business development. During this period, the student developers will be immersed with a team of their choice, supported by top WennoCamp linked geeks to unobtrusively develop a business around their initial project ideas built during the MIT-AITI program. 

CEO mentors and intensive product trouble shooting sessions are amongst the exciting sessions planned during their four week stint which will come to a close by pitching to potential seed investors organized by LoftyInc.

Successful Wennovators through the WennoCamp will be provided access to:

·        Ultra-Modern office space and complimentary broadband connection with full office support services for  3 months following their successful completion of the incubation program

·  Mentors – both technical and business types experienced in operations and development

·         Funding of up to $25 000 through a pioneer network of small investors being built by LoftyInc

·         Small seed grant (up to $1000 in kind) to register their business and begin marketing

·    The network of LoftyInc consultants in legal, financial and strategic advising that provide reduced fee-for-services to Wennovation linked firms

Speaking yesterday from Houston, Texas, Wennovation Hub Program Director and Serial Afropreneur, Idris Ayodeji Bello said “This collaboration is a small but important step in our journey of establishing a Wennovation Village in Nigeria, which will compete with the likes of Silicon Valley in the US, in terms of the quality of innovation and venture funding to support such. It is also a testament to our belief in the concept of wennovation (collaborative innovation), and we look forward to future collaborations with similarly-aligned organizations in Nigeria, and the Diaspora”.

AITI is a multidisciplinary group of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that promotes development in Africa by cultivating young technology entrepreneurs. AITI develops curriculum materials, software technologies, platforms, and networks that enable African undergraduate students to innovate in the area of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Since 2000, AITI has sent nearly 100 MIT instructors to teach over 1200 African students in five countries, resulting in the creation of African businesses and the addition of course offerings at our partner universities. http://aiti.mit.edu/

LoftyInc Allied Partners Ltd. is a business development company founded in 2008 to specifically focus on supporting innovative entrepreneurs and businesses. LoftyInc specializes in start-up business and project incubation in West Africa. LoftyInc unique business incubation model is implemented on a platform jointly initiated with the Africa Leadership Forum: the Wennovation Hub. LoftyInc supports over half a dozen domestic start-ups and three early stage projects sponsored by domestic and international clients. www.loftyincltd.biz  www.wennovationhub.com