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By Brown Chimezie
A business activator, John-Paul Iwuoha has given reasons why he launched 3x Start-up Prize, a platform to give financial assistance and entrepreneurial education to budding entrepreneurs.
In a recent interview with journalists, Iwuoha lamented that thousands of Nigerians with brilliant and innovative business ideas abound but lack the guidance and seed capital required to bring their ideas to fruition.
The gap is what his firm seeks to fill.
He also spoke on other issues.
Excerpts:
Background
I am a business activator who works with entrepreneurs in the startup and growth stages of business. By solving problems related to strategy, sales, business models, fundraising, growth, and human capital, I make it easier and faster for Africa-focused entrepreneurs to start and grow businesses. Since I started on this mission almost a decade ago, I have helped dozens of people start and grow businesses in Nigeria, Ghana, The Gambia, Uganda, DR Congo, and several countries in Africa. I started my career in the business advisory practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in 2008, where I worked on a number of high-profile engagements that cut across corporate strategy, performance improvement, and technology. From PwC, I transitioned to a business development role in the oil and gas industry, and then moved on in 2015 to focus on building my own firm, Smallstarter Africa, which was relaunched as Activator HQ in 2023.
With respect to qualifications, I am a chartered certified accountant with the ACCA (United Kingdom) and have professional certificates in accounting and business. My core competencies are in strategy, financial management, and business performance management. I also earned a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri(FUTO) in 2006.
In 2018, I was recognized by LinkedIn as a Top Voice on Startups and Entrepreneurship. My work has been featured on CNN, The Fidelity Bank SME Forum, The African Diaspora News Channel and several other platforms. I have also given guest lectures on entrepreneurship at the
University of Connecticut (USA) and Reutlingen University (Germany), and have also served as a judge for the Africa Heroes Prize (sponsored by the Alibaba and Jack Ma Foundations).
Inspiration
The 3X Start-up Prize is an initiative of my firm, Activator HQ, in partnership with VOP (Voice ofthe People) 90.3FM Lagos. It is a N1 million prize that aims to discover and support early-stage entrepreneurial talent in the city of Lagos. In my line of work, I have found out there are many smart and enterprising people across Nigeria who have brilliant and innovative business ideas but lack the guidance and seed capital required to transform their ideas into real, thriving businesses. For these people, there is a critical missing link that holds them back from realizing their entrepreneurial dreams. This missing link could beseed capital, strategy, mindset, skill, or guidance.
The “missing link” is the inspiration behind the name we chose for our initiative, the 3X Startup Prize. The “X” is a common letter used in mathematics to represent an unknown or missing value that needs to be solved. As a result, we are hoping to discover and support three people with promising business ideas who will get valuable feedback, mentoring, and a total cash prize of N1million as seed capital. More importantly, the process for selecting the three finalists for the prize will be primarily driven by audience engagement on radio (VOP 90.3FM) and social media. As a result, we expect that thousands of people will learn important business principles that will create positive impacts in the wider society.
Similarities and differences between Shark Tank and Tony Elumelu Foundation
The 3X Start-up Prize is focused on nurturing entrepreneurs with bright and promising business ideas, which is a mission shared with initiatives and organizations like the Tony Elumelu Foundation. Also, like Shark Tank and Dragon’s Den, which highlight the valuable feedback and exchanges between entrepreneurs and business experts, the 3X Startup Prize wants to leverage the power of radio and social media to ensure the audience benefits from the knowledge transfer, insights, and advice that will be shared during the process as candidates compete for the prize.
In my opinion, there is still a huge capacity gap in Nigeria for the development and support of entrepreneurs. The 3X Startup Prize is an additional effort to bridge the capacity gap by making business knowledge more accessible, relatable, and fun.
Is this the first, or has it been happening?
The 3X Startup Prize (2024 edition) is the first time we will be exploring this format. However, in the last five years, Activator HQ has partnered with several organizations like the SUN Business Network, the Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) and the Roddenberry Foundation to deliver capacity development programs for entrepreneurs.
