CSBGAfrica Set to Award N3.75m Grant to Nigerian Startups

Raheem Akingbolu

The Chief Executive Officer of CSBGAfrica, Gbenga Adenuga, has announced that the foundation has concluded an arrangement to award N250, 000 grants to each of 15 young Nigerians who will come out tops in business ideas pitch competition organised by his firm.

The booster grant, he said, will allow the winners to kick start their ideas and grow their businesses.

He told newsmen in Lagos, that there were 6,000 applications for the grant but CSBGAfrica will reduce the number to a manageable level out of which 15 entrepreneurs/ideas will emerge as winners.

He said: “The fund for the grant is from me, friends, family and associates and it is a commitment that I have made to assist people. My dream is to become a philanthropist in Africa. If I make a billion naira, what do I need it for, I will obviously give 90% of it out to the needy. I am speaking to millionaires and billionaires in Nigeria at this time that they need to do something for small businesses who are struggling and who need little funds to get going.”

According to him, tomorrow’s event promises to be engaging as it will include motivational talks with participants in various fields. The programme, entitled “Rethink, Realise and Redirect,” is scheduled at MUSON Centre in Lagos with facilitators drawn from all walks of life.

Adenuga, said the programme would enable participants to learn towards achieving sustainable growth in business.

He said the journey as an entrepreneur is full of hits and misses. “Imagine a gathering that will offer you an insight into how ordinary people like you, navigated the tough ride and today stands as proof that entrepreneurship is worth it”.

He said CSBG offers the platform for aspiring young, upcoming, and successful entrepreneurs in and around Nigeria to come together and share ideas on how to make things happen, learn from more established actors on how to avoid certain pitfalls, and also deal with growing pains as entrepreneurs.