Biodun and Ibikunle Foundation Unveils Six Beneficiaries of Seedinvest Acceleration Programme

Oluchi Chibuzor

Biodun and Ibikunle Foundation has unveiled six entrepreneurs as beneficiaries of its 2022 SEEDINVEST Acceleration Program.

The beneficiaries are Uchenna Kesiena-Arueya, Kume Food Solutions Ltd; Peter Eneh, Peter Blaze Atelier; Oluwakemi Titilayo Kayode, Chemicay Signatures; Abdulmalik Maryam Omotayo, Black Jewel Ltd; Daud Mariam Abolade, Arinolaclothiers and Chioma Ukpabi, Kahdsole Designs.

For close to four years, Biodun and Ibikunle Foundation has been supporting micro, small and medium businesses across Nigeria through its flagship SEEDINVEST Acceleration Program.

Over 90 businesses have benefited from the program which assists entrepreneurs with important assets needed to grow their businesses.

The foundation received more than thirty applications for the 2022 edition of the program and an initial twenty entrepreneurs were shortlisted for a six-week training program, which ran from July 23 to August 27, 2022.

The training was facilitated by seasoned individuals drawn from the corporate and entrepreneurial sectors, notable among the facitilitarors were the Founder, Brand Fusion, Ms Atinuke Babatunde; Founder, Africa Finance & Strategy Hub, Mrs Oluwatoyin Aralepo; Founder & Innovations Director, Nicole & Giovanni, Mr Segun Abiona; Creative Lead, Chuugo Creative Company, Mr Chibueze Kings; and Africa’s First Practical School of Integrated Brand Experience,
Orange Academy.

The six beneficiaries subsequently emerged after the training and an intensive review session.

The winner (Kume Food Solutions Ltd) of the 2022 SEEDINVEST Acceleration Program will get one million naira worth of asset support, while the first runner-up (Peter Blaze Atelier) will receive a four hundred thousand naira asset grant and the second runner-up (Chemicay Signatures) will get a three hundred thousand naira asset support.

The third (Black Jewel Ltd) and fourth (Arinolaclothiers) runner-ups will be supported with two hundred thousand naira worth of asset grants respectively.

The foundation will also support Kahdsole Designs with a Special Intervention Grant, a partnership borne out of the latter’s skill acquisition training for youths.

Speaking about the 2022 SEEDINVEST Acceleration Program, the Board Chairman,
Biodun and Ibikunle Foundation, Mr Biodun Adegoke, said, “It has been our pleasure to
help small and medium businesses in Nigeria grow by providing them with asset grants for the past three years. We look forward to doing more because we know that the government cannot do it alone.”

Similarly, the Director of SEEDINVEST, Biodun and Ibikunle Foundation, Mr Segun Abiona,
said, “It’s a great privilege to guide the young entrepreneurs on structuring their businesses and understanding how they can remain sustainable over time regardless of the overwhelming challenges their industry or economy poses.”

Biodun and Ibikunle Foundation, a non-profit organisation operating out of Lagos was established in 2019 and works in the areas of entrepreneurship, education and health.

In over three years of its operation, they have supported more than 90 businesses through
their SEEDINVEST Acceleration Program and have donated to more than 100 school children via
“Our School Kit Program, gave scholarships to four pupils and provided school fees support to seven undergraduates across Nigeria.

“We also provide regular health care assistance to
over 100 people. We are driven by a philosophy to change the world one business at a time, one child at a time, and one family at a time. Our vision is to engage the entrepreneurial space in Africa and convert potential SMEs into emerging corporations for global influence. For more information on our work, please visit www.biodunandibikunle.org or check our Instagram handle @biodunandibikunle,” the foundation said.