What is the objective, and what are the challenges of the scheme?
The objective of the 3X Startup Prize is to provide a merit-based platform for discovering and supporting entrepreneurial talent in Lagos. After applications and pitches are received and assessed, we will release a shortlist of 10 finalists. These finalists will be interviewed on live radio on VOP 90.3 FM before the three winners will be selected based on inputs from the judge(s) and audience. The first, second, and third prizes will be N500,000, N300,000, and N200,000 respectively.
The major challenge we anticipate will be the difficulty of selecting winners from what is expected to be a rich supply of good-quality applications. As I mentioned earlier, Lagos is blessed with thousands of smart and enterprising people. Choosing only three winners will surely be a tough responsibility.
Are there ways of monitoring the beneficiary or beneficiaries to avoid the fund not being used for the purpose that it is meant for?
Yes. While we expect entrepreneurs to take full ownership of their ambitions, we do not want to be overly restrictive. In addition to due diligence checks that will be performed on the finalists for the 3X Startup Prize, milestone-based disbursements may be required for certain candidates and certain kinds of businesses to reduce the risk of misappropriation of prize money.
Are we likely going to see more of this in the future, or is it going to be a one -off?
We developed the 3X Startup Prize with the assumption that it will attract sufficient engagement and participation to justify ongoing sponsorship. We are hopeful that our assumptions will be positively validated, and we will get strong signals from the audience to justify a decision to continue with future editions.
What do you think are the major problems of startups in Nigeria, environment, funding, and knowledge?
Startups face several problems in Nigeria, but I would highlight two critical ones. First is the limited access to quality business education. The education system, particularly the tertiary institutions are still skewed toward producing component labour for employment. As a result, many educated people across Nigeria lack the basic business and financial literacy that is required to succeed in entrepreneurship.
The other big problem I want to highlight is the lack of incentives to start a business in Nigeria.
The cost of startup capital is quite prohibitive, and many startups can not access ‘patient capital’that is favourable to the unique needs of young businesses. Also, the inadequacy of infrastructure such as power increases the costs of doing business and undermines the competitiveness of startups in Nigeria.
Is there any way the government can come to your assistance?
It is always in every government’s interest to create opportunities for employment and enterprise, especially in a country like Nigeria with a significant youth population. Initiatives like the 3X Startup Prize, although driven by the private sector, actually helps the government to meet its social and economic responsibilities by developing the capacity for entrepreneurship in the country.
Specifically, the government can assist the 3X Startup Prize through strategic partnerships that create additional exposure and impact for the program. The government could embed the 3X Startup Prize into tertiary education and youth-focused programs like the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). The government can also provide additional financial and technical support to promising finalists of the 3X Startup Prize.
Where do you want this scheme to be in the next 10 years?
In the next 10 years, with sustained interest from the public and support from our current and future partners, I want the 3X Startup Prize to be active in more states of Nigeria with an enviable lineup of alumni who are building remarkable businesses and creating economic value and jobs across the country.
What advice do you have for Nigerian youths and government?
Nigerian youths need to realize that entrepreneurship is not “that thing” you do when you cannot find a job. While many youths are looking to be hired for existing jobs, the country actually needs people who can create additional jobs that help to reduce the country’s high youth unemployment. I strongly advise that as our youths study for degrees and diplomas in school, they should also acquire business knowledge and hone their entrepreneurship skills on the side.
This approach will produce a more resilient and productive youth who can choose to work a job or start their own business rather than languish in an unfortunate state of unemployment. Government, at both federal and state levels, can significantly cut down unemployment in the country if they create incentives for companies, organizations, and private sector players to close the capacity gap for entrepreneurship development in Nigeria. If governments develop attractive incentives for companies that provide apprenticeship, training, mentoring, infrastructure support, special financing, and other kinds of support for entrepreneurs, more people will be encouraged to follow the path of entrepreneurship for self-employment, innovation, and job and value creation
