Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
A partnership for the provision of all banking support and funding to entrepreneurs to be selected at the 2019 cohort of the Unusual Entrepreneurship Programme has been signed by Ecobank Nigeria.
The Unusual Entrepreneur is part of the program of Unusual Praise, started few years ago by the Catholic Church of Divine Mercy, and has quickly grown to become the biggest of its kind within the Catholic Community in Africa- with explosive and spirit filled ministrations by megastar acts such as Chioma Jesus, Don Moen, Sinach, Nicole C Mullen, Olumide Dada, Mahalia, Mercy Chinwo, Sr. Agatha Ozah, Joe Praize and a plethora of globally recognised gospel stars in previous years.
Launched in 2018, the vision of the Unusual Entrepreneur is to be the pre-eminent faith-based entrepreneurship programme in Nigeria that unlocks the obstacles Nigerian entrepreneurs face as they grow their start-ups by equipping them with the necessary skills, support, training, mentorship and funding to build strong and sustainable businesses which will scale over time.
Chairman of the Unusual Entrepreneur, Mr Valentine Ozigbo, while announcing the partnership in Lagos, thanked Ecobank management for the support.
He stated that as exclusive bankers to the program, the entrepreneurs will be provided banking services and SME on-boarding support in their journey as entrepreneurs.
On his part, Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria, Mr Patrick Akinwuntan, affirmed the bank’s support and noted that “the objective of Unusual Entrepreneur in providing funding and mentorship support resonates strongly with not just our drive for youth empowerment as a corporate social responsibility, but an opportunity for our SME desk to handhold these individuals to a time when they emerge successful business men and women, thereby helping with Nigeria’s economic development and job creation.
Business Post gathered that the Unusual Entrepreneur, the foremost faith-based entrepreneurship programme in Nigeria, will empower 250 smart men and women members of the church from the entire Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos.
These entrepreneurs will be awarded with prizes ranging from N50,000 to N1,000,000 per person. Apart from the funding, they will also be provided with mentorship, business training and other critical support they require to succeed long term.
To be eligible for the programme, the business must be a Nigerian or legal resident in Nigeria (Lagos) and must be for-profit.
Also, applicants, who are required to be at least 18 years old, must be willing to attend all training and mentoring exercises organised by the programme.
According to the organisers, this year’s edition promises to be an incredible night of praise and worship with gospel acts like Nathaniel Bassey, Panam Percy Paul, Chioma Jesus, Tope Alabi, Big Bolaji, Osinachi Nwachukwu, amongst others.
“It will also feature our upcoming Catholic ministers and promises an unforgettable spiritual connection, and most importantly a refreshing and uplifting experience in the presence of God,” a statement concerning the event said.
