Executive Director of Xodus Communications Limited, Richard Abbey Jnr
Xodus Foundation has set aside some GHC30,000 grant to be given to some startups and small businesses that are struggling amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Executive Director of Xodus Communications Limited,
Richard Abbey Junior, the initiative, dubbed “The Pitch” is to provide technical and financial support to a selected number of entrepreneurs in Ghana.
This will help them grow and scale up their businesses into profitable ventures.
Richard Abbey Junior said the initiative will help inform the Ghanaian public about the importance of entrepreneurship as a tool for post COVID-19 conomic recovery for development.
“This is indeed a dream come through. I believe this will help showcase some of the young entrepreneurs leading the way in Ghana through innovation on new products and services…”, he said.
The Approach
The Pitch is a 3-month long entrepreneurship competition that will be hosted once in a year from October to March.
The approach is to identify, screen, select and support the young entrepreneur with a unique value proposition for the Ghanaian market and one that has the highest growth potential among the lot with social impact in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Mentorship Drive
Selected finalists will be given a full day training on how to effectively package their businesses to attract the needed capital or investment for growth.
Topics such as marketing, branding, international market entry, bookkeeping, accounting, working capital management, strategic planning, innovation, business plan development and company valuation shall be treated at the mentorship programme to equip the young entrepreneurs with the requisite skills for enterprise development.
Over the long term, the five finalists will receive technical assistance from mentors and coaches for 12 months in managing and growing their businesses effectively through innovation. This will be fully funded by the Pitch initiators and partners.
Funding support and Accessibility
The final participants shall have the opportunity to bid for the grand prize of GHc 30,000 through voting (At no cost) by the Ghanaian public constituting 50% and the verdict of the jury constituting 50% to determine the ultimate Winner through a live show to be telecast live on all approved social media channels.
The Winner, First Runner Up and Second Runner Up shall have the additional opportunity to pitch their businesses to private equity funds, venture capital fund, angel investors and other institutional investors that the PITCH has identified as strategic partners for this competition.
Three finalists will have the opportunity to raise debt or equity from the sources that will be made accessible to them by the PITCH